GREENVILLE — The first F-16 Block 72 fighter built for the Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF) has completed its maiden flight, opening the next stage of a major program to modernize Morocco’s combat aircraft fleet.
Lockheed Martin announced the milestone on October 6, 2026, confirming that the aircraft will now continue flight testing before its first delivery to Morocco.
The aircraft is a two-seat F-16D and flew from Lockheed Martin’s Greenville production facility in South Carolina.
The flight marks the first time a Block 72 aircraft has taken to the air, making Morocco the launch customer for this particular F-16 configuration.
Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) serves the wider Greenville area, although the fighter’s maiden flight took place at the manufacturer’s facility.
Lockheed Martin moved F-16 final assembly to Greenville from Fort Worth, Texas, creating a South Carolina production center for international customers and helping sustain the program decades after the original fighter entered service. The facility supports international F-16 orders.
Morocco F-16 First Flight Milestone
Morocco became the first customer to select the F-16 Block 72 configuration when the U.S. government approved a possible Foreign Military Sale in March 2019.
The proposed deal covered 25 F-16C/D Block 72 aircraft and related equipment at an estimated value of $3.787 billion.
The package included Pratt & Whitney F100-229 engines, APG-83 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars, modular mission computers, Link 16 systems and modern navigation equipment.
It also included helmet-mounted cueing systems and a range of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons.
The Block 72 shares its major modernization features with the Block 70, but the two configurations use different engines. The Block 72 uses the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229, while the Block 70 uses General Electric’s F110-GE-129.
Advanced F-16 Features And Capabilities
Lockheed Martin describes the F-16 Block 72 as the newest and most advanced version of the Fighting Falcon.
The aircraft incorporates modernized avionics, advanced sensors and upgraded mission systems, alongside improvements intended to enhance safety and reliability.
Morocco’s choice of the Block 72 also fits its existing F-16 fleet. The RMAF already operates F-16C/D Block 52+ aircraft powered by F100 engines, allowing the new fighters to maintain greater commonality with the existing fleet and support infrastructure.
Morocco is also upgrading its existing 23 F-16C/D Block 52+ aircraft to the F-16V configuration, TWZ reported.
Together, the new aircraft and upgraded fighters are expected to give the RMAF a larger fleet based around a substantially modernized F-16 standard.
F-16 Delivery Ahead After Testing
The maiden flight does not mark the end of the production process.
The Moroccan F-16 Block 72 will now continue through flight testing before its first delivery, although Lockheed Martin has not announced a specific delivery date in its October 6 statement.
The first aircraft also represents an important point in the international expansion of the F-16 Block 70/72 family.
Several countries have selected the latest-generation configuration, while Morocco’s aircraft becomes the first Block 72 to reach the flight-test stage.
Morocco’s wider F-16 modernization effort extends beyond aircraft procurement.
Lockheed Martin is working with Moroccan industry on a planned maintenance, repair and overhaul facility at Benslimane that is expected to support aircraft maintenance and could eventually expand to the F-16 fleet.
The first flight therefore represents both a production milestone and a step toward Morocco’s planned expansion of its modern fighter capability.
For the RMAF, the Block 72 program is set to strengthen the role of the F-16 as a central component of its future combat-aircraft fleet.
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