The United States has approved the sale of advanced technology and support for Pakistan\u2019s F-16 fighter jets, valued at $686 million, according to a letter the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) sent to Congress on December 8.<\/p>\n
The package includes Link\u201316 systems, cryptographic equipment, avionics updates, training, and comprehensive logistical support.<\/p>\n
The DSCA letter makes clear the rationale for the sale, stating that it \u201cwill support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by allowing Pakistan to retain interoperability with US and partner forces in ongoing counterterrorism efforts and in preparation for future contingency operations.\u201d<\/p>\n
The proposed sale is also aimed at modernising Pakistan\u2019s F-16 fleet and addressing operational safety concerns. The letter notes that it will \u201cmaintain Pakistan\u2019s capability to meet current and future threats by updating and refurbishing its Block\u201352 and Mid Life Upgrade F\u201316 fleet.\u201d<\/p>\n
These updates will provide more \u201cseamless integration and interoperability between the Pakistan Air Force and the US Air Force in combat operations, exercises, and training, and refurbishment will extend the aircraft life through 2040 while addressing critical flight safety concerns,\u201d the letter adds.<\/p>\n
The letter also emphasises Pakistan\u2019s readiness to absorb the technology, stating that the country \u201chas shown a commitment to maintaining its military forces and will have no difficulty absorbing these articles and services into its armed forces.\u201d It also addresses regional concerns, asserting that \u201cthe proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lockheed Martin Company of Fort Worth, Texas, will serve as the principal contractor for the sale. The US defence agency pointed out that \u201cimplementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional US Government or contractor representatives to Pakistan\u201d and that there will be \u201cno adverse impact on US defence readiness as a result of this proposed sale.\u201d<\/p>\n
The total estimated value of the sale is $686 million, with major defence equipment valued at $37 million and other items at $649 million. The major defence equipment (MDE) component includes 92 Link\u201316 data link systems and six inert Mk\u201382 500-lb general purpose bomb bodies; the latter will have no explosive payload and will be used for weapons integration testing.<\/p>\n
Link-16 is an advanced command, control, communications and intelligence system. It is a secure, real-time communication network that shares tactical data among allied forces and is used by US and allied Nato forces. The system is also resistant to electronic jamming from enemy air and ground assets.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt provides the warfighter key theatre functions such as surveillance, identification, air control, weapons engagement coordination, and direction for all services and allied forces,\u201d the letter read.<\/p>\n
The rest of the deal consists of $649m worth of non-MDE equipment, including the AN\/APQ\u201310C Simple Key Loaders and AN\/APX\u2013126 Advanced Identification Friend or Foe system \u2014 used to identify hostile and allied aircraft.<\/p>\n
It also includes hardware and software modifications to support the Operational Flight Program and mandated avionics updates, as well as KY\u201358M and KIV\u201378 cryptographic appliqu\u00e9s, which are National Security Agency (NSA)-certified modules used in military aircraft and other tactical systems for secure communications and identification.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The United States has approved the sale of advanced technology and support for Pakistan\u2019s F-16 fighter jets, valued at $686 million, according to a letter the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) sent to Congress on December 8. The package includes Link\u201316 systems, cryptographic equipment, avionics updates, training, and comprehensive logistical support. The DSCA letter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14075"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14077,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14075\/revisions\/14077"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}