US State Dept approves proposed support package for Pakistan's F-16 fleet

WASHINGTON: The United States has approved $125 million worth of support for Pakistan’s F-16 fleet.

The package includes logistic and technical support for the aircraft flown by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and the approval comes days after Prime Minister Imran Khan met with US President Donald Trump at the White House.

Washington, in early 2018, had blocked military aid to Pakistan after Trump accused Islamabad of giving “nothing but lies and deceit” in the war against terrorism.

The potential sale will support US foreign policy and national security "by protecting US technology through the continued presence of US personnel that provide 24/7 end-use monitoring," a statement by US State Department announcing the Pakistan approval read.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has also delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale.

Islamabad had requested the continuation of technical support and logistic services to assist in the oversight of operations in support of the Pakistan Peace Drive advanced F-16 program.

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In addition to the support for Pakistan, the US also approved $670 million worth of support for India's C-17 transport plane fleet.

Approval to support US-built aircraft for the two South Asian rivals was approved by the US State Department and announced simultaneously by DSCA.

Separately, the DSCA said that India asked to buy spare parts and test equipment for their Boeing C-17 transport planes, and is seeking personnel training, among other things, "for an estimated cost of $670 million".

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"India needs this follow-on support to maintain its operational readiness and ability to provide Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HA/DR) assistance in the region.

"India will have no difficulty absorbing this support into its armed forces," the statement announcing the approval read.

Both statements added that the proposed sales of equipment and support "will not alter the basic military balance in the region."

In 2015, the US Department of Defence (DoD) announced that it has awarded Bell Helicopter a $581 million contract that includes the delivery of AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters to Pakistan.

The original DSCA notification of Pakistan’s request included 1,000 AGM-114 Hellfire II air-to-surface missiles for a precision-strike and enhanced-survivability aircraft that can operate at high altitudes.

The helicopters, which were to be delivered in 2018, never arrived in the country as military aid was suspended. The helicopters are reportedly currently in storage in the US.