Lockheed wins more than $1 billion for F-16 production

June 25 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract for F-16 production for the kingdom of Bahrain.

The deal, announced Friday by the Department of Defense, is valued at more than $1.124 billion under the terms of a fixed-price-incentive-firm contract that enables Lockheed Martin to provide 16 F-16 V Block 70 aircraft, according to the Pentagon.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine, multi-role fighter jet that is primarily used for air-to-air and air-to-surface missions, according to the U.S. Air Force. The Block 70 version of the aircraft is the most modern version of the fighter jet.

Work on the contract will occur in South Carolina and Texas. The period of performance on the contract will expire in September 2023.

More than $551 million will be obligated to Lockheed Martin at time of award -- the funds will be allocated from foreign military sale funds.

Similarly in February, Lockheed Martin was tapped to provide Taiwan with 144 F-16 A/B Fighting Falcon's to be upgraded under the Taiwan F-16 Peace Phoenix Rising program under a contract worth more than $13.3 million.

The total cost of upgrades to Taiwan's fleet is estimated at roughly $5.3 billion, according to The Diplomat.