The last three of 24 F-16 Block 52 fighters built by Lockheed Martin for the Royal Moroccan Air Force departed the company’s production facility in Fort Worth, Tex., for Morocco, reported South Africa-based defenceWeb. The new-build airplanes left Fort Worth on Aug. 22, according to defenseWeb’s Aug. 29 report. Morocco ordered the two dozen F-16s in 2008. It took delivery of the first four aircraft in August 2011. The F-16s operate from Ben Guerir Air Base, which is located about 36 miles north of Marrakech.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
