F-16 Block 15MLU/50/52 Fighter

[Spring Onion]

I hope those 12 F-16 will be delivered much earlier than 2010.

Yes hope so though it says by 2010 wish if they deliever it before that to say in 09.

 

[Neo]

US awards contract for F-16 supply to Pakistan​

WASHINGTON, Jan 1: The US Defence Department has awarded a $498.2 million contract to Lockheed Martin Corp to supply 18 F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan.

The decision is in line with a senior US official’s assertion that the Congressional restrictions on providing $50 million in military aid to Pakistan would not affect the sales of F-16 aircraft.

“The F-16 programme is a Pakistani purchase, their money, they’re buying them,” said Richard Boucher, assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs. “And our foreign military finance, our military assistance goes for different purposes and is not involved at this point in the F-16 sales.”

On Monday, the Pentagon released a list of defence contract awards, which include an authorisation for Lockheed to sell 12 F-16C and six F-16D planes to Pakistan.

The F-16C is a single-seat aircraft while the F-16D is a two-seat flying machine. Pakistan already has a fleet of F-16AM, which is an upgraded single-seat version of F-16A.

During the Soviet-Afghan war, Pakistan Air Force’s F-16s shot down at least 10 Afghan and Soviet ground attack and transport aircraft between 1986 and 1988.Pakistan is to get 18 new F-16C/D fighters by 2010 besides upgrades for its current fleet of 34 F-16 combat aircraft as part of a $2.1 billion deal for new weapons, avionics, engines, and other equipment for F-16 fighters announced in September last year.

Lockheed, the Pentagon’s No. 1 contractor, won a $144 million contract in 2006 for materials needed to build the F-16s.

Pakistani F-16s will be equipped with AIM-120C-5 AMRAAM, AIM-9M-8/9, JDAM, Harpoon Block II, Joint-Helmet Mounted Cueing System, CFTs and possibly IRIS-T.

All 18 new aircraft will come from Block 50-52, first delivered to the US Air Force in late 1991.

US awards contract for F-16 supply to Pakistan -DAWN - Top Stories; January 02, 2008

 

[BATMAN]

Yes hope so though it says by 2010 wish if they deliever it before that to say in 09.

I mean 2010 is the date before which all 18 will be delivered and I assumed work on block C will commence first and block D will be the last one to be delivered and may require some technical discussions with PAF etc. Where as I expect LHM only waiting for green signal and can produce much more than six per year.
Again, this is purely my personal analysis and has no authentic source of information.

 

[firefight]

It's a great plane, nut we are getting the same blocks the Israeli's got which
makes it a little bit unsettling. We need a guarantee that sanctions will not effect
deliver of parts when needed, like USA did with Venezuela.

 

[blain2]

I mean 2010 is the date before which all 18 will be delivered and I assumed work on block C will commence first and block D will be the last one to be delivered and may require some technical discussions with PAF etc. Where as I expect LHM only waiting for green signal and can produce much more than six per year.
Again, this is purely my personal analysis and has no authentic source of information.

Usually D's come first and then C's. D's allow for additional pilots to be converted over to the type as they are two seaters and the sqn slated to be the OCU can start operating before the regular F-16 blk 52 sqn is brought on line with both Cs and Ds.

 

[Neo]

Usually D's come first and then C's. D's allow for additional pilots to be converted over to the type as they are two seaters and the sqn slated to be the OCU can start operating before the regular F-16 blk 52 sqn is brought on line with both Cs and Ds.

Indeed, D will be the first to arrive to allow training in pakistan.
First F-16 deivered in early eighties was a F-16B for the same purpose, the batch was made of 4 F-16B and 2 F-16A's.

 

[kashifpso]

I AGREE WITH THE VIEWS OF THE MEMBERS THAT THE AREA OF CONCERNS IN THE DEAL OF F-16 ARE:

* F-16 WITH OUT NUCLEAR CAPABILITY.
* EXTRAORDINARY SECURITY PLAN THAT IS RISKY FOR AIR FORCE SO THAT THEY CAN LOCATE US ANY TIME.
* THE TIME FRAME IS TOO LONG WHICH SHOULD BE REDUCED AND DELIVERY SHOULD BE STARTED WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT.

