Lockheed Martin’s Block 60 F-16E/Fs next up in India’s MMRCA field trials
31 Aug 2009
Bangalore: With the two Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets moving on from Bangalore to Jaisalmer for the next leg of trials, it's the turn of Lockheed Martin's F-16 Falcon advanced fighters to show their paces at Bangalore in the ongoing trials for the Indian Air Force's (IAF) 126-aircraft, medium range multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) global tender.
Lockheed has loaned three Block 60 advanced versions of the fighter, from the UAE air force for the flight evaluation trials (FET). The tender is aimed at replacing the IAF's ageing Soviet-era MiG-21 fleet.
"We are flying in three F-16s from Dubai to Bangalore Aug 31 for the month-long field trials.
The fourth-generation advanced fighters are currently with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force. They will be flown by our test pilots along with US Air Force pilots," a senior Lockheed Martin official said.
The FET is being conducted at three different locations around the country to test its performance in different climatic conditions – humid (Bangalore), hot (Jaisalmer) cold (Leh, Ladakh).
