US Air Force Receives Last F-16 Fighter

The US Air Force has received the last of 2,231 F-16 fighters manufactured for the service, the Air Force's Aeronautical Systems Center announced on Thursday. The last F-16 Fighting Falcon, produced by the Lockheed Martin Corp., was delivered last Friday by Jeff Riemer, director of operations at the Air Force Materiel Command headquarters, who flew the jet fighter from the Lockheed Martin plant in Fort Worth,Texas, to Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. Originally designed as a lightweight, daytime interceptor, the F-16 Fighting Falcon has been transformed over the last 20 years into a multi-role, all weather, air-to-air and air-to-ground attack weapon system, said Dan Mahrer, the F-16 production program manager. The first delivery of F-16 fighters to the US Air Forces was made in 1978. The manufacturer, Lockheed Martin Corp., will continue to produce F-16s for international coalition partners, officials said.Enditem F-16 Fighter