KEEPING IN VIEW OF THE ABOVE FACTS AND PREVIOUS EXPERIENCES WITH US ADMINISTRATION WE SHOULD DO THE FOLLOWING THINGS TO SAFEGUARD OUR NATIONAL INTERESTS:

* IN PARALLEL WITH F-16s WE SHOULD SPEED UP THE PROCESS OF PURCHASING OF J-10s AND OTHER AEW AIRCRAFTS.
* THE JF-17 SHOULD BE FURTHER REFINED SO THAT IT CAN BE SUPPLIMENT OUR FRONT LINE FIGHTERS OR CAN BE USED AS FRONT LINE FIGHTER.

 

[Quwa]

While it sounds very optimistic, I wrote this on another forum:

1) Look at the countries that operate or will soon operate them. Turkey, UAE, Morocco, Chile, Poland, Oman and Singapore...they are all countries that we could have serious relations with at varying levels. Turkey is a potential long-term military, economic and political ally...and we are already conducting joint air exercises with them, but with Block-52+ we will both be operating the same standard. Oman is a neighbour on the Arabian Sea, and a potential strategic plus if we play our cards right...we can militarily, strategically and economically be close to them. Our F-16s, P-3Cs and frigates being frequent visitors and perhaps setting up a base there - encircling the Arabian Sea.

Poland and Singapore are countries we are looking to have decent economic relations with, so why not conduct joint exercises with them as well...they are afterall NATO or pretty close to NATO. Morocco and Chile could have their advantages too, North Africa and South America - we could set a light footprint there as well...plus Chile and Singapore also operate Israeli equipment - notably Phalcon - , we might be able to train around India's Israel-inspired systems...or grab enough exposure for us to have a solid idea about a possible 'similar concept' with the Sino-Pak AWACS.

UAE operates Block-60s, but there is enough basic commonality between Block-60 and Block-52+ to allow for interoperability, joint-exercises, etc. Again we could establish a long-term relation and strengthen our print in the Arabian Gulf. Now if you look at the 'closeness' of Turkey, UAE and Pakistan...imagine that scary notion of them possibly assisting us with their aircraft when we could need it...or when we need to replace those A/Bs, why not pick up available Block-52+ and 60s if they come super cheap?...or simply conducting international missions together, such a minor Arabian Sea/Greater Middle East pact. I'm not kidding...look at the similarity of aircraft, usage of Link-16 and UAE even considering one of Erieye and Wedgetail. Though with Turkey and UAE growing into powerful economic and political players...a lot is possible.

2) By 2010 the Mirage ROSE-II/III might be very old and the PAF may be scaling their operations down a bit. So we will need a precision-strike fighter to "hold the line" until the presently air-superiority oriented JF-17 becomes multi-role. From 2009 to 2012 I think we may see PAF Block-52+ and MLU3 conducting precision air-strikes on the Western border...and if we grow more independent from the West, we may see Block-52+ 'leaking' into Afghanistan against terror camps there. Nonetheless by 2012-2013 I expect the ROSE-I/II to be replaced by strike-capable JF-17 variants that may have different airframes than the current type - i.e. CFTs, enlarged wings, etc.

3) To the PAF/Pakistan - Block-52+ conformal fuel tank and comparative enhancements from F-16A/B might be useful. We may be able to learn more about the concepts and perhaps apply them to JF-17 in extending its range and payload. To the Chinese the Block-52+ would be useless...unless it had DRFM and AESA - which is a possibility with PAF, but unlikely. With the advances of Chinese and even local Pakistani initiatives, I think by 2015 the JF-17 will be superior to Block-52+ in terms of avionics, ECM/EW, radar, weapon-systems and maybe even range and payload.

Those are the possibilities I could come up with...God knows what PAF might be thinking. So please guys act a bit more mature and stop calling the PAF stupid for making its own decisions. At the end of the day we are forum kids with free time, and for them PAF is a professional career.

 

[fatman17]

Indeed, D will be the first to arrive to allow training in pakistan.
First F-16 deivered in early eighties was a F-16B for the same purpose, the batch was made of 4 F-16B and 2 F-16A's.

couldnt agree more...
if my memory serves me right there were 12 F-16Bs in the 1st order of 40 a/c and at that time raised eyebrows however PAF wanted a fleet of 100 a/c including attrition replacements.

the new order of 18 F-16C/Ds contains 6 F-16Ds. once again considered a high ratio. however it is my view that they want a full-strength OCU sqdn of 18 a/c so that they can bring PAF pilots up-to-speed on the two types of F-16s that will be in our possession by 2009-10 (F-16A/B MLU and the C/D models). i also expect the PAF to take up the option of a second batch of 18 F-16C/Ds once the delivery of the 1st order starts.

