Posted on 01/01/2008 9:30:37 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
US awards contract for F-16 supply to Pakistan
By Our Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Jan 1: The US Defence Department has awarded a $498.2 million contract to Lockheed Martin Corp to supply 18 F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan.
The decision is in line with a senior US official’s assertion that the Congressional restrictions on providing $50 million in military aid to Pakistan would not affect the sales of F-16 aircraft.
“The F-16 programme is a Pakistani purchase, their money, they’re buying them,” said Richard Boucher, assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs. “And our foreign military finance, our military assistance goes for different purposes and is not involved at this point in the F-16 sales.”
On Monday, the Pentagon released a list of defence contract awards, which include an authorisation for Lockheed to sell 12 F-16C and six F-16D planes to Pakistan.
The F-16C is a single-seat aircraft while the F-16D is a two-seat flying machine. Pakistan already has a fleet of F-16AM, which is an upgraded single-seat version of F-16A.
During the Soviet-Afghan war, Pakistan Air Force’s F-16s shot down at least 10 Afghan and Soviet ground attack and transport aircraft between 1986 and 1988.Pakistan is to get 18 new F-16C/D fighters by 2010 besides upgrades for its current fleet of 34 F-16 combat aircraft as part of a $2.1 billion deal for new weapons, avionics, engines, and other equipment for F-16 fighters announced in September last year.
Lockheed, the Pentagon’s No. 1 contractor, won a $144 million contract in 2006 for materials needed to build the F-16s.
Pakistani F-16s will be equipped with AIM-120C-5 AMRAAM, AIM-9M-8/9, JDAM, Harpoon Block II, Joint-Helmet Mounted Cueing System, CFTs and possibly IRIS-T.
All 18 new aircraft will come from Block 50-52, first delivered to the US Air Force in late 1991.
500 AMRAAMs to destroy Osama's flying carpets....
Conformal fuel tanks to extend the range to hit targets 1 hour away from base.......
Some very interesting systems that the Pakis are getting to fight terror.
ping
No comment.
Given recent headlines, maybe Israel?
How about pawning some of the goodies to their best pal-the People’s Republic of China.The Chinese J-10 & FC-1 fighter programmes are supposed to have been designed in part by Israeli,Russian,American & Pakistani help(by leasing 1 or 2 F-16As in the late 80s).Now how poetic would it be for one of those AMRAAMs to be copied & used by the Chicoms against American or Taiwanese pilots.
About their own money,Pakistan has been getting over a billion dollars worth of US mil-aid every year since cooperation restarted.These have primarily been for anti-terror systems & training,but it frees up funds for purchases like this.
....
& US aid helps Pakistan buy far ,far more from China.This report quotes the Pakistani aiforce chief as saying that they plan to buy close to 300 Chinese warplanes by 2015+-
http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=6815
So in answer for your last point,partially subsidised American weaponry to Pakistan helps China in more ways than one.
You’d think the nitwits would have waited until AFTER the Pakistani elections.
Never trust an Islamic state...never
Enough said
Anyone consider that these same weapons could fall into enemy hands after a single successful assassination attempt?
Textbook slippery-slope fallacy. So listen, faced with shutting down the F-16 line, how many are you willing to purchase?
Seling strategic weapons to a failing, terrorist infested state is a BAD idea.
Hopefully they have a kill switch and we won’t actually deliver them until the chaos over there works out - we don’t want a nuke coming back on our own planes.
The killswitch exists only in Star Trek.
It's too early for me to clear up the fundamental economic misconception behind the statement above. I thought the object of the game is to keep our military-industrial complex operating.
Don’t worry-the F-16s are about taking the Yankees for a ride.The Chinese will provide the real firepower & that too in bulk.
One more thing. An F-16 is not a “strategic” weapon. It is a “tactical” weapon.
The F-16’s market will decrease & virtually become non-existent by 2012(unless,ironically it wins an Indian airforce order) when a series of newer aircraft from the US & Europe will be fully available.Even if Pakistan buys the 18 F-16s it has ordered & takes the option for 18 more,that will barely take production till 2010.
An F-16 equipped with conformal fuel tanks(extending range by 40%) as well as a complete air to air & air to ground capability will give Pakistan it’s most potent airborne nuclear strike platform.I don’t call that tactical.
It was also a good episode of The X-Files.
Pakistan has no tankers. See the info below for combat radius. Who will they nuke? Can’t get to Israel. Some place in India or Western China?
Combat Radius [F-16C] 740 nm (1,370 km)
- w/ 2 2,000-lb bombs + 2 AIM-9 + 1,040 US gal external tanks 340 nm (630 km)
- w/ 4 2,000-lb bombs + 2 AIM-9 + 340 US gal external tanks
- 200 nm (370 km) + 2 hr 10 min patrol
w/ 2 AIM-7 + 2 AIM-9 + 1,040 US gal external tanks
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