Lockheed Martin lands $841.9 million Morocco contract

US defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin has been awarded an $841.9 million contract to produce 24 F-16 aircraft for Morocco, which ordered the jets in 2008.  The contract is for production of 24 new F-16 fighters, as well as for electronic warfare gear and support equipment.  The contract builds on an initial $233 million the company received in June 2008 to begin production of the aircraft.  Morocco selected the F-16 in 2007. The Rafale jet produced by French company Dassault was among those competing for the contract.  Morocco is the 25th nation to buy the F-16, which is the most widely flown jet fighter in the world. The company has delivered over 4,400 of the aircraft worldwide, with the most recent orders coming from Turkey, Greece and Pakistan.  The total value of the contract between the US and Morocco is estimated at around $2.4 billion dollars, not all of which will be handled by Lockheed.  Other firms that manufacture or supply parts and equipment or that can train technicians will also share in the contract.  Lockheed employs around 2,100 workers in Fort Worth, Texas and is building the F-16 at a rate of about two planes per month.  The companyÔÇÖs order backlog for the aircraft extends until 2012. Lockheed has said it expects to land significant additional foreign orders going forward.  Lockheed also won two Air Force contracts worth a total of $25.1 million for services and IT training support, the Defense Department said Tuesday. One of the contracts, worth $14.5 million, is for operations and maintenance at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. The other is a $10.6 million contract to support training devices for database generation, engineering support and courseware development and instruction for Hill Air Force Base in Utah. Lockheed Martin was formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed with Martin Marietta. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, the company employs 146,000 people worldwide.  It is the largest defense contractor in the world by revenue.  *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *