LoA for F-16s' purchase fom US under process

Islamabad, Sep 19: Pakistan has said the Letter of Acceptance (LoA) for the purchase of F-16s combat aircraft from the United States was under process.

''We have already received the Letter of Offer (LoO) from the US and now the LoA is being processed,'' said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tasneem Aslam while addressing the media here yesterday.

Ms Aslam's remark come against a backdrop of local media reports claiming that Pakistani authorities deferred signing of the LoA scheduled on September 9 after it was found that the brand new C and D versions of F-16s being offered to the country did not have electronic warfare (EW) system for their Radar Warning Receiver (RWR).

This meant that the jets would have a pre-installed threat library but its RWR will only be able to identify merely non-NATO aircraft. Any NATO aircraft attacking these F-16s using beyond visual range (BVR) capability could take them out like sitting ducks simply.

While addressing the media last July Pakistan Air Force Chief Tanveer Mehmud Ahmad had said the air force would buy 44 brand new and used F-16s from the United States under a five billion dollars package deal.

The purchase of 18 C and D versions of the F-16s will cost two billion dollars while the remaining amount was to be spent on the purchase of 26 used jets and up-grade of the existing fleet of the PAF's F-16s.

Ms Aslam said agreement also envisaged a provision barring transfer of technology to any other country, adding this is not something unusual, as any country selling military equipment to another country would like to have certain guarantees before finalising the deal.

Air Chief Ahmad had also recently strongly dispelled the impressions that Pakistan might transfer technology of the F-16s to a third country.

''There shall be no transfer of technology of the F-16s to anybody,'' she said in reference to apprehensions expressed by some of the US Congressmen early this year that Pakistan might transfer technology to China.

Pakistan and China have already successfully manufactured the JF-17 (Thunder) combat aircraft, which had its inaugural operational flight.

Pakistan plans to launch serial production of the medium-tech aircraft next year following induction of the first batch of four JF-17s.

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has also sought help of the US in acquiring capability of a complete overhaul of F-16 engines at its aeronautical complex.

UNI