File photo of a F-16 warplane. Jung Yeon-Je—AFP
Islamabad to get $125 million for F-16 warplanes, New Delhi $670 million for C-17 transport planes
Washington on Friday approved $125 million worth of support for Pakistan’s F-16 warplanes, and also $670 million worth of support for India’s C-17 transport planes.
Approval to support U.S.-built aircraft for the two south Asian rivals were approved by the U.S. State Department, and announced simultaneously by the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
The approval for technical and logistics support for Pakistan’s F-16s comes just days after Prime Minister Imran Khan met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House. The potential sale will support U.S. foreign policy and national security “by protecting U.S. technology through the continued presence of U.S. personnel that provide 24/7 end-use monitoring,” the statement announcing the Pakistan approval read.
Separately, the DSCA said that India asked to buy spare parts and test equipment for their Boeing C-17 transport planes, and is seeking personnel training, among other things, “for an estimated cost of $670 million.”
“India needs this follow-on support to maintain its operational readiness and ability to provide Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HA/DR) assistance in the region. India will have no difficulty absorbing this support into its armed forces,” the statement announcing the approval read.
Both statements added that the proposed sales of equipment and support “will not alter the basic military balance in the region.”