Lockheed Martin Conducts Successful First Flight of F-16 Block 70 Aircraft

For many customers around the world seeking advanced, fourth-generation fighter aircraft capabilities, the F-16 is a strategic and valuable choice. Today, over 3,000 F-16s are in service in 25 countries. The F-16 has logged at least 13 million sorties and 19.5 million flight hours. The most recent version, the Block 70/72, provides unrivalled capabilities and will be flown by at least five countries beginning in the mid-2020s.

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Lockheed Martin recently successfully flew the F-16 Block 70 for the first time at its Greenville, South Carolina facility. The total flight time was about 50 minutes, which included airworthiness checks like engine, flight control, and fuel system checks, as well as basic aircraft handling.

The first of 16, F-16 Block 70 jets are to be delivered  to Bahrain. Six nations have chosen Block 70/72 aircraft.

Jordan signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) for eight jets last year and another LOA for four more jets last week, in addition to the current official backlog of 128 jets to be built in Greenville. Bulgaria has also signed a letter of intent to purchase an additional eight jets for its fleet. When these are completed, the backlog will rise to 148.

For many customers around the world seeking advanced, fourth-generation fighter aircraft capabilities, the F-16 is a strategic and valuable choice. Today, over 3,000 F-16s are in service in 25 countries. The F-16 has logged at least 13 million sorties and 19.5 million flight hours. The most recent version, the Block 70/72, provides unrivalled capabilities and will be flown by at least five countries beginning in the mid-2020s.

Lockheed Martin has also announced its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the company reported net sales of $19.0 billion and total revenue of $66.0 billion. Its cash from operations was $1.9 billion in the fourth quarter and is expected to be $7.8 billion in 2022.

Lockheed Martin generated $1.2 billion in free cash flow in the fourth quarter and $6.1 billion in total free cash flow in 2022.

On January 26, the board of directors authorised a dividend of $3.00 per share for the first quarter of 2023. The dividend will be paid on March 24, 2023, to shareholders of record on March 1, 2023.

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