Tag: Fighter jet

US supports Pakistan for F-16 fighter jets

It’s Not Monetary Help, US On Support To Pakistan For F-16 Fighter Jets

By LokMarg

In response to a question regarding Washington’s financial aid to Pakistan for F-16 fighter jets, the US State Department Spokesperson Zed Tarar said that it was part of the contract between the two nations and does not represent monetary assistance.

Speaking to ANI in Bali, Tarar stressed that the fighter aircraft were three decades old and its spare parts were part of the old agreement.
“It’s not monetary help. These are 30-year-old aircraft and the spare parts were in the same contract,” Zed Tarar said.

The statement of the US State Department comes as Washington has approved the foreign military sale of the F-16 case for sustainment and related equipment worth $450 million to Pakistan. Earlier in September, the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) in a statement said that the Pakistan government had made the request to consolidate prior F-16 sustainment and support cases to support the Pakistan Air Force F-16 aircraft.

“The State Department has made a determination approving 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,” US Defence Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement.

It added, “The Government of Pakistan has requested to consolidate prior F-16 sustainment and support cases to support the Pakistan Air Force F-16 fleet by reducing duplicate case activities and adding additional continued support elements.”

In the statement, US Defence Security Cooperation Agency noted that the proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security aim of the United States by allowing Pakistan to retain interoperability with Washington and partner forces in counterterrorism efforts.

Citing US President Joe Biden’s statement, Zed Tarar asserted that the US will give a response to terrorism. Speaking to ANI, Tarar said, “As for terrorism, the US keeps a close eye on terrorism.” Speaking about PM Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden’s brief meeting, Zed Tarar said that there is a friendship between the two leaders.

Biden and Modi greeted each other with a warm hug and shared some light moments before heading into the day’s engagements at the G20 summit. He stated that the schedule for a bilateral meeting between the two leaders is in progress but he could not confirm whether or not there would be a meeting between the two leaders.

“The two leaders have met and both have met very warmly. The schedule for the bilateral meeting is in progress, right now I cannot say whether the meeting will happen or not, but hopefully, we will continue the conversation,” Zed Tarar said.

“There is a friendship between President Biden and PM Modi which is apparent. There are several world topics that both nations do not see face to face. But that does not affect our relationship. Every country moves as per their own strategy, most important is we are keeping pressure on Russia, not on our friends,” he added. (ANI)

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China In Air Defence

US Losing Out To China In Air Defence Superiority: Report

By LokMarg

Ageing and fewer US fighters flown by undertrained pilots have already fallen behind China’s rapid fleet expansion, giving air superiority to Beijing in the Pacific region.

Gabriel Honrada, writing in Asia Times said that China’s jet fighter force may have already caught up with the quality and quantity of the US, prompting new urgent calls in Washington to build up and modernize the US fighter fleet.

US Air Combat Command Chief General Mark Kelley said that America’s combat air forces are 12 squadrons short of multiple aircraft types at the US Air Force Association’s annual Air, Space, and Cyber Conference this month, as reported by the Air and Space Forces Magazine.

He cautioned that the US had departed the era of conventional overmatch, with US combat air forces less than half of what they were during the 1991 Gulf War, reported Asia Times.

However, exact aircraft numbers are highly classified; fighter squadrons generally consist of between 18 and 24 jets.”When you have conventional overmatch, strategic risk is low. But that’s not where we’ve arrived in terms of conventional deterrence,” Kelly said.

He noted that while the US Air Force needs 60 fighter squadrons, it has only 48 of those to carry out its missions for homeland defence, overseas contingencies, overseas presence and crisis response, said Honrada.

He added that while the US Air Force has nine A-10 ground-attack aircraft squadrons, they lack air-to-air and multirole combat capability.

Kelly said these fighter shortages are most acutely felt in the Pacific, noting that the US needs 13 fighter squadrons in the region but now has only 11.

Apart from squadron shortages, Kelly mentions that only three out of eight squadrons are transitioning to new aircraft, resulting in a fighter force that is smaller, older and less capable, reported Asia Times.

He pointed out that the US fighter fleet is, on average, 28.8 years old compared to 9.7 years in 1991, with readiness levels plummeting as pilots get only 9.7 flight hours a month, compared to 22.3 just before the 1991 Gulf War.

Kelly makes a case for a fighter force that will dissuade any opponent from contemplating war with the US, making the case that no country in its proper frame of mind would pick a fight with a country with 134 modernized, well-trained and well-equipped fighter squadrons.

To achieve these force numbers, Kelly states that the US must maintain a production target of 72 fighters per year and keep its allies at a comparable level of capability, as the latter will be critical force multipliers, said Honrada.

He proposes a 4+1 fighter force mix for the 2030s, consisting of F-22s, F-35s, F-15EXs, F-16s, and A-10s. The F-22 will be the primary air superiority platform to be supplanted by the upcoming Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter.

Moreover, in terms of qualitative improvements to its fighter jets, China has been steadily improving the quality of its jet engines, which were a significant handicap for its fighters, and substantially improving its air-to-air missiles to the point of exceeding Western models in some cases. (ANI)

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