US clears F-16 repair deal for Pakistan Air Force

President Joe Biden’s administration has reversed his predecessor Donald Trump’s 2018 decision and restarted defence cooperation with Islamabad, approving a programme for repair, modification and maintenance of the American F-16 fighter jets currently in service of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) as well as for supply of spares for the aircraft.

The Biden Administration’s move came even as senior US diplomats and defence officials met their counterparts in the Government of India in New Delhi on Wednesday and Thursday. New Delhi had earlier accused the PAF of using the US F-16 aircraft against India while retaliating to the IAF’s air-strike on a terror camp deep inside Pakistan in February 2019.

The US State Department approved “a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Pakistan of F-16 Case for Sustainment and related equipment for an estimated cost of $450 million”, according to a press-release issued in Washington D.C. The Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) delivered the required certification notifying the US Congress of the possible sale on Wednesday.

New Delhi is of course not amused by the Biden Administration’s move. It came even as the officials of the two nations were holding the inter-sessional India-US 2+2 dialogue and the maritime security dialogue in New Delhi.

“The proposed sale does not include any new capabilities, weapons, or munitions,” the US DSCA stated, adding that it would support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the US by allowing Pakistan to retain interoperability with the US and partner forces in ongoing counterterrorism efforts and in preparation for future contingency operations. “The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.”

The move signalled reversal of the erstwhile Trump Administration’s 2018 decision to suspend American security and defence assistance to Pakistan, particularly because the US was frustrated with the continued support provided by South Asian nation’s military spy agency to the terrorists, who were targeting its neighbours in the region, like India and Afghanistan.

The Biden Administration acted on a request from the Government of Pakistan “to consolidate prior F-16 sustainment and support cases to support the Pakistan Air Force’s F-16 fleet by reducing duplicate case activities and adding additional continued support elements,” the US DSCA stated in a press-release. The approval was accorded for the services of the US government and the contractors for engineering, technical, and logistics services for the F-16 fleet of the PAF.

The package approved for the PAF’s F-16 will include aircraft structural integrity programme, electronic combat international security assistance programme, engine management programme, engine component improvement programme, aircraft and engine hardware and software modifications and support, aircraft and engine spare repair or return parts, accessories and support equipment and classified and unclassified software and software support.

The Biden Administration’s move to approve the programme for the PAF’s F-16 fleet came weeks after a US drone strike killed Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri who was hiding in a safe house in Kabul, allegedly under protection of the Haqqani Network, an affiliate of the Taliban, which returned to power in Afghanistan last year. The drone strike fuelled speculation about cooperation between Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and the US agencies leading to the killing of Al Qaeda chief.