Twenty More F-16D For RSAF
Friday, 21st July 2000
The Singapore Government revealed that it was ordering another twenty F-16D Block 52 under Peace Carvin IV (PC4). The new F-16 will be equipped with the extended spine to accommodate an extensive ECM suite. Deliveries of the aircraft will commence at the end of 2003. The aircraft are powered by the Pratt & Whitney F100-229 engine. All aircraft were received before the end of 2004.
Photo Credit: Flickr.
ECM Suite, located along the fuselage of the F-16D, requires lots of antennae and apertures for the multi-spectrum sensing and jamming hardware. Then there’s all the low-line-loss harnesses and specialized wiring from receiver sets and amplifiers to central processors, etc. running throughout the aircraft. Add up all the weight, complexity, maintenance and inspection required, and internal ECM carriage is costly, during each flight and for every inspection.