On Saturday, January 31, 2026, the Peruvian daily Diario Expreso reported, citing sources close to the country’s Ministry of Defense, that the authorities in Lima had decided to select the U.S. offer featuring Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70 multirole aircraft. The plan calls for the purchase of 24 aircraft in two tranches, at a cost of nearly 7 billion USD.
F-16 Block 70 / Image: Lockheed Martin
The official decision is expected to be announced in the second week of April this year, after the general elections scheduled for the 12th of the month.
The selection of the F-16C/D Block 70 means that counteroffers from Sweden with the Saab JAS 39E/F Gripen and from France with the Dassault Rafale F4 were rejected (earlier offers featuring the European Eurofighter Typhoon and South Korea’s KF-21 Boramae had also been turned down).
By way of reminder, under the first tranche, on September 15, 2025, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) published the U.S. Department of State’s approval of a potential sale of 12 aircraft in a package valued at up to 3.42 billion USD.
The Peruvian Air Force (Fuerza Aérea del Perú, FAP) has for years been planning to modernize its fleet in order to replace aging aircraft and enhance operational capabilities in the face of regional challenges such as border disputes with Chile and Bolivia. In October 2024, Peru’s then minister of defense, Walter Enrique Astudillo Chávez, publicly confirmed plans to acquire up to 24 new multirole aircraft to replace the aging MiG-29 fleet (eight upgraded MiG-29SMT/UBP) and Mirage 2000P/DP aircraft (10 in the P version and two in the DP version).
To finance the acquisition, the ministry submitted an application for a loan of 7.58 billion PEN to the National Bank of Peru (Banco de la Nación). The financing would cover the first phase of the program, including the purchase of 12 aircraft, corresponding to the Swedish government-to-government offer. The total value of the program is estimated at 13 billion PEN.
The program includes the acquisition of aircraft, weapons, a spare parts package, and support services such as training for air and ground personnel. Technology transfer and the participation of local industry, for example SEMAN (Servicio de Mantenimiento), are key requirements.
If the agreement with the United States is finalized, Peru will become the fourth operator of F-16 aircraft in South America, after Venezuela (five F-16A/B; unofficially reported as damaged in a U.S. strike on January 3 this year), Chile (44 F-16AM/CM/C/D; some undergoing modernization), and Argentina (in the process of receiving 25 ex-Danish F-16AM/BM aircraft).
It is also worth noting that neighboring Colombia recently selected the Swedish offer featuring 17 JAS 39E/F Gripen fighters.
F-16C/D Block 70
The latest variant of the F-16 was announced at the Singapore Airshow in 2012. The F-16 Block 70 prototype made its first flight on October 16, 2015. It was equipped with the new APG-83 SABR (AESA) radar. The aircraft also received a new mission computer with a central liquid crystal display (Center Pedestal Display). Additional upgrades include new avionics components, a high-bandwidth Ethernet data bus, and modernized electronic warfare (EW) equipment. It is also designed to carry the Sniper Extended Range targeting pod.
Production of the latest F-16s involves PZL Mielec, a Lockheed Martin–owned company, which has begun delivering aft fuselage structures for the aircraft. In the future, the scope of production is expected to increase to more than 80% of the airframe structures.
Current orders for the F-16C/D Block 70 include Bahrain (16 aircraft), Taiwan (66), Jordan (12), Morocco (25), Slovakia (14), and Bulgaria (16). On January 26, 2024, Turkey received approval to purchase 40 newly built F-16C/D Block 70 aircraft. In addition, the aircraft is being offered to the Philippines and Vietnam, and was previously unsuccessfully proposed to India (as the F-21 variant—India is finalizing the purchase of Rafale fighters) and to Ukraine (with Kyiv showing interest in the Gripen and Rafale instead).
See also: