Lockheed Martin officials expect to ink deals with Iraq and Oman for the sale of up to 18 F-16 fighters to each nation by early 2012, reported Reuters. The Iraqis delayed their purchase earlier this year. The US aerospace giant also hopes to add another 100 orders by the end of the decade, according to the report. Lockheed has already delivered nearly 4,500 F-16s to 25 countries and the company still has an order backlog of 65 airplanes. The company likely will continue to produce one to two F-16s per month for the next few years at its manufacturing plant in Fort Worth, Tex., even as it ramps up production on the F-35 strike fighter. Morroco is slated to receive F-16s in August. (See also Congress notified of potential F-16 sale to Iraq from the Daily Report archives.)
After years of serving as the bill-payer for other Pentagon priorities, munitions stockpiles are poised to get a major boost from the $150 billion reconciliation package unveiled by lawmakers in Congress this week, along with the defense industrial base to...