F-16 Fleet likely will be main stream till 2030 easily
Unlike the smartphones the F-16 is not downloading patches and upgrades
Nor they are running windows xp or Windows 10 , to run main Flying components , which means they will have compatibility issues
Electronic components normally easily have a shelf life
8-15 years
Wiring is 100% replaceable, engine of course has a shelf life or number of hours
Depends on how often you fly the F16 (Servicing / Your ground Engineering Team's effort)
Since the machines are serviced regularly the planes will keep flying easily for 8+ Years
- Should there be V-Pack upgrade on fleet then of course the fleet can easily go 15+ years
- Engine Spares would be idea for keeping the F16 C/D fleet flying optimum levels
Should a Viper Grade Upgrade become available , for the entire fleet with spare engines
then the bird is easily with PAF for long while
Since 2005-2007 deals negotiated by Musharraf Sahib , there has been no substantial progress on the F16 Modernization , only Chatter about possible
F16 Fleet Modernization Package
- However an add of 18 F16-V models would be welcomed
- Upgrade of existing 75 Units , to V standard would be welcomed upgrade
As we know Both Egypt and Turkey fly large fleet of F16 beyond 100 units , so there is no reason why the Pakistani Jet count can't exceed 100 units for F16, recently Turkey has requested more F16 to augment it's fleet, Jordan did also get new F16 announced