Pak navy to begin induction of US made P-3C Orion aircraft

Islamabad, June 14 (UNI) Pakistan navy will begin induction of the eight US made P-3C Orion long range maritime patrol aircraft in its aviation arm by the end of this year.

The first aircraft is to join the naval aviation fleet towards the end of this year, naval officials said here.

The US had agreed to provide eight P-3Cs to Pakistan free of cost two years ago. However expenses for modification of their avionics system will be met mostly through the three-billion dollars American military aid to Pakistan.

A team of navy pilots, engineers and technicians has already left for the US to oversee the modification work on the aircraft being carried out in Greenwill, North Carolina.

Pakistan navy is already flying P-3Cs. One of the three aircraft the navy had purchased from the US in late 1980s crashed in 1999 while the remaining two are currently being upgraded and modified in Karachi jointly by Pakistani and American experts.

The arrival of the first P-3C will be followed by induction of a small batch of JF-17 (Thunder) aircraft in Pakistan Air Force (PAF) early next year. The jets, also known as the next generation aircraft, have been jointly manufactured by Pakistani and US experts UNI XC SHR VV1545