UNI,
Islamabad: Reaping the dividends of its role in the ongoing US-led war against terror, Pakistan has embarked on an ambitious programme to buy the latest military equipment from the US and other countries in order to counter military threat from the neighboring country of India.
The latest in the series is the induction of four CASA CN-235 transport military aircraft, which the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has bought from Indonesia.
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The aircraft has a maximum cruise speed of 455 km/hr and range of 5,003 km. (EADS CASA)
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''We have inducted all the four twin-engine planes in our transport fleet,'' a PAF official told UNI here today.
He said these planes would cater to the inreasing transportation needs of the air force, which faced an acute shortage of military cargo aircraft since the imposition of American sanctions in October 1990.
However, the US lifted all the sanctions in March 2004 followed by the grant of a major Non-NATO ally status to Islamabad, giving it an access to the American military equipment.
The PAF will also receive six refurbished C-130 transport aircraft from the US by December. The arrival of these planes will coincide with the delivery of the two F-16s, which the US government will provide free of cost.
Meanwhile, negotiations are underway between the two countries to finalise a deal for the purchase of some 75 F-16s of C and D versions to the PAF.
Pakistan will make payment for these planes out of a 3 billion dollars economic and military aid package announced by President George W Bush in July 2003.
