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Aero-Glen awarded $403M for F-16 refurbishment

By Stephen Carlson
The Air Force's F-16 life extension program is expected to lengthen the potential flight time of the aircraft from 8,000 hours to 12,000 hours through a variety of upgrades. Photo by Staff Sgt. Keith James/U.S. Air Force
The Air Force's F-16 life extension program is expected to lengthen the potential flight time of the aircraft from 8,000 hours to 12,000 hours through a variety of upgrades. Photo by Staff Sgt. Keith James/U.S. Air Force

July 18 (UPI) -- Aero-Glen International has received a $403 million contract to provide service life extension program kits for the U.S. Air Force's F-16 life-extension program.

The contract, announced Tuesday by the Department of Defense, enables the company to life-extension kits and other support services.

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The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single engine multi-role fighter that forms a large part of the U.S. air fleet. It has been widely exported and serves as a key part of air forces around the world. The aircraft is highly maneuverable, reliable and relatively cheap to operate and maintain compared to many other fighter planes.

The life extension program includes a dozen structural modifications for the refurbishment. The F-16 has been operating since 1979 and was designed for 8,000 hours of flight time -- the design improvements will extend that to over 12,000 hours of flight.

Cherokee Nation Aerospace and Defense was also awarded a $403 million contract for the same program at the end of June.

Work on the new contract will be performed at Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport and is expected to be completed by May 2029.

Aero-Glen has been awarded $1.6 million in procurement funds at the time of award, the Pentagon said.

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