The United States has approved the sale of advanced technology and upgrades for Pakistan’s F-16 fighter planes worth approximately $686m.
The deal was struck amid simmering tensions between Pakistan and its neighbour, India, which engaged in a five-day war following a rebel attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in May this year. The US recently pressured Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to buy more weapons from it.
What has the US agreed with Pakistan?
Praveen Donthi, a senior analyst at the Brussels-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera that the latest approval is part of a 2022 maintenance deal the US agreed in 2022 to sustain Pakistan’s fleet of F-16s.
“The F-16 deal remains a key part of the broader US-Pakistan bilateral relationship, which is why there has been continuity from President Biden to President Trump, despite some delays. Both sides emphasise the fleet’s utility in joint counterterrorism operations in the region.”
The latest US deal is for the sale of technology, which will support and upgrade Pakistan’s existing F-16 fleet. It was confirmed in a report sent to the US Congress by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) on December 4.
Pakistan is believed to have 70 to 80 working F-16s. Some of these are older, but upgraded, Block 15 models, some are former Jordanian F-16s, and some are newer Block 52+ models.
The US offering comprises hardware and software updates for enhanced flight operations and aircraft electronic systems; the Advanced Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system, which allows pilots to identify friendly aircraft from enemy ones; navigation upgrades; spare parts and repairs.
Alongside $649m-worth of support and upgrades for the F-16s, the US sale also includes major defence equipment (MDE), which are items of significant military equipment on the US munitions list, worth $37m. This includes 92 Link-16 systems.
The Link-16 is a secure military tactical data link network which allows real-time communication between military aircraft, ships and ground forces. It allows communication through text messages and images.
Six Mk-82 inert 500-pound (226.8kg) general-purpose bomb bodies are another type of MDE authorised to be sold to Pakistan. These are empty metal casings of an Mk-82 bomb, which are used for training or testing.
Instead of an explosive such as tritonal – a mixture of trinitrotoluene (TNT) and aluminium powder used in munitions – the casing is filled with a heavy material such as concrete or sand. The Mk-82 is an unguided bomb developed by the US. It can also be used as a warhead for precision-guided munitions.
What are F-16 fighters?
The F-16, also called the F-16 Fighting Falcon or the Viper, is a single-engine aircraft used for air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack by the US and its allies.
The jets are currently manufactured by US defence and aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin, which took over production in 1995. It was originally developed by General Dynamics, a US industrial and technology company.
The jet was developed towards the end of the war in Vietnam, during which the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) overwhelmed heavier and slower US fighter planes. It first flew in 1974.
The F-16 is now one of the world’s most widely used fighters. F-16s are operating in 29 countries, according to the Lockheed Martin website.
Besides Pakistan, some other countries which have F-16s are Ukraine, Turkiye, Israel, Egypt, Poland, Greece, Taiwan, Chile, Singapore, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway.
What role did F-16s play in the May conflict between India and Pakistan?
On April 22, armed attackers killed 26 people in Pahalgam, a popular tourist spot in Indian-administered Kashmir. The attack was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a separatist group designated a terrorist organisation by India and the US, and which New Delhi alleges is linked to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) – a claim Islamabad denies.