F-16 bygges til 2020 - F-35 nr. 100 er ferdig

Lockheed sees F-16 fighter jet production continuing through 2020


Dec 13 (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp has enough orders to keep its F-16 fighter jet production line humming through the third quarter of 2017, and hopes to land additional orders that would keep the line running through 2020, company executives say.

Around that time, the cost of Lockheed's new F-35 stealth fighter will have dropped so far that potential customers will likely opt for the newer jet, Bill McHenry, Lockheed's head of F-16 business development, told Reuters in a recent interview.

But for now, the company is continuing to pursue potential F-16 sales and upgrades in the Middle East, South America and other markets, he said.

"We wake up every day and go out and do what we can," he said. "But there's a crossover point out there ... sometime in the 2020 timeframe, where it'll make more sense to procure F-35s than F-16s." Lockheed on Friday marked completion of its 100th F-35 fighter.