In May 2021, the United States Air Force awarded a $14 billion (~$ in ) contract to Lockheed Martin to build new 128 Block 70/72 F-16V fighter jets on behalf of Bahrain, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Taiwan, Morocco and Jordan through 2026. ===
Royal Bahraini Air Force === In September 2017, the U.S. Department of State approved a Foreign Military Sale to Bahrain for 19 new-build F-16V and upgrade its 20 existing F-16C/D Block 40 to F-16V standard. In June 2018,
Bahrain finalized its order for 16 new-build F-16V. On 8 March 2024, Bahrain received its first batch of F-16 Block 70. ===
Hellenic Air Force === In October 2017, the U.S. approved the sale of 123 upgrade kits to
Greece to bring their existing F-16C and D fighters up to the new F-16 Block 72 standard. On 28 April 2018, Greece decided to upgrade 84 aircraft. ===
Slovak Air Force === arrives at
Malacky Air Base In April 2018, the U.s. Department of State approved a Foreign Military Sale to
Slovakia for 14 new F-16Vs, pending approval from U.S. Congress. The Defence Ministry of Slovakia announced on 11 July 2018 that it intends to purchase 14 F-16 Block 70 aircraft from Lockheed Martin to replace its aging fleet of Mikoyan MiG-29s. The package, which includes armament and training, is worth €1.58 billion ($1.8 billion), and is Slovakia's largest military purchase in modern history. Defence Minister
Peter Gajdoš signed the contract with Lockheed Martin representative Ana Wugofski in a press conference at the capital Bratislava on 12 December 2018, after the government approved the purchase. The first completed jet was unveiled by the manufacturer on 7 September 2023, and first two aircraft were delivered to Slovakia on 22 July 2024. ===
Bulgarian Air Force === In December 2018,
Bulgaria chose sixteen F-16 C/D Block 70/72 as replacements for MiG-29s. On 10 July 2019, Bulgaria approved the purchase of eight F-16 Block 70/72 for $1.25 billion (~$ in ). The U.S. Department of State approved the sale of eight F-16 Block 70s to Bulgaria, and the deal was approved by the Bulgarian parliament, and President
Rumen Radev. On 4 November 2022, the Bulgarian parliament approved the purchase of 8 more F-16 C/D Block 70/72 fighters along with spares, weapons and other systems for $1.3 billion with delivery in 2027. On 13 April 2025, Bulgaria received its first F-16 C Block 70 jet. ===
Taiwanese Air Force === On 27 February 2019, Taiwan requested to buy 66 new F-16 Block 70/72 airframes for an approximate $13 billion (~$ in ) as replacement for their aging
Mirage 2000 and
F-5 fighters. On 16 August 2019, the U.S. Department of State submitted the package to Congress, total package worth $8 billion (~$ in ) for 66 F-16 Block 70 and other spare parts. On 13 December 2019, the US and
Taiwan finalized the F-16V order. On 14 August 2020, Taiwan formally signed an agreement to buy 66 F-16V jets built by Lockheed Martin. On 18 November 2021, Taiwan commissioned the first F-16V Viper combat wing (upgraded fleet to Block 72). On 28 March 2025, Lockheed Martin unveiled the first newly built F-16 Block 70 jet for Taiwan. ===
Royal Moroccan Air Force === On 25 March 2019, the U.S. Department of Defense announced approvals for two sets of foreign military sales of F-16V hardware to
Morocco; one for upgrading its existing 23 F-16s to the F-16V configuration, valued at $985.2 million; and the second for a batch of 25 new Block 72 airframes, 29 new engines, a package of precision-guided munitions, and training valued at $3.787 billion. ===
Royal Jordanian Air Force === On 3 March 2020, It was announced that instead of upgrading,
Royal Jordanian Air Force is now looking to buy the latest
F-16 Block 70/72 model to replace its current fleet of older F-16s. As early as September 2017, the Royal Jordanian Air Force was working with the
U.S. Air Force Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), based at
Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, to begin the Viper Block-70 operational upgrade program. This study is still under way, but it is unclear whether, and when, it will apply where necessary congressional approvals are needed to sell these possibilities to Jordan. ===
Turkish Air Force === On 30 September 2021,
Turkey sent a formal request to the United States to purchase 40 new F-16 Block 70/72 aircraft and nearly 80 kits to modernize its
F-16C/D fighters to F-16 Block 70/72 variant. Turkey later cancelled the upgrade kits from the deal and decided to modernize F-16s locally. ===
Polish Air Force === On 13 August 2025,
Poland signed a deal of $3.8 billion to upgrade its 48 F-16C/D Block 52+ to the Viper variant F-16 Block 72.
Potential operators Philippines In 2021, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency approved the
Philippines' purchase of 12 F-16s worth an estimated US$2.43 billion. However, the Philippines has yet to complete this deal due to financial constraints with negotiations ongoing. In April 2025, the possible sale of 20 F-16s were approved, upgrading the previous approval made by DSCA. It was reported in May 2025 that Lockheed Martin was interested in developing a facility similar to the Center for Innovation and Security Solutions in
Abu Dhabi, depending on the success of the F-16s being sold.
Vietnam In 2025, multiple news channels reported that Vietnam is finalizing an agreement to purchase at least 24 F-16s, possibly the F-16V variant.
Peru In July 2025, the
Peruvian Air Force (FAP) announced that it will acquire 24 multirole fighters (20 single-seat aircraft and 4 twin-seat aircraft) for a total of US$3.5 billion to renew its aging fleet of
Mirage 2000P,
MiG-29 and
Sukhoi Su-25. The candidates are the American F-16 Viper, the French
Rafale F4 and the Swedish
Gripen E/F. The agreement is scheduled to be signed in mid-June 2026; however, President
José María Balcázar indicated that the decision would favor the U.S. fighters. ==Operators==