Slovakia is set to become the first European operator of the Block 70-configured jets, initially agreeing to a 14 aircraft order for €1.58 billion ($1.8 billion) in December 2018.
The new Viper Shield electronic warfare suite, meant to help foreign F-16 customers fend off modern EW threats, will be ready for production in late 2025, L3Harris told Breaking Defense in Dubai.
Though the delay does not fundamentally threaten Sweden’s membership, it could raise concerns among NATO partners that Turkey will use it as a bargaining chip to elicit new political or military concessions.
UK armed forces minister James Heappey told lawmakers the UK was investigating giving Typhoons to countries that give MiGs to Ukraine, but experts said it's unclear how the MiGs could change the war and if any other countries would really want the Typhoons in the first place.
"The purchase of these block 70 F-16s will essentially double the size of Bahrain's F-16 fleet and represents a significant upgrade in their force size," said senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at RANE Network Ryan Bohl.
The US State Department approved the deal in February, saying the planes and associated equipment would cost some $4.21 billion.