Vietnam has reached an agreement with the United States to buy F-16V fighter jets, citing industry representatives and a former U.S. government official.
Hanoi will acquire at least 24 Lockheed Martin single-engine fighters, which, combined with other U.S. military equipment, could amount to the biggest defense deal between the two countries ever, 19FortyFive said Saturday. The site said it is likely Hanoi will opt for the F-16 V model, which Lockheed calls the most advanced fourth-generation fighter.
Vietnam’s MoD said in a statement that the country rejected Russia’s offer to buy Su-57 and Su-75 fighter jets for not having an AESA radar and sensor suites.
The variant being proposed is reportedly the F-16 Block 70 “Viper,” the most advanced production version to date, equipped with cutting-edge avionics, an AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar, upgraded mission computers, improved cockpit ergonomics, and compatibility with advanced air-to-air and air-to-ground weaponry.
The U.S. is also considering selling Lockheed Martin’s Hercules C-130 military transport plane to Vietnam, according to Reuters news agency. The U.S. lifted a longstanding arms embargo on its former enemy Vietnam in 2016.
In 2022, Hanoi said it was ready to reduce its heavy reliance on Russian arms, which accounted for around 80% of total weapons imports at the time.
A year later, during then-President Joe Biden’s visit to Hanoi, Vietnam and the U.S. began talking in earnest about a major deal.
It may have come to fruition this month, after Vietnam scrambled to cut its record trade surplus with the U.S. in the face of threatened 46% tariffs.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said earlier in April that Vietnam would buy more American weapons as part of addressing the trade imbalance between the two countries.
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The Vietnamese foreign ministry did not answer Radio Free Asia’s calls about the reported F-16 deal. An email to the U.S. State Department was unanswered at the time of publication.
US military trainers
In November last year, Vietnam received delivery of five Beechcraft single engine turboprop aircraft, the first batch of 12 ordered from the U.S.
The planes, built by Textron Aviation, are used to train fighter jet pilots, which sparked speculation a deal on the F-16 was close.
Russia has supplied most of Vietnam’s military planes, including 35 Sukhoi Su-30s and more than 30 Su-22s but there has been growing concern about safety and maintenance of the ageing fleet.
At the start of last year, a Vietnam Air Force Su-22 tactical fighter-bomber lost control and crashed during a routine training flight in Quang Nam province.
In November, a Russian Yak-130 training aircraft exploded mid-air in Binh Dinh province. Its two pilots ejected and survived.
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