US fighter aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin is sweetening its offer to the Philippines, in an attempt to secure a contract covering dozens of new tactical jets.
Lockheed has offered its latest F-16 Block 70 to Manila, which in 2024 announced it would seek to expand its combat fleet beyond the 12 Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 light-attack fighters currently operated by the Philippine air force.
Manila is considering a buy of up to 36 jets, with options including the Saab Gripen E/F, the developmental KAI KF-21 and Lockheed’s hot production F-16.
In addition to the modernised Block 70 configuration of the combat-proven fighter, Lockheed has previously offered to include conformal fuel tanks that significantly increase the range of the single-engined F-16.
Now, the company is expanding its industrial collaboration package, offering what it calls a “strategic partnership” between the USA’s Southern Methodist University and domestic universities and companies in the Philippines.
Such a partnership would “drive digital innovation, intellectual property creation, and workforce development” within the strategically located archipelagic country, Lockheed says.
Jess Koloini, Lockheed’s head of F-16 business development, says the knowledge transfer will also support Manila’s goals of developing a so-called “self-reliant defence posture”.
“We are committed to investing in the development of new capabilities and intellectual properties in close collaboration with leading universities and companies in the Philippines,” Koloini says.
Among the benefits on offer are funding for new business incubation and academic programmes, and the creation of a new research lab and training space that will allow Filipino workers to “develop innovative solutions and prototypes that can be applied in various industries”.
Southern Methodist University, located in Dallas, Texas, is home to the Center for Digital and Human-Augmented Manufacturing, which Lockheed says can help the Philippines expand its domestic capacity for research and development in the areas of digital modelling, simulations, virtual and augmented reality, robotics, automation and artificial intelligence.
In April, US export regulators approved the sale of the F-16 Block 70 to the Philippines, along with a package of armaments, through the Pentagon’s Foreign Military Sales system.
Lockheed Martin assembles new F-16s in Greenville, South Carolina.
The company has a current orders backlog of 110 Block 70/72 F-16s.
