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The Biden administration approves a $450 million deal to equip Pakistan’s F-16 fighter jets.

The planned sale, according to the Pentagon, "significantly enhances Pakistan's capacity to support counterterrorism operations through its formidable air-to-ground capability."

In New Delhi: According to a statement from the Pentagon, the Biden administration in the US has approved the potential sale of sustainment and related equipment for the modernization of Pakistan’s F-16 fighter aircraft fleet in a deal worth up to $450 million.

Despite Pakistan having a bigger number of JF-17s, the sale would not include “any new capabilities, armaments, or munitions” for the aircraft, which is its air force’s primary fighter.

Pakistan had targeted India with the same aircraft in 2019 following the Balakot attack, using AIM-120 C-5 AMRAAMs (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile), that were supplied by the United States to shoot down then Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s MiG 21 Bison.

These missiles were more capable than the medium range R-77 employed at the time by the Su-30 MKI and the MICA used at the time by the Mirages of the Indian Air Force.

After Pakistan sought to combine previous F-16 sustainment and support cases in order to support maintaining the F-16 fleet of the Pakistan Air Force, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency supplied the necessary certification alerting the US Congress of the potential sale on Wednesday.

The upgrade includes engineering, technical, and logistical support for Pakistan’s F-16 aircraft from the US government and contractors. Additionally, it covers the repair and return of jets and engine spares, modifications to aircraft and engine hardware and software, support for both classified and unclassified software, and software support, among other things.

The Pentagon statement also stated that by enabling Pakistan to “maintain interoperability with US and partner forces” in ongoing counterterrorism initiatives and in preparation for upcoming contingency operations, this proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security goals of the United States.

Additionally, it was stated that the proposed sale will maintain Pakistan’s F-16 fleet, which “significantly enhances Pakistan’s ability to support counterterrorism operations with its formidable air-to-ground capability.”

The F-16s of Pakistan have a rich history.
Despite Pakistan’s explicit backing for the Taliban and the Haqqani network and its use of terrorism as a form of state policy against India, the US military has been providing assistance to Pakistan since the 1980s by selling and upgrading F-16s.

In the wake of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the US decided to sell Pakistan F-16 jets in 1981.

The plan was to employ these aircraft to combat Soviet and Afghan jets that occasionally flew across the border to destroy mujahideen training facilities. According to the foreign policy and national security website War on the Rocks, Pakistani F-16s shot down at least 10 Soviet and Afghan aeroplanes, helicopters, and transport planes between 1986 and 1990.

However, the deal failed in the 1990s as a result of American worries about Pakistan’s nuclear programme, which caused Washington to delay the delivery of 28 F-16s that Pakistan had paid roughly $658 million for.

After 9/11, everything changed once more when Pakistan joined the American fight on terrorism. For about $1.4 billion, the US once more sold 18 upgraded Block 52 F-16s together with targeting and electronic warfare pods.

In addition, the US provided 53 Pakistani F-16s from earlier models with mid-life upgrade kits, bringing them up to par with the Block 52 variant. According to War on the Rocks, Turkey, which also operates the F-16 jet, upgraded Pakistan’s fighter jets.

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