Since 1976, 4,588 F-16s have been manufactured; approximately 3,000 of them are still in service in 25 countries.
On April 23, 2016, Lockheed Martin hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to christen a new F-16 production line in Greenville, South Carolina.
The F-16 tooling and equipment were moved from the company’s production line in Fort Worth, Texas. Up until November 2017, the Texas-based facility had made F-16s since 1977.
The line in Fort Worth produced 3,620 F-16s and Lockheed Martin hopes to continue the tradition in a refurbished hangar in Greenville. The company plans to begin manufacturing F-16 Block 70 aircraft sometime this year.
The facility in Fort Worth has shifted focus to F-35 production.
At the ribbon cutting ceremony, Governor Henry McMaster said that 400 aerospace companies are currently operating in South Carolina. The industry employs more than 22,000 people and last year exported approximately $7.9 billion in aircraft (the fifth highest in the nation).
Lockheed will add 400 new jobs to support the F-16 production line.
According to the company, a large amount of F-16 production happens in the supply chain, which includes more than 400 U.S. suppliers spanning 41 states.
In June 2018, Lockheed received a $1.12 billion contract from the U.S government to manufacture 16 new aircraft for the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Demand has continued as Slovakia ordered 14 back F-16s in December and Bulgaria is currently negotiating with the U.S. government to acquire the aircraft as well.