prompting the Air Wing to choose the F-5 instead as initial jet equipment. Once this limit was removed, an order for a dozen F-16C/D Fighting Falcons was placed under the Peace Crown program. Deliveries commenced on 23 May 1990, just before the country became involved in the Gulf War. The new F-16 unit was based at the newly constructed Sheik Isa Air Base alongside the F-5s. A second batch of ten F-16s commenced delivery in 2000 under the Peace Crown II program. The new aircraft represented a further increase in the air force's combat capabilities, as they were equipped to carry the AMRAAM missile, first used by the USAF in 1992. Air-to-air armament had been limited to the short-range AIM-9M Sidewinder missile and internal cannon through the Gulf War. After the war, the country began to acquire more advanced weapons, including the AIM-7M Sparrow radar-guided air-to-air missile and LANTIRN navigation and targeting pod for air-to-ground weapons that would also be acquired such as the GBU-10/12 laser guided bombs and AGM-65D/G Maverick air-to-ground missiles. In July 2000, Bahrain signed a deal with BAE Systems to establish a pilot academy based around the Hawk Trainer, similar to the NFTC in Canada. Subsequently, orders were placed for Slingsby T67 Firefly and BAE Hawk trainers. The first trainers were delivered in October 2006. Upgrade of the helicopter force has included new utility transports, and on 19 June 2007, Bahrain signed a letter of offer and acceptance for nine UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters to be purchased as part of the Foreign Military Sales program through the United States Army. These are designated for use in a variety of roles, including combat search and rescue. They were the international launch customer for the UH-60M variant of the venerable S-70 helicopter family. Deliveries commenced on 1 December 2009 A single Sikorsky S-92 VVIP helicopter was purchased by the Air Force in 2007 and placed in service with the Bahrain Royal Flight. In 2018, Lockheed Martin was awarded a $1.1 billion contract to produce 16 F-16 Viper Block 70 fighter aircraft for Bahrain, the U.S. Department of Defense said in a release. Work under the $1,124,545,002 fixed-price-incentive-firm contract is expected to be complete by 30 September 2023, the Friday, 22 June release said. In October, the government of Bahrain announced that it had finalized a $3.8 billion deal with Lockheed for the F-16 purchase. Bahrain Royal Air Force