Morocco's First F-16 Block 72 Makes Maiden Flight, the First Pratt & Whitney-Powered Viper to Fly

The first F-16 Block 72 has flown. Lockheed Martin announced on October 6, 2026, in a release datelined Greenville, South Carolina, that the Royal Moroccan Air Force's first aircraft of the type had completed its maiden flight. Morocco is the launch customer for the Pratt & Whitney-engined version of the latest-generation Viper, and the aircraft is the first of that version to fly. The company did not give the date of the flight.

The War Zone reported that the jet is a two-seat F-16D and flew from Lockheed Martin's Greenville facility. The aircraft now proceeds through flight testing ahead of its first delivery; Lockheed Martin disclosed no delivery date. "This first flight reflects meaningful progress on Morocco's F-16 Block 72 program," a Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager of its Integrated Fighter Group said in the release. The company describes the Block 72 as the newest and most advanced Fighting Falcon variant.

The Block 72 differs from the Block 70 in its engine. According to The War Zone, the Block 72 uses the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229, while the Block 70 is powered by the General Electric F110-GE-129; the two otherwise share the same major avionics and systems package. Morocco's existing F-16C/D Block 52+ jets also fly on F100 engines. Morocco became the Block 72's launch customer seven years ago, The War Zone noted, and although the variant has been offered to other air forces, every other customer has so far ordered the Block 70. Air forces that have selected the GE-engined version include Bahrain, Bulgaria, Jordan, Peru, the Philippines, Slovakia, Taiwan and Turkey.

The Moroccan program dates to March 2019, when the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified a possible sale of 25 F-16C/D Block 72 aircraft to Morocco, estimated at $3.787 billion, with the AN/APG-83 SABR radar, new mission computers and Link 16, The War Zone recalled. A separate notification the same month covered upgrading Morocco's existing 23 F-16C/D Block 52+ to the F-16V standard.

Lockheed Martin also said it is working with Maintenance Aero Maroc on a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility of more than 8,000 square meters at Benslimane, initially for heavy maintenance of the C-130 Hercules and later for other platforms including the F-16. The company's relationship with Morocco began with the delivery of its first C-130H in 1974.

GlobalMilitary.net's inventory lists the Royal Moroccan Air Force's combat aircraft in service as:

• 23 F-16s
• 25 Mirage F1s
• 22 F-5E Tiger IIs
• 19 Alpha Jets

Morocco ranks 33rd in GlobalMilitary.net's global military power ranking. Once delivered, The War Zone wrote, the new F-16s "will be the spearhead of the country's fighter fleet."

Morocco's jets join a long queue of latest-generation F-16V deliveries. GlobalMilitary.net's tracking of Block 70/72 orders still to be delivered shows Taiwan with 64 aircraft, the Turkish Air Force with 40, Jordan and Peru with 12 each and Bulgaria with 8. Taiwan received its first two new-build Block 70s on October 2. In service, GlobalMilitary.net counts 60 upgraded F-16Vs in Greece, 16 new-build aircraft in Bahrain, 14 in Slovakia and 8 in Bulgaria, plus 140 upgraded F-16A/Bs in Taiwan. Across all versions, about 2,429 F-16s serve with 25 air forces, excluding the separately tracked F-16V upgrades.

The Moroccan aircraft now enters flight testing. Lockheed Martin has not said when the first Block 72 will be handed over.