Lockheed Martin Ceremony Commemorates First F-16 Produced for Oman
08.04.05, 11:55 AM ET

FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) held ceremonies at its Fort Worth, Tex., facility today to celebrate the delivery of the first F-16 aircraft to the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO).

Air Vice Marshal Yahya Al-Juma, commander of the RAFO, accepted the aircraft on behalf of his nation. Also present were Mohammed Al-Khusaiby, ambassador of Oman to the United States, and other senior officials from the Oman Ministry of Defense and Royal Air Force.

"The state-of-the-art capabilities of the F-16 will contribute significantly to the modernization of our armed forces and the protection of our nation, and will improve our interoperability with other F-16 operators in the region," said Air Vice Marshal Al-Juma.

In May 2002, the Sultanate of Oman signed an agreement with the U.S. government to purchase 12 Advanced Block 50 F-16s in the Peace A'sama A'safiya (Clear Skies) Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The agreement includes eight single-seat F-16Cs and four two-seat F-16Ds, powered by the General Electric F110-GE-129 engine.

United States government officials participating in today's ceremonies included Gen. T. Michael Moseley, vice chief of staff, United States Air Force; Lt. Gen. Jeffrey B. Kohler, director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency; Lt. Gen. Walter E. Buchanan, commander of the 9th Air Force and U.S. Central Command Air Forces; and Bruce S. Lemkin, deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for International Affairs.

"Oman is the fifth Arab nation and the third member of the Gulf Cooperation Council to acquire the F-16," said Lt. Gen. Buchanan. "With Oman now flying one of the same aircraft as the U.S., it not only promotes interoperability within the region, but it also develops closer ties between the airmen of different nations."

"The team effort involved in Oman's F-16 procurement is a great testimony to the strong friendship between our two countries," Lemkin said. "To have such close friends in the Gulf region with capable and complementary air power opens the door to a bright future and an even stronger relationship."

Lockheed Martin was represented by Ralph D. Heath, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Corporation and president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, and June Shrewsbury, vice president of F-16 programs.

"We're proud to have Oman as the 23rd member of the worldwide F-16 family and we're fully committed to ensure that their air force achieves and maintains its highest levels of capability and readiness while flying the F-16," said Heath.

"In celebrating this milestone, we recognize all the accomplishments the Oman F-16 team has made in keeping this program on track," said Shrewsbury. "We have been on or ahead of schedule in all key events in this highly successful program."

The first Oman F-16 is a two-seat F-16D model and was accepted by the U.S. government (as agent for Oman in the FMS process) on July 19, one month ahead of schedule. The first single-seat F-16C version will fly in August and be accepted in September. These two aircraft will be ferried to Oman in mid- October to support the 35th National Day celebrations on Nov. 18. The remainder of the aircraft will be ferried to Oman during 2006.

source (http://www.forbes.com/prnewswire/feeds/prnewswire/2005/08/04/prnewswire200508041154PR_NEWS_B_SWT_DA_DATH034.htm l)

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Finally the F16 will be in Oman soon!

Do you think we really need them, considering Oman is a peaceful country?

Do you think there are enough qualified Omanis to fly them?

Share your views.

Ice Tea ... what is the point of the post? I could have got this off Google News?

No more contracts with Augusta :cry: :weep:

why can't we build our own planes?

To give your opinion about this step, if we say we can use Google then we don't need sabla to discuss anything ;)

why can't we build our own planes?


How about starting with cars first.

Icey can you add a comment to your first post? I mean whats your opinion, what do u wanna discuss? Thank.

F-16 huh !! We must have a good reputation to earn such Jet fighters what happen to our business loyalty with Great Britain ( The jags and hunters )

Icey can you add a comment to your first post? I mean whats your opinion, what do u wanna discuss? Thank.


This man Ice Tea amazes me.

Anyway, lets hear his grand opinion on the above purchase, which is clearly meant for the defense of this nation.

American product,

I'd rather have a Sokhoy!

We are defending ourselves against which one of our neighbors? The UAE ordered 80 F-16s while we could only afford 12.

They would like damn cool flying in formation on national day though.

We are defending ourselves against which one of our neighbors? The UAE ordered 80 F-16s while we could only afford 12.

They would like damn cool flying in formation on national day though.


Quite Right ! incidently how many years you need to be able to fly the F-16 and what about maintanace !!!

Who will we attack anyways. Or will they help in the attack of the next arabian land that will be invaded by USA & Co.?

F-16s ? ... Walla , I think it's a waste of money ... This money couldve been invested in so much better projects in oman instead of above ... I remember a few years back when they got the F-14's ... nobody made a fuss about it ...

