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U.S. delivers 18 F-16 aircraft to Pakistan

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, June 26, IRNA -- The U.S. Air Force is set to deliver the first of 18 new F-16 Fighting Falcon jet fighters to the Pakistani Air Force in a sign of deepening relations between the United States and Pakistan, the U.S. embassy said Friday.

Three F-16s are scheduled to arrive in Pakistan on June 26, with 15 more to be delivered later this year and next, said Air Force Maj. Todd Robbins, the Pakistan country director in the U.S. office of the undersecretary of the Air Force for international affairs.

This sale of F-16s to Pakistan renews new aircraft sales that existed between the United States and Pakistan in the 1980s, but were halted in the 1990s.

The F-16 is a multirole jet fighter sold to 24 countries around the world, according to its manufacturer, Lockheed Martin.

The 18 being sold to Pakistan are the Block 52 versions of the aircraft, Robbins said, which will give Pakistan new capabilities, including day-night, all-weather and precision-attack capabilities.

Pakistan is paying $1.4 billion for the 18 new aircraft, in addition to $1.3 billion in upgrades to its existing F-16 fleet, which are to begin being delivered in 2012, Robbins said.

“They’ve not had [these capabilities] before, so this is a major milestone in the U.S. providing this capability, which older models [of F-16s] don’t have,” he said. “This will enable them to strike terrorists within their borders while helping them to avoid collateral damage. It’s an increase in capabilities that are beneficial to us all.”

The Air Force also is training Pakistan air force pilots. The first eight recently completed training with the Arizona National Guard in Tucson, with additional training done by Lockheed Martin, Robbins said. The Air Force also is training Pakistanis in night-attack training and recently completed training for four instructors and five flight leads, he said.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and other U.S. military and civilian leaders have spoken out about “not repeating the mistakes” of the U.S. halt in relations with Pakistan in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the embassy statement said.