The Royal Jordanian Air Power was introduced on January 19 to have positioned an order for 12 F-16 Preventing Falcon fourth era fighters, with Royal Air Power Commander Brigadier Common Pilot Muhammad Fathi Hiasat signing a contract with the U.S. Deputy Chief of mission within the nation Rohit Nepal. The F-16s might be constructed to the newest Block 70/72 customary, which was beforehand ordered by Slovakia, Bulgaria, Bahrain and the Republic of China (Taiwan). The contract is valued at $4.21 billion, for a value of little over $350 million per airframe together with related weaponry and upkeep infrastructure. The fighters are by far the most expensive F-16s ever exported, with Falcons from the identical era contracted by Taiwan in 2019 being supplied for below $125 million per airframe. To position the value of the Jordanian order in perspective, it’s roughly double that at which america has exported the far more succesful fifth era F-35s to different shoppers, with the plane promoting overseas for roughly $187 million per airframe together with upkeep gear and weaponry. This follows a broader pattern of Western fighter gross sales to Center Japanese states typically having far larger value tags than these offered in different areas, the explanations for which have been broadly speculated.
The Royal Jordanian Air Power presently operates three fighter squadrons between them deploying 47 F-16A/B jets. The fighters have seen fight over neighbouring Syria launching strikes on the Islamic State terror group, with the daughter of the present head of state Princess Salma bint Abdullah being a educated F-16 pilot. The capabilities of Jordan’s F-16s have been broadly criticised domestically, nevertheless, with one fighter misplaced on a fight mission in Syria in December 2014 and reported by a number of sources to have been shot down – which some analysts interpreted as an indicator that fighters offered to the Arab state weren’t constructed to the identical customary as these equipped to different shoppers.
The F-16 has not been acquired by the U.S. Air Power for 18 years since early 2005, however continues to be produced in small numbers for export for shoppers which both can not afford newer fifth era F-35s, or as in Taiwan’s case for these which for political causes are denied entry to excessive or medium finish fighter lessons. The F-16 was developed as a lighter cheaper counterpart to the U.S. Air Power’s high air superiority fighter the F-15 Eagle in the course of the Nineteen Seventies, and first joined the Air Power in 1978. The plane has broadly been derided as out of date by navy officers from the U.S. and allied states akin to Singapore, though the newest Block 70/72 variant offers fifth era degree avionics and weaponry which assist to partially compensate for different deficiencies. The F-16 is prized for its low upkeep necessities and operational prices, and for contracts to states apart from Jordan it has for many years constantly represented the most cost effective Western fighter class in manufacturing.
