General Dynamics Corporation and Subsidiaries - Page 24

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          the deviation was cured.  In other cases, the Air Force would               
          accept the aircraft “as is” but require an adjustment of the                
          price.                                                                      
               Throughout the performance of Contract 2034, the F-16                  
          underwent significant technological evolution.  Aircraft                    
          manufactured later in time included the incorporation of systems            
          and features that were not available on earlier aircraft.  To               
          distinguish aircraft with different capabilities and                        
          configurations, GENDYN designated each F-16 as belonging to a               
          particular “block”.  The first production F-16's belonged to                
          Block 1.  The higher the block number, the newer and more                   
          sophisticated the aircraft.  Design changes within a block of               
          F-16's sometimes resulted in the designation of “miniblocks”.               
          Even within miniblocks, however, few F-16's, perhaps only two or            
          three, were virtually identical.                                            
               The aircraft sold to the Air Force under Contract 2034                 
          belonged to Blocks 15, 25, and 30.  In Block 15, GENDYN                     
          redesigned certain components of the F-16 to accept the advanced            
          electronics and avionics systems that were then being developed             
          under MSIP.  The changes that were introduced in Block 15 were so           
          significant that aircraft manufactured as part of the immediately           
          preceding Block 10 could not be upgraded to the Block 15                    
          capability.  One of the major changes in Block 15 was a redesign            
          of the F-16's wiring and cooling systems to support a new, more             
          advanced radar system that was still under development.                     



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