 

[ahussains]

couldnt agree more...
if my memory serves me right there were 12 F-16Bs in the 1st order of 40 a/c and at that time raised eyebrows however PAF wanted a fleet of 100 a/c including attrition replacements.

the new order of 18 F-16C/Ds contains 6 F-16Ds. once again considered a high ratio. however it is my view that they want a full-strength OCU sqdn of 18 a/c so that they can bring PAF pilots up-to-speed on the two types of F-16s that will be in our possession by 2009-10 (F-16A/B MLU and the C/D models). i also expect the PAF to take up the option of a second batch of 18 F-16C/Ds once the delivery of the 1st order starts.

See Sundays Jang Left Side Bottom i think F-16s are again not comming

 

[Proud to be Pakistani]

Donot get so disappointed as yet !

Till the day US is in Afghanistan ........ Their is no turning their back on Pakistan.

 

[fatman17]

See Sundays Jang Left Side Bottom i think F-16s are again not comming

do u really think Jang newspaper is a authentic source for defence related matters??

 

[Imran Khan]

so plz all members told me what we have option now what can pak do for this deal save and complete

 

[IceCold]

Pentagon orders latest F-16s for Pakistan: FO

By Hanif Khalid

ISLAMABAD: The United States has initiated work on upgradation of F-16 fighter jets for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and the Pentagon has placed orders with the US aircraft manufacturers for provision of the latest version of F-16 jets, Foreign Office spokesman Mohammed Sadiq disclosed to The News on Saturday.

In an exclusive chat, he said the PAF would soon start receiving delivery of the new aircraft.

“The planes currently being used by the PAF are being fitted with the latest avionics and other equipment,” he said. “This up-gradation will make them the most modern planes,” he remarked.

The spokesman also discussed the US-Pakistan relations, specially in view of the current negative media campaign in the US papers.

“Media has very important role in the foreign policy of Pakistan but policies are never devised under the influence of media,” Sadiq said.

“Media and think tank reports which create doubts about Pakistan’s role in the war against terrorism are detrimental to this war and; therefore, the media and think tanks must desist from harming this global effort,” he said.

“Relations between Pakistan and the US are not only important but these are also very crucial for the peace and stability in the region,” he said.

Sadiq said terrorism is a challenge not only for Pakistan but also for the whole world. “Global cooperation is a must for elimination of the menace of terrorism,” he added.

Referring to statements being made in the current US presidential campaign, Sadiq said unfortunately some presidential hopefuls and politicians of some other countries have tried to make Pakistan an issue in their domestic politics.

“Some statements by such persons have made it clear that they neither know about the internal situation in Pakistan nor can they imagine what may be consequences of such rhetoric and how such statements demoralise those who are laying their lives in the war on terror,” the foreign office spokesman said.

The spokesman pointed out that policies of the US administration and statements of presidential hopefuls are two different things. He said the Pakistani government would maintain the present level of relationship with whosoever wins the presidential election in the US.

“The issuance of statements during run-up to the presidential election and adoption of policies after coming into power are two different things. The Pak-US relations are not important just for one presidential hopeful but for all presidential hopefuls in the United States,” he said.

Muhammad Sadiq said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would meet President Pervez Musharraf on Jan 23 in Davos and the two sides would discuss proposals for promotion of the bilateral relations.


Mods Note: I wasnt sure to to start a new thread for this particular article, so i pasted it here in the F-16 sticky.

 

[ahussains]

Donot get so disappointed as yet !

Till the day US is in Afghanistan ........ Their is no turning their back on Pakistan.

I never belive on US.. the time is too short the current US goverment is just have to go in 7 months and the goverment is not going to give you that JET's its better to make another move towards J-10 or JAS 39 Gripens (will be ideal because SAAB Erieyes are also comming)

Its my opinion ....

100 + JAS 39 in complete replacemnt of F-16 along with the complete technology and production line transfer agrement ..