Anyway , I like the megs better ...

What F-14s? Oman doesn't have any of those.

We only have Jaguars lol, which do look funny. Anyways we dont need some powerfull stuff as F-16s. We aint gona fight ny1, unless..USA commands us against another country in the ME as usual.

What about air to sea capabilities for your massive coastal waters, and the possible future threat from any or all of your unstable neighbours? Every country needs some degree of military capability.

Partially replacing the antiquated Jaguars is overdue. Jaguar is half British, half French, and the French company doesn't even make their parts any more, so it's pretty difficult to keep them in the air.

Then again, F-16 is also a very old aircraft now. But at least it still has solid technical support though, because of the sheer number manufactured. I see it as a partial solution to the necessary replacement of Jaguar, and perhaps there will be a real third generation aircraft added a few years down the line. These things don't come cheap after all, and as an interim strengthening of air defence capablility I guess it's OK.

mimosa, I've seen a documentary of F-16's in particular, there are many types of them.

Switzerland has no army.

Im not really sure if they were F-14s , but they were in the same category ... They bought around ten of them ... two of my friends are training 'for' them ...

Blaaaah ...

We don't need electricity ... but I'd rather live with it.

and the possible future threat from any or all of your unstable neighbours

Which unstable neighbours you are talking about?

USA & Co. You see, when they are done with the favours we are giving them, they will strike ;)

Icey can you add a comment to your first post? I mean whats your opinion, what do u wanna discuss? Thank.

Now what R U waiting for?

Look here; you don’t come up with an article carrying defense procurement details of a nation then shy away from it without forwarding your opinion.

Isn’t that silly?

My opinion is up there.

What is your opinion?

Ibn Berlusconi,

Yes, there are many variants of F-16. It might not be the cheapest option despite its age, but it's versatile, good enough to keep up with the neighbours, and has big support behind it. As long as it doesn't have to fight anyone from the US or Europe there shouldn't be any big gap other than numbers!

Icey,

Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iran all have internal political problems from time to time. Deaths of political leaders, internal unrest and even coups have taken place in the region in recent years. And let's face it, the first two I mentioned have already made war on your country three times between them, albeit by proxy. You never know what will happen to any country politically, so there must be some sort of minimal insurance policy at least.

Another issue with F-16 is integration. Every other country in the GCC has them, so it would make integration into "Peninsula Shield" operations easier.

mimo, I know that the F-16 is the most powerful and best combat jet ;)

http://digilander.libero.it/aereiemissili/images/f-16/F-16-218C_D-50+.jpg

mimo, I know that the F-16 is the most powerful and best combat jet

Not by a long way, Ibn Berlusconi. Its manufacturers like to brag that no F16 has ever been brought down in a dog fight, but that is because it's never been up against anything more formidable than a poorly maintained and ancient MiG.

Fact is it's an old aircraft, and there are a dozen more modern creations which are as far ahead of the F16 as the F16 is ahead of those old MiGs. But none of Oman's near neighbours has anything more advanced (apart from Israel), so it's not a big problem as far as I can see.

Mimo, but with just 12 of these planes is that enough to protect against Yemen, Saudi Arabia or Iran?

Other than being a great opportunity for some people to bag some sweet commissions, what objective do these jets have?

Sometimes the posts on this Sabla are soo moronic it's not eveny funny.

I'll ask a simple question.


In Oman, a relatively safe country - where the crime rate is not that bad in most places:

You buy a security system (albeit not fancy). You lock your doors (even though they aren't reinforced locks). You close your gates (even though people can jump over them).

Why do you do all these things even though someone who wants to REALLY break into your home can still with relative ease?

Take a moment to discuss that. And you might arrive at your answer.

Perfect example Pretender ;)

Sometimes the posts on this Sabla are soo moronic it's not eveny funny.

Pretender, so nowadays you dont come to ES except to drop insults.. why the change man?

..lol.. those were bought to defend the forigners not u guys *the citizens* ..

..god bless forigners :hehe:

What could Germany or France or the UK have done against the Soviet Union? Bought time maybe. Defended against a less than wholly-committed attack, or a rogue element...it's better to have something than nothing I would say.

Pretender, so nowadays you dont come to ES except to drop insults.. why the change man?

I'll repost the rest of that post you seemed to miss out on:

I'll ask a simple question.


In Oman, a relatively safe country - where the crime rate is not that bad in most places:

You buy a security system (albeit not fancy). You lock your doors (even though they aren't reinforced locks). You close your gates (even though people can jump over them).

Why do you do all these things even though someone who wants to REALLY break into your home can still with relative ease?
Take a moment to discuss that. And you might arrive at your answer.