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Aerospace giant Lockheed to produce F-16 jets in SC, hire 300 more workers

Lockheed Martin in Greenville is looking to expand its 700-member workforce by 300 in the next year, the company announced Monday.

The workforce expansion is to produce the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

In May, the U.S. Air Force selected Lockheed Martin in Greenville for its new production line for the F-16, which will be sold to the military in Bahrain, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Taiwan, among others.

The nearly $14 billion contract is for 128 jets and runs through 2026.

Lockheed is looking for airframe and power plant mechanics, avionics technicians, painters, quality inspectors, sheet metal mechanics, tool makers, engineers, planners and supervisors, the company said in a news release.

“Many of these positions are on the leading edge of our digital engineering efforts on our F-16 production line,” said Danya Trent, vice president for the F-16 program.

Lockheed Corp. began in Greenville 35 years ago with 12 employees as a maintenance and modification center.

Lockheed Martin is located at what was once Donaldson Air Force Base, now South Carolina Aviation and Technology Center. Lockheed has delivered about 3,000 aircraft from the Greenville facility, which covers 276 acres and 16 hangars.