Is your garage big enough to hold an F-16? Then you might just be in luck, as one is currently on sale. But let’s get our heads out of the clouds, shall we?
Though we might not afford the Fighting Falcon, someone out there certainly can, and it’ll be off the market pretty soon. As The Drive reports, an F-16A/B air force fighter jet is selling for $8.5 million in Palm Beach, FL.
Combat-Ready
And although fighter jets have been privately sold in the past, this particular one is making headlines because it comes combat-ready, unlike others that come demilitarized. What’s more, the 1980 jet has been modernized to include night vision compatibility, Link16 datalinks, guided weapons software, and a helmet-mounted display for the pilot.
As if that’s not enough, the Fighting Falcon has periodically been updated, enabling it to be in flight for more than 8,000 hours. While the bird is in the air, it can reach heights of 40,000 feet and speeds of up to Mach 2.05, which is about 1,573 MPH.
The F-16 came to everyone’s attention when Jet Lease, a firm whose name explains the nature of its business, posted it on their site. Although they say it’s from Jordan, the combat-ready machine was actually purchased by the Middle Eastern country from Belgium. Between 2008 & 2017, Jordan had been purchasing the fighter jets from both Holland and Belgium.
Despite being on sale, there’s definitely a catch. You don’t expect the firm to sell a fully militarized jet fighter to just anyone, do you? Jet Lease has tailored the sale to target ASPs (Air Service Providers) contracted by the Department of Defense to conduct testing and other services on such aircrafts.
For eligibility of purchase, the potential buyer must have met all requirements subject to the ITAR, i.e., the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The regulatory regime controls and regulates access to weapons and military-related technologies, all in a bid to keep America safe.
A Mini Squadron
Unsurprisingly, the F-16 isn’t the only machine that Jet Lease has on offer. The Drive reveals that the firm has three more similar jets, although they are of the F-16AM/BM Block 20 MLU variants, all imported from Jordan. Collectively, the four jets make a mini squadron of battle-ready F-16s.
So how is it that Jordan is liquidating its F-16 assets? The story goes back to 2008 as already mentioned when the country started buying the jet fighters in bulk. As you may very well know, there is almost always an arms race going on behind the shadows, despite the end of the Cold War.
To try and put a stop to this, NATO came up with peace initiatives that would allow trading of arms between its allies and other countries, dubbed Peace Falcon initiatives. They were all numbered in Roman numerals and the ones between initiative III and VI that Jordan bought were most active.
Now, they feel that the birds they purchased earliest are considerably old, and putting into consideration that they purchased them on a second-hand basis, they have a credible argument. Rather than having them destroyed, the military saw it fit to offload them to other countries that might make good use of them even in their condition.