Pakistan Seeking Several Dozen F-16 Fighters

Pakistan has inquired about purchasing up to 75 new F-16C/D Falcon warplanes since Washington announced in March it would resume arms sales to Islamabad, Reuters reported today (see GSN, March 29). U.S. military aircraft sales to Pakistan were previously banned for many years in response to Pakistani efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.

Pakistani officials have also asked about purchasing 11 used F-16s, said Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kohler, head of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which heads up U.S. government-to-government arms sales.

The numbers indicate that Pakistan wants to make the F-16 the foundation of its combat aircraft fleet, said Kohler, which would be “very ambitious in terms of regional strategy and very costly.”

Congress could be notified of a deal late this summer, with deliveries likely three years later, Kohler said (Jim Wolf, Reuters, May 26).

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