{"id":62168,"date":"2018-06-25T19:03:55","date_gmt":"2018-06-25T19:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/06\/25\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:42:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:42:01","slug":"new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/06\/25\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\/","title":{"rendered":"New F-16s are headed to Bahrain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2015 Lockheed Martin has received a $1.12 billion contract to produce new F-16 fighter jets for the Royal Bahraini Air Force, the company said in a news release Monday. The sale makes Bahrain the first country to procure the newest configuration of the Fighting Falcon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The F-16V Block 70 is the latest variant of the fourth-generation, multirole fighter. It improves upon previous models through the incorporation of technology and software unavailable when earlier blocks were manufactured, particularly the advanced AN\/APG-83 active electronically scanned array radar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Lockheed, the radar \u201cdelivers greater situational awareness, flexibility and quicker all-weather targeting\u201d and offers \u201cdigital map displays that can be tailored with slew and zoom features.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The latest fourth-gen aircraft combines capability upgrades such as avionics architecture and structural upgrades to extend the life of the aircraft by more than 50 percent beyond that of previous production F-16s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lockheed will produce 16 aircraft at its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2018\/01\/19\/lockheed-keeps-f-16-production-line-going-with-bahrain-deal\/\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\">new production line<\/a> in Greenville, South Carolina, the first F-16 production program to be performed at the facility. Lockheed expects the work will generate between 150 and 200 new jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe value our long-standing relationship with the Kingdom of Bahrain and look forward to beginning production activities on their first Block 70 aircraft at our facility in Greenville,\u201d said Susan Ouzts, vice president of Lockheed Martin\u2019s F-16 program. \u201cThis sale highlights the significant, growing demand we see for new production F-16s around the globe.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/industry\/2018\/05\/01\/lockheed-opens-new-f-35-facility\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lockheed-Pinellas-Park-edit.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Lockheed opens new F-35 facility<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The facility will join more than 1,500 suppliers in 46 states and Puerto Rico supporting the F-35 program.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although the number of aircraft included the sale was reduced from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/mideast-africa\/2017\/09\/11\/state-clears-4b-in-long-awaited-weapons-for-bahrain\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">an original total of 19 to 16 units<\/a> due to cost-reduction policy, the sale \u201cwould save the shrinking F-16 line,\u201d a Bahraini military source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The source described the sale to Bahrain as \u201cLockheed\u2019s pass to keep its F-16 production line open for the next three to five years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In return, the Royal Bahraini Air Force is in a crucial need of upgrading its fleet to keep up with other Gulf nations, the source added. \u201cIt\u2019s a win-win situation; Bahrain needs the F-16, and the F-16 needs Bahrain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This purchase allows Bahrain to keep pace with other regional competitors such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/dubai-air-show\/2017\/11\/09\/middle-east-fighter-jet-sales-to-surge-over-the-next-5-years\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Saudi Arabia and Qatar<\/a>, as deals for fighter jets in the Middle East are expected to eclipse $22 billion over the next decade, according to Derek Bisaccio, an aerospace expert with Forecast International. That figure could double if additional services such as spare parts, training and maintenance are included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> <i>Chirine Mouchantaf and Valerie Insinna contributed to this report.<\/i><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The sale makes Bahrain the first country to procure the newest configuration of the Fighting Falcon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":50509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[7,160,11,12,47,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1233],"class_list":["post-62168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-industry","category-mideast-africa","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"KKV37G6Z3BD2BL54K7XMASERDM","arc_canonical_url":"\/air\/2018\/06\/25\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>New F-16s are headed to Bahrain - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The sale makes Bahrain the first country to procure the newest configuration of the Fighting Falcon.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New F-16s are headed to Bahrain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The sale makes Bahrain the first country to procure the newest configuration of the Fighting Falcon.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/06\/25\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-06-25T19:03:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T00:42:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Daniel Cebul\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Daniel Cebul\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/25\\\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/25\\\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"New F-16s are headed to Bahrain\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2018-06-25T19:03:55+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:42:01+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/25\\\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 415,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/25\\\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/14171151915_c52e0e0f3f_k.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Air Warfare\",\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Global\",\n\t                \"Industry\",\n\t                \"Mideast Africa\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/25\\\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/25\\\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/25\\\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"New F-16s are headed to Bahrain - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/25\\\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/25\\\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/14171151915_c52e0e0f3f_k.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2018-06-25T19:03:55+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:42:01+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The sale makes Bahrain the first country to procure the newest configuration of the Fighting Falcon.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/25\\\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/25\\\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/25\\\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/14171151915_c52e0e0f3f_k.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/14171151915_c52e0e0f3f_k.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/25\\\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Newsletters\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/newsletters\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"newsletters\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/newsletters\\\/daily-news-roundup\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"daily-news-roundup\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"New F-16s are headed to Bahrain\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New F-16s are headed to Bahrain - Defense News","description":"The sale makes Bahrain the first country to procure the newest configuration of the Fighting Falcon.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New F-16s are headed to Bahrain","og_description":"The sale makes Bahrain the first country to procure the newest configuration of the Fighting Falcon.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/06\/25\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2018-06-25T19:03:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T00:42:01+00:00","author":"Daniel Cebul","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Daniel Cebul","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/06\/25\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/06\/25\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"New F-16s are headed to Bahrain","datePublished":"2018-06-25T19:03:55+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T00:42:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/06\/25\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\/"},"wordCount":415,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/06\/25\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/14171151915_c52e0e0f3f_k.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Air Warfare","Daily News Roundup","Global","Industry","Mideast Africa","Newsletters"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/06\/25\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/06\/25\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/06\/25\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\/","name":"New F-16s are headed to Bahrain - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/06\/25\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/06\/25\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/14171151915_c52e0e0f3f_k.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2018-06-25T19:03:55+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T00:42:01+00:00","description":"The sale makes Bahrain the first country to procure the newest configuration of the Fighting Falcon.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/06\/25\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/06\/25\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/06\/25\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/14171151915_c52e0e0f3f_k.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/14171151915_c52e0e0f3f_k.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/06\/25\/new-f-16s-are-headed-to-bahrain\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Newsletters","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/newsletters\/","ad_zone":"newsletters"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Daily News Roundup","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/newsletters\/daily-news-roundup\/","ad_zone":"daily-news-roundup"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"New F-16s are headed to Bahrain"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/14171151915_c52e0e0f3f_k.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62168"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62173,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62168\/revisions\/62173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62168"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=62168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}