‘Pakistan negotiating for 14 more F-16s with US’
* PAF chief says 18 F-16s with BVR missile systems to join PAF from June
* Existing F-16s will be upgraded in Turkey
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) will start getting a lot of 18 latest version F-16 fighting falcon aircrafts fitted with Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missile system by June this year, Chief of Air Staff Rao Qamar Suleman said on Saturday.
Briefing reporters on the on-going High Mark-2010 Exercise by PAF in collusion with the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy, the air chief said the delivery of the aircrafts to Pakistan would complete by the end of the current year.
He said, in addition to 18 F-16s, Pakistan had also been negotiating to get another lot of 14 aircraft of the same version, besides getting other modern gadgets and weapons.
“Our wish list is unending, but we are proceeding with a realistic approach,” he said, adding that JF-17 Thunder, which was developed with Chinese help, had been producing much better results than expectations.
He said the existing lot of F-16s in the PAF inventory would be upgraded to the level of Block 52 series in Turkey and the project would be completed by 2014.
When his attention was drawn towards the Indian doctrine of carrying out surgical strikes in the wake of Mumbai attacks, the PAF chief said the air force had immediately developed a strategy to counter the threat.
“Our response time during such situations is from 2 to 6 minutes from the ground,” he said, adding that said knowing the capability of the PAF, the adversary did not dare take any step.
He said the PAF had already been using Unarmed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology for reconnaissance purposes while it hardly needs to go for armed aerial vehicle.
He said the coalition forces hardly commit any violations of Pakistan’s airspace while Islamabad had always strongly protested in case of any airspace violation by coalition forces in Afghanistan. APP
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
So that makes it 42 + 18 + 14 = 74 in active service eventually?