Romania requests F-16 upgrades

[Slater]

Aren't Block 15 aircraft fairly old airframes?

 

https://www.dsca.mil/sites/default/files/mas/romania_20-83_cn.pdf

[Boman]

Many of the Romanian F-16A/B's are already MLU updated. And some are rebuilt MLU updates whereby the jets have been stored for upwards of 20+ years since last flight. During the MLU update the entire fighter is rewamped and hence come out close to brand new. So answer is yes and no. 

[exdraken]

Why not further upgrading them?

European F-16 user group F-16s are all upgraded to MLU 6 or higher standard,  some will be used for quite some time (Portugal, Belgium) while Norway, Denmark, Netherlands will retire theirs earlier.

Also Chile, Pakistan, Jordan and Indonesia still useheavily upgraded A/B models. The Block V70 upgrade might also be an Option (Taiwan )

[Boman]

This comes all down to cost. Norway, Denmark, Belgium and Netherlands have all opted for the F-35A, so there is no more money being used by these nations for further updates of their F-16 fleets. Romania, Portugal and possibly some other European countries will fly the Viper for years still, however these countries will then have to front any future developments. 

That said, since MLU 5.x the US and European MLU updates are the same, so should be able to utilize the development done for US fighters in the process. 

[Slater]

Depending on what you're willing to pay (and assuming approval is granted), these days a customer has the option of a new Block 70 or a refurbished older variant. 

[Boman]

Block 70 upgrade is a different story, but available also for earlier F-16A/B's for sure. Prior to block 70, MLU is the latest and hottest for these Vipers. Update 7.0 was just fielded on US Vipers, while those delivered to Romania is Update 5.3 if I recall correctly. 

 

Here you can read more on the MLU updates: 

http://www.f-16.net/f-16_versions_article2.html

[Slater]

Supposedly, new Block 70/72 aircraft coming off the production line have a structural life that is 50% greater than previous versions. What was changed/modified to achieve this?

[exdraken]

On 11/7/2020 at 4:49 PM, Slater said:

Supposedly, new Block 70/72 aircraft coming off the production line have a structural life that is 50% greater than previous versions. What was changed/modified to achieve this?

I assume experience and incorporation of structural improvement were previously life extension measures were implemented...

The Viper also gained some weight over the years...

That is the advantage of being in production for 45 years+!

[Boman]

The F-16 has gained weight throughout its development. An F-16A/B even if MLU'ed will still be lighter than an F-16C/D. F-16 Block 70 is founded on the F-16C/D, and will be rated for between 12000-16000 flight hours. 

 

I suggest you visit www.f-16.net and look up the various information, as it is far too much to shortlist here.