This is an updated article to an earlier posted one.
Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc (TAI) recently succeeded in bagging a US$75 million combat aircraft modernisation contract from Pakistan under which a total of 42 Lockheed Martin-built F-16A/Bs belonging to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) will be upgraded at TAIs facilities in 46 months starting from October 2010. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the start of work on the PAF F-16 Modernisation Programme was signed between TAI and the PAF during the IDEAS Defence Exhibition in September 2006 in Karachi, Pakistan. Being invited to the international bid for the PAFs F-16 Modernisation Programme, TAI, among other European competitors, was announced as the main contractor of the programme following the final evaluation by PAF authorities in July 2008. Following contractual negotiations, which started in 2009 between TAI and Pakistani authorities, and the subsequent mutual agreement, the contract was signed between TAI and Pakistans Ministry of Defence Production on June 29 at a ceremony held in Rawalpindi. In 2006, as a result of an earlier bidding process, TAI, which had signed an agreement with the Royal Jordanian Air Force for the modernisation of its F-16A/Bs, had successfully completed the programme with the delivery of the last aircraft last April.
The PAF presently operates 46 F-16A/Bs of which 32 remain from the original 40 aircraft that Pakistan bought in the early 1980s. Since 2005, the USAF has transferred 14 Excess Defense Article (EDA) F-16A/Bs to Pakistan. The current Pakistan F-16 procurement programme is composed of three Letters of Offer and Acceptance (LOA). The first LOA providing for the production of eighteen F-16C/D Block 52 aircraft is underway: four aircraft will be ready in June 2010; four aircraft in August 2010; five aircraft in October 2010; four aircraft in Dec 2010; and, one aircraft in December 2011. The second LOA provides for munitions and includes: five hundred Raytheon AIM-120C-5 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM); seven hundred and fifty Mark 84 2,000lb General Purpose bombs; seven hundred BLU-109 2,000lb Penetrator bombs; 500 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) tail kits; 1,600 Enhanced Guided Bomb Unit (EGBU) kits; and assorted bomb fuzes and support equipment. These weapons will be available for delivery to Pakistan beginning in June 2010. The third LOA provides for the Mid-Life Update (MLU) of their current fleet of 46 aircraft: four of these aircraft are currently in Fort Worth undergoing Trial Verification Installation, which is part of the mid-life upgrade (MLU) programme. Under the MLU LOA, Pakistan is procuring Falcon STAR structural upgrade kits for the 32 original F-16A/B aircraft and 35 MLU avionics upgrade kits for the current fleet (including three of the recently transferred EDA aircraft). There is an option on the contract to procure 11 additional MLU avionics upgrade kits for the remaining eleven aircraft. Pakistan has not yet exercised this option, but plans to do so at a future date.
The Falcon STAR structural upgrade is very similar to that provided to other F-16A/B customers.
Falcon STAR replaces critical structural components in the F-16 required to return the A/B airframes to a structural life of 8,000 spectrum hours. Falcon STAR is thus required to keep the original 32 PAF F-16A/Bs airworthy. The MLU avionics upgrade kits are being designed to provide the PAFs F-16A/B Block 15s with many of the same capabilities as the new Block 52 F-16s that the PAF is procuring. The MLU kit replaces most of the 1980s avionics in the Block 15s with newer, advanced avionics systems from the Block 52 F-16s. The MLU upgrade kits will include:
Northrop Grumman APG-68(V)9 radar;
Embedded GPS/INS (EGI);
Link-16 data link;
APX-113 Advanced Identify Friend or Foe (AIFF);
glass cockpit with colour moving map display;
ALQ-211(V)9 Advanced Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare Suite (AIDEWS) pod;
Night Vision Imaging System (NVIS) cockpit and external lighting;
Sniper Advanced Targetting Pod;
Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS);
Reconnaissance Pod capability;
improved avionics systems;
JDAM capability;
EGBU capability;
AIM-120 AMRAAM capability; and
AGM-84L Harpoon Block 2 capability. While many of the avionics systems and capabilities are common with the new Block 52 F-16s and the MLU, some significant differences remain between the MLU F-16 Block 15s and the new PAF F-16 Block 52s:
there are no improvements to the Block 15s mission range and loiter time; there are no engine improvements; and,
there are no improvements to payload capacity. Overall, the MLU programme will extend the service life of Pakistans original F-16 aircraft and very significantly increase the capability of the PAF to conduct close air support and nighttime precision attack missions. Regarding programme status, the first four F-16 MLU aircraft are undergoing work in Fort Worth, Texas now. The USAFs schedule for delivery of these aircraft is December 2011.
Last Updated ( Monday, 17 August 2009 )
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