U.S. Air Force reviewing new F-16 to close a gap with F-35

Lockheed Martin is pitching the U.S. Air Force on a new version of the F-16 fighter, designated the F-16G, as a way to replace aging Fighting Falcons faster than the F-35 production line can keep up.

Multiple people familiar with the aircraft told Aviation Week that the F-16G builds on the current Block 70 F-16, Lockheed’s newest production version, and would add conformal fuel tanks, 600-gallon wing tanks, an infrared search and track pod, a Sniper targeting pod and a drag chute. Those additions would extend the jet’s range and give it added sensor capability compared with earlier F-16 models still flying in Air Force squadrons.

The idea of buying new F-16s to fill out the fighter fleet is not new. Then-Air Force Assistant Secretary for Acquisition Will Roper raised the option back in 2021, pointing to the active F-16 production line in Greenville, South Carolina, as a way to add capacity while the F-35 program worked through its own delivery pace. Lockheed builds F-16s and F-35s at separate facilities, but the F-35’s more complex production process has left the Air Force short of new airframes to replace F-16s reaching the end of their service lives.

Lockheed Martin would not confirm details about the F-16G when asked on Sept. 16. The company said only that it remains ready to support the Air Force’s mission needs and described its aircraft as central to the service’s fleet. The Air Force likewise declined to comment on the F-16G specifically, saying it is still in the early stages of reviewing options for its next Future Years Defense Program and has not yet settled on requirements.

The push comes after a 2025 Air Force study identified a need for more fighter production to close a growing capacity gap. The Congressional Research Service says the service wants to grow its fighter inventory from 1,098 aircraft in fiscal 2026 to 1,558 by fiscal 2035, a target the Air Force has described as necessary to keep risk to its operations at an acceptable level under the National Military Strategy.

Other outlets have reported similar signals in recent months. Inside Defense reported in December 2025 that the Air Force was considering a new F-16 variant as a lower-cost way to fill capability gaps than buying more F-35s, and Air and Space Forces Magazine has reported that the F-16G is expected to come up for discussion at an upcoming Corona conference, the periodic gathering of the service’s top generals.

Neither the Air Force nor Lockheed Martin has said when a decision on the F-16G might come, or how many aircraft such a program could involve.