Lockheed Martin announced on 6 October that Morocco’s first F-16 Block 72 had successfully completed its first flight. The manufacturer said the aircraft was progressing through flight testing toward its first delivery to the Royal Moroccan Air Force.
The milestone concerns testing, rather than a completed handover or entry into operational service. Lockheed Martin did not give a delivery date in the announcement. Its description of the aircraft’s avionics, sensors and mission systems places the flight within Morocco’s fighter-modernisation programme, with further testing still ahead of delivery.
The company also linked the announcement to a broader maintenance partnership. It described an upcoming Maintenance Aero Maroc facility in Benslimane, covering more than 8,000 square metres, intended for heavy C-130 maintenance and modernisation. Plans include extending its capabilities to F-16 support.
That proposed expansion is separate from the first-flight milestone. The release presents the maintenance facility as upcoming and its F-16 work as a plan, rather than an existing capability.