F-16 Block 70 – an unexplained ‘no show’ at Bahrain’s premier air show
November 20, 2024
The Block 70 F-16 is not the first AESA-equipped fighter to join a GCC air force (that honour belonging to the Royal Saudi Air Force’s Boeing F-15SA Advanced Eagle). Nor is it the most advanced, since Kuwait and Qatar have Eurofighter Typhoons equipped with ECRS.Mk 0 AESA radars, whose repositioners give them an unmatched ‘wide field of regard’. But the combination of an AESA radar with the still impressive F-16 airframe is a big deal for GCC air power, and it’s a very big deal indeed for the Royal Bahrain Air Force (RBAF).
The Block 70 represents the latest evolution of the F-16, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. It is the new-build version of the F-16V Viper upgrade configuration, and the F-16V designation and Viper name are sometimes (wrongly!) used, though the Bloc 70 is officially an F-16C in single-seat guise, or an F-16D in tow-seat configuration. Bahrain was the launch customer for the new-build Block 70, and is set to receive 16 aircraft, ten F-16Cs and six F-16Ds. At one time there were plans to convert 21 surviving Block 40s to the near-identical F-16V standard.
The new variant is equipped with a Northrop Grumman APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) which has an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) antenna, an improved engine, a new computer, larger CFT cockpit displays and is due to be equipped with the L3 Harris next generation Viper Shield EW system. This fits the aircraft for a modern battlespace that is shifting from ‘dogfighting to datafighting’ according to Travis Ruhl, L3Harris’ Director of International Business Development for Airborne Combat Systems.
Royal Bahraini Air Force Commander General Sheikh Hamad Bin Abdulla Al Khalifa described the Block 70 as one of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s “top three priority projects”, alongside AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopters, and the Patriot Air Defence System, while General Gary North, VP for Customer Requirements at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, described the integration of the RBAF’s current F-16 Block 40 and its new Block 70s as a “watershed moment” for the region, “showing Bahrain at the forefront of modern air power in the Gulf.”
Gen Al Khalifia said that: “So far, RBAF has received more than half the purchased F-16V aircraft during 2023 and 2024. As we are awaiting the delivery of the rest, currently we are working on supporting the available aircraft as they are fully operational for training missions.”
He went on to say that: “The new F-16C/D Block 70s are currently being used to train pilots and groundcrews, and in the near future we expect them to be operational. The project is not completed yet, as we are still expecting more equipment. Our older but capable Block 40s have been fitted with very advanced equipment and we can get a lot out of them. Once we have finished with the introduction of the Block 70s, we might alter the role of the Block 40s.”
The Block 70 aircraft is not so new or so secret that an airshow appearance would have been remotely surprising, and indeed, senior figures in the RBAF and industry were more than happy to talk about it, and its absence from the static park was remarkable. Nor would it seem likely that with about nine aircraft delivered, it would have been a terrible burden to fly one the 20 miles or so from Isa air base to Sakhir for the daily flying display! But the RBAF seems not to have done so.
The Block 70 F-16 is visually very similar to the older Block 40 that is still operated by the RBAF, with serial numbers and colour scheme providing the most obvious ‘recognition cue’ – the Block 40s being painted grey overall, and the Block 70s wearing a subtle camouflage pattern. Although AGN’s good friend Craig Hoyle, the editor of Flight International, put the cat among the pigeons by tweeting (and publishing) a photo of a Block 70 in the air, it later transpired that this was an old shot taken before delivery at Lockheed Martin’s factory airfield in South Carolina. Pictures taken of the various flypasts at the Bahrain International Air Show seem to indicate that the only Bahraini F-16s flying over Sakhir were Block 40 aircraft.
Could it be that the Bahraini Block 70s are limited to ground-based training at the moment? AGN will keep you posted!
