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 The Republic of Korea signed a contract with Korean Aerospace Industries in July to produce twenty Block 52 F-16 aircraft. The twenty new production F-16s will be the same configuration as the original Korean Fighter Program. First delivery will occur in July 2003, thirty-six months after contract signature. Korea began procuring F-16s (Block 32 configuration) in the mid-1980s. Through the original Korean Fighter Program, which began in 1991, Korea procured 120 Block 52 F-16s. Twelve of these aircraft were produced at Lockheed Martin, thirty-six were assembled by Samsung from kits provided by Lockheed Martin, and seventy-two were produced by Samsung under license.
Samsung F-16s were built at the new, modern aircraft factory at Sachon, a cornerstone of the Korean Fighter Program. Deliveries began in 1994 and were completed in 2000. Korea is the only country to date that produces the F-16 under license, though Fighting Falcons have also been produced in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Turkey under other types of arrangements. |
