Raytheon receives $200 million order for Moroccan F-16 engines

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Raytheon has been awarded a $212 million contract for F100-PW-229 engines for Royal Moroccan Air Force F-16 fighters.

The US Department of Defence announced the contract award on 26 July, stating that work will be completed in June 2025 by Raytheon’s Pratt & Whitney.

The engines are for Morocco’s 25 new F-16C/D Block 72 aircraft. In March 2019, the US State Department approved the sale of the 25 aircraft along with 29 F100-PW-229 engines, APG-83 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars, Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems, AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM missiles, Paveway II guided bombs and GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs, amongst others. The total contract is worth up to $3.7 billion.

The Royal Moroccan Air Force currently flies 23 F-16C/D Block 50/52 aircraft that it received from 2011 to 2012 (one was lost over Yemen during operations as part of the Saudi-led coalition). The US Defence Security Cooperation Agency recently approved the upgrade of these aircraft to the latest F-16V Block 70/72 standard.

Morocco’s F-16s are equipped with a variety of extra equipment, including Lockheed Martin Sniper targeting pods, Goodrich DB-110 airborne reconnaissance pods and Raytheon’s Advanced Countermeasures Electronic System (ACES). Armament includes AIM-9X Block II Sidewinders with lock on after launch capability, AGM-65D Maverick air-to-surface missiles and Enhanced GBU-12 Paveway II laser guided bomb kits.

Production by Lockheed Martin of Morocco’s new F-16s is expected to conclude by December 2026.