On Wednesday, June 26, 2024, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center of the USAF Materiel Command from Hill Air Force Base in Utah, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense, signed a contract worth $24,797,994 (PLN 99.057 million) with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics (a part of Lockheed Martin) from Fort Worth, Texas, for an undisclosed modification of Polish multirole aircraft F-16C/D Block 52+ Advanced.
Photo: Jakub Link-Lenczowski, MILMAG
This is a continuation of a 4 million USD (15.98 million PLN) contract, which had a maximum amount limit of 100,000 USD (399,460 USD) to support the F-16 Systems Program Office of the FMS (Foreign Military Sales) program. It was part of a larger contract from March 29 of this year worth 33,790,764 USD (134.98 million PLN).
The work will be carried out in Fort Worth, Texas, and Greenville, South Carolina, but the majority of the modifications will be done in Poland (likely at the Military Aviation Works No. 2 in Bydgoszcz). The completion of the work is expected by April 30, 2029. At the time of signing the contract, funds amounting to 20,797,994 USD (83.079 million PLN) were allocated.
On April 26 of this year, the Polish Armament Agency announced the signing of a contract worth 41,703,150.00 PLN (ca. 10.3 million USD) with the Polish company Siltec from Pruszków for the delivery of a data exchange system with aircraft, including the F-16.
The previous contract, dated December 7, 2023 and worth 32,253,699 USD (128.58 million PLN), concerned the integration of four-channel data link modules, operating in the Link 16 standard, with MIDS JTRS (Multifunction Information Distribution System-Joint Tactical Radio System) radios with three additional communication protocols.
On September 13, 2023, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced the U.S. Department of State’s approval for a possible sale to Poland of a support and modification package for the F-16 fleet for up to 389 million USD (1.67 billion PLN).
The above activities are part of the preparations for signing a Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) contract later this year, which was announced on February 2 of this year in an interview with Polsat News by the head of the Armament Agency, Brig. Gen. Dr. Artur Kuptel.
On February 14 of this year, in Warsaw, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz met with James D. Taiclet, Chairman, President, and CEO of Lockheed Martin. Among the topics discussed was the modernization of Polish F-16s.