Greek Air Force F-16 & Weapons Buys Taking Off

by xairforces · 20 October 2014

Greece looking to lease some of their F-16s to Bulgaria, in order to help pay for F-16 modernization?

The Hellenic Air Force has ordered a total of 170 F-16s. All are F-16C/Ds, but the initial 2 tranches of 80 evenly-split F-16 Block 30 and Block 50 aircraft are powered by GE’s F110-110/129 engines. The next 2 “Peace Xenia III/IV” orders covered 90 Block 52 planes, powered by Pratt & Whitney’s F100-229 engine. That adds maintenance costs, but ensures that engine problems can’t ground the HAF’s fighter fleet.

Helllenic Air Force F-16D (083) Fighting Falcon (Photo by HAF)

Bulgaria has been looking to purchase 6-8 NATO-compatible fighters since 2008, but their economy is small and so is their defense budget. Even that won’t replace their.

In 2005, Greece terminated its $6 billion Eurofighter contract in favor of F-16s. Now that sale has taken the next step, as Greece has submitted its order for the aircraft and ancillary electronics, spares, and weapons, to match rival Turkey’s recent F-16 purchases and upgrades.

On October 25/05, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) formally notified Congress external link [PDF] of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Greece of 40 F-16C/D Block 52+ aircraft as well as associated equipment and services. That sale continues to move forward, item by item; the total value, if all options are exercised, could be as high as $3.1 billion. Greece’s full “Peace Xenia IV” order request now features:

Peace Xenia IV

Another 30 F-16C/D Block 52+ aircraft with F100-PW-229 engines, conformal fuel tanks to let them cover Cyprus, and APG-68v9 radars (option for 10 declined, now 20 single-seat F-16C Block 52s and 10 2-seat F-16D Block 52s). Plus:

42 Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems (JHMCS);
40 AN/AVS-9 Generation III Aviation Night Vision Goggles;
190 LAU-129/A Launchers;
48 Link-16 Multifunctional Information Distribution System-Low Volume Terminals (MIDS-LVT);
3 Link-16 Ground Stations;
10 LANTIRN Targeting pods (previous-generation equipment – many air forces now use LITENINGpods or Sniper XR on their F-16s);
11 Reconnaissance pods (they turned out to be Goodrich DB-110s , with…);
2 Reconnaissance Ground Stations;
40 APX-113 Advanced Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) systems;
43 AN/ALQ-187 Advanced Self-Protection Integrated Suites;
6 spare F100-PW-229 engines;
3 APG-68v9 spare radar sets;
4 AGM-154C Joint Standoff Weapons (JSOW);
6 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM with 3 BLU-10 and 3 MK-84 bomb bodies);
4 Wind Compensated Munitions Dispenser (GPS/INS-guided cluster bombs);

The request also covers associated support equipment, software development/integration, modification kits, capability to employ a wide variety of munitions, spares and repair parts, flight test instrumentation, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor technical and logistics personnel services, and other related support requirements.

The estimated cost is $3.1 billion.

The DSCA reports that this modernization will be provided in accordance with, and subject to the limitation on use and transfer provided under the Arms Export Control Act, as amended, and as embodied in the Letter of Offer and Acceptance. They also take care to note that this proposed sale will not adversely affect either the military balance in the region, or U.S. efforts to encourage a negotiated settlement of the Cyprus questions.

The principal contractors will be:

BAE Advanced Systems, Greenlawn, NY
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Fort Worth, TX
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Orlando, FL
L3 Communications, Arlington, TX
Boeing Corporation (McDonald Douglas Corporation), St. Louis, MO
Raytheon Electronic Warfare Systems Company, Goleta, CA
Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, AZ
Northrop-Grumman Electro-Optical Systems, Garland, TX
Northrop-Grumman Electronic Systems, Baltimore, MD
Pratt & Whitney United Technology Company, East Hartford, CT

Offset agreements associated with this proposed sale are expected. They are undetermined at this time but will be defined in negotiations between the purchaser and contractors.

Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives to Greece.

Contracts and Ancillary Developments

FY 2009 – 2014

Deliveries; Requests for engine support; Will Greece lease some F-16s to Bulgaria to help pay for fleet modernization?

The Hellenic Air Force has ordered a total of 170 F-16s. All are F-16C/Ds, but the initial 2 tranches of 80 F-16 Block 30 and Block 50 aircraft are powered by GE’s F110-110/129 engines. The next 2 “Peace Xenia III/IV” orders covered 90 Block 52 planes, powered by Pratt & Whitney’s F100-229 engine. This adds maintenance costs, but ensures that engine problems can’t ground the HAF’s fighter fleet.

Oct 11/14: Bulgaria? Bulgaria has been looking to purchase 6-8 NATO-compatible fighters since 2008, but their economy is small and so is their defense budget. Even that won’t replace their existing fleet of 6 MiG-21s, 15 MiG-29s, and 14 Su-25s, most of which will need to retire soon. Katherimini reports that the Bulgarians are looking at rentals, and says that Greece may be willing to step in with its F-16s. The idea is that the lease could bring Greece several hundred million euros, which they could use to upgrade some of their other F-16s.

The bad news for Bulgaria is that Greece doesn’t seem to be offering its newer Block 52s, which means that Bulgaria would probably be getting 25 year old Peace Xenia I F-16C/D Block 30s , powered by GE’s F110 engine. They can carry reconnaissance pods and fire AGM-88 HARM radar-killer missiles and AIM-7 Sparrow medium range air-to-air missiles, but they would need further upgrades to use weapons like the far superior AIM-120 AMRAAM medium range air-to-air missile, or GPS-guided weapons like JDAM, JSOW, etc. If Greece leased Bulgaria 6-8 of its 40 GE F110-powered F-16 C/D Block 50s instead, all of those limitations would vanish.

Note that Saab’s JAS-39C/D Gripen fighters already have a proven leasing history, and offer a wider range of capabilities than F-16 Block 30s. They are flown that way by fellow NATO members the Czech Republic, Hungary, and soon by Slovakia. Sources: Kathimerini .

Source: UTC by Defense Industry Daily staff – Oct 14, 2014 (defenseindustrydaily.com)