Survival systems provider Survitec will begin serial production of Aircrew Flight Equipment (AFE) kits for F-16 Block 70/72 Viper aircrew of Morocco and Taiwan, following the completion of an approval milestone in August 2024.
The AFE development milestone is the culmination of a three-year programme by Survitec to develop “an advanced AFE emsemble”, the company stated, which has now been approved and able to be supplied through the service life of the F-16 Block 70/72 fighters.
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The newly developed AFE ensemble, which includes a flight jacket with an integrated life preserver and lightweight coverall, is designed to integrate with the Martin Baker US18E ejection seat and pilot life support systems. In addition to enhancing safety, Survitec stated that the ensemble has been engineered for comfort for pilots during extended missions.
According to Survitec, the AFE system for the F-16 Viper adopted design principles originally developed for the F-35 stealth fighter programme.
With the AFE approval secured, Survitec will now transition to serial production for Taiwan and Morocco, with a “long pipeline of nations requiring this retrofit to follow”, Survitec said.
The first production AFE assets are scheduled for dispatch in January 2025, with deliveries fulfilled from Survitec’s Ohio facility, ahead of the first planned flight of the Lockheed Martin-manufactured F-16 Viper Block 70/72 at Greenville, South Carolina.
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By GlobalDataNick Mulhall, commercial director – Aerospace and Defence, Survitec, said: “Our goal remains to elevate pilot protection, comfort and performance, aligning the F-16 Viper configuration with the advanced standards established by the F-35 programme.”
Global F-16 Viper orders
First entering US service in the late-1970s as a fourth-generation air dominance fighter, the F-16 has evolved through a number of iterations in the decades since and is widely proliferated across the world’s air forces.
The latest variant, the F-16 Viper Block 70/72, is available as new build or via modernisation programmes and sees the integration of the AN/APG-83 AESA radar and new electronic warfare suite, pushing the aircraft well into the 4.5 generation class to match others of its type such as the Eurofighter Typhoon.
According to GlobalData intelligence, Taiwan operates around 140 F-16A/B variants, acquired during the 1990s, while Morocco has 12 F-16C and nine F-16D fighters, procured during the early 2010s. In 2019 the US approved the conversion of Morocco’s F-16s to the Viper configuration in a near-$1bn deal.
Taiwan’s move to the F-16 Viper standard is being done through the acquisition of 66 new build aircraft, and the gradual upgrade of older models with capabilities fitted to the Block 70/72.
Other countries confirmed to be acquiring the F-16 Viper include Bahrain, Slovakia, and Greece.
