If the current deal for eight fighter jets successfully concludes, Pakistan would seek additional planes from the United States, as reported by Jane’s Defence Weekly.
Pakistan Air Force needs to retire 190 planes from its current fleet by 2020, senior officials told Dawn while commenting on a report that the country was seeking another batch of 10 F-16s from the United States.
Last week, the US Senate rejected a move to shoot down the proposed sale, which is now in its final stages. On Saturday, the 30-day mandatory period, that allows Congress to block an arms sale to a foreign country, also passed. Although some technical details are still being worked out, the deal for these eight aircraft is almost final.
Jane’s Defence Weekly reported “Pakistan is now interested in 10 additional 16C/D Block 52 multi-role fighters, which are equipped with precision strike capability” Pakistan says it needs this capability to reduce collateral damage in the war against terrorists who often hide among civilians.
A “decision in principle has been made to buy 10 more F-16s”, a senior Pakistani government official told Jane’s, while adding that “the exact timing to place an order is yet to be decided”.