Ceremonies were held yesterday at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas, to commemorate the F-16 Peace Xenia IV program for Greece. This F-16 acquisition is the fourth for the Hellenic Air Force (HAF) and the nation of Greece. Lt. Gen. Ioannis Giagkos, chief of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff, accepted the first Peace Xenia IV F-16 Block 52 advanced aircraft on behalf of his nation and expressed satisfaction with its timely delivery.

The Peace Xenia IV purchase program raises the total fighters ordered by the HAF to 170. The aircraft rolled out today is the first of 30 Block 52 Advanced F-16s being produced in the newest lot. The HAF received the F-16 Block 30 version starting in 1988, the Block 50 version starting in 1997 and the Block 52+ version in 2003. Greece has been a Lockheed Martin customer since 1943, when it acquired its first squadron of Martin A-30 Baltimore Mk III, IV and Vs.

The Peace Xenia IV program includes 20 F-16Cs and 10 F-16Ds, all powered by the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 engine. This first aircraft – a single-seat F-16C model – was accepted by the U.S. government (as agent for Greece in the Foreign Military Sales process) in January 2009, one month ahead of schedule. The U.S. government also accepted the first two-seat F-16D version in January. The first four aircraft will be ferried to Greece in May with the remainder following in 2009 and 2010.