WASHINGTON - The Bush administration rewarded Pakistan, an improbable ally in the war on terrorism, with a promise Friday that it could buy sophisticated U.S.-built F-16 warplanes. Pakistan's nuclear rival, India, immediately complained the sale would threaten its security.
The sales would represent a shift in policy after years of sanctions and harsh rhetoric from Washington over Pakistan's nuclear ambitions and what U.S. administrations have seen as tolerance for Islamic extremism. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, however, Pakistan has become an important partner in hunting suspected terrorists and cracking down on anti-American extremists.
Mindful of the fragile balance of power in South Asia, the administration also gave a green light to India for its own purchase of sophisticated weapons.
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the administration sent reports to Congress on Friday describing proposals to sell armaments to both Pakistan and India. Congress must sign off on the sensitive technology export.
Ereli said, "We are looking to improve security and improve prosperity and improve development of the entire region as a whole."
"Part of that is a decision to begin negotiations with the Pakistani government and Congress to sell F-16s to Pakistan and to respond favorably to a request for information from India for the possible sale of multi-role combat aircraft," he said.
U.S. defense companies are now "free to talk to India about what they have to offer, and it will be up to India to decide what it wants," to buy, Ereli said.
The move allows Pakistan to finally move ahead on planned purchases of two dozen F-16s dating to the 1980s, before the United States blocked the sale because of Pakistan's increasingly obvious drive to build nuclear weapons.
There is no limit on future sales to Pakistan, a State Department official said on condition of anonymity.
Pakistan's information minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, called the decision a "good gesture by the United States" and said the transaction would ease anti-American sentiment in the Islamic nation.
"This will fulfill our defense requirements," he said. "We had been lagging behind (India) in conventional weapons. This will improve the situation."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites) said she discussed sales of F-16s to both Pakistan and India during back-to-back visits to those countries earlier this month. Rice chose not to announce the Pakistan decision on that trip in part to avoid angering India.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars since the former British colony was partitioned in 1947 into predominantly Hindu and predominantly Muslim states.
President Bush (news - web sites) tried to head off Indian worries with an early morning phone call to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Calling from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, Bush told Singh that the administration was moving ahead with the sale, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
At the same time, Bush told Singh that the United States was responding to India's request for information on its own future warplane purchases, Perino said.
The United States reassured India that it had the administration's blessing to buy F-16s, or perhaps F-18s. India is contemplating a multibillion dollar purchase of fighter planes, including U.S.-built or foreign-made aircraft.
The United States has sold a variety of weaponry to India since lifting a ban on arms sales three years ago that had been imposed after an Indian nuclear test. Last year, in a move seen as a coup for India, the administration gave the go-ahead for Lockheed Martin to give India information for prospective sales of F-16s.
Singh told Bush that sales to Pakistan would endanger security in the region, and expressed "great disappointment" over the decision, Sanjaya Baru, the prime minister's spokesman said.
New Delhi is worried that arming Pakistan with the advanced jet fighters would tilt the military balance in the region and could adversely affect peace talks between India and Pakistan.
The F-16 sale to Pakistan is meant to remove a persistent irritant in U.S.-Pakistani relations. Pakistan struck a deal with the United States to buy the nuclear-capable F-16 fighter jets 15 years ago, but the agreement was scrapped in the 1990s when Washington imposed sanctions.
Man, I'm starting to regret voting for Bush. I just wish there had been a better alternative.
What in the heck is he thinking selling a bunch of our state-of-the-art fighter jets to a country that has been giving terrorists reach-arounds for the last 25 years? Sure, NOW they are playing our "ally" in the campaign to eradicate the terrorists, but that's a tenuous relationship at best. I can just see it now, we're giving them the proverbial knife that they'll someday try to stick in our back (or one of our allies). Not to mention the fact that we're giving a nuclear capable state with a very unstable and sometimes openly hostile relationship with both Israel and India an advanced delivery system capable of putting a nuke in Delhi or Jerusalem. Real smart thinking, guys. That's really going to serve to stabilize the region. Of course, to keep both sides happy, Bush has promised to sell India some of our jets too. Might as well let the whole stinkin' world have a sample of each of our aircraft so they can figure out how to defeat them.
I'm sure glad my tax dollars have been well spent.
RE: What are they thinking?! Tell me this isn't a bad idea!
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What in the heck is he thinking selling a bunch of our state-of-the-art fighter jets
State of the art? your kidding me? The F-16 was first deployed in 1962, yeah thats right 1962, state of the art my butt, and the F-18 is another relic first put into action in 1983, boy that puppy must have all the lastest and greatest hardware and software. The only reason Bush is selling these two countrys these planes is due to the F22 being out and the soon to be deployed F35, both the F16 and F18 are obsoulete.
RE: What are they thinking?! Tell me this isn't a bad idea!
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ORIGINAL: Buckshot
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What in the heck is he thinking selling a bunch of our state-of-the-art fighter jets
State of the art? your kidding me? The F-16 was first deployed in 1962, yeah thats right 1962, state of the art my butt, and the F-18 is another relic first put into action in 1983, boy that puppy must have all the lastest and greatest hardware and software. The only reason Bush is selling these two countrys these planes is due to the F22 being out and the soon to be deployed F35, both the F16 and F18 are obsoulete.
I have to agree, the planes are quite old. We know everything there is to know about these planes if we have to go up against them. This also pumps a whole lot of money into the US. I don't see a gripe, better they buy them from us than the Ruskies.
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May 30, 3:11 am my little girl was born.
RE: What are they thinking?! Tell me this isn't a bad idea!
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State of the art? your kidding me? The F-16 was first deployed in 1962, yeah thats right 1962, state of the art my butt, and the F-18 is another relic first put into action in 1983, boy that puppy must have all the lastest and greatest hardware and software. The only reason Bush is selling these two countrys these planes is due to the F22 being out and the soon to be deployed F35, both the F16 and F18 are obsoulete.
Thanks for demonstrating how much you know about our military aircraft...you're obviously a real "expert." But I hate to break it to you, but you're wrong. First of all, the F-16 project wasn't even commissioned until 1972, and the prototype, the YF-16, didn't fly until 1974. The F-16C/D Block 60 varient is still in production, and the U.S.A.F. too delivery of their last F-16D in 2001. It's hardly "obsolete," because U.S. fighters are designed to be upgraded to prolong the service life, the avionics and fire control systems have been continually updated and reflect the state-of-the-art in military aircraft technology. The F/A-18E/F is the exact same way. Granted, the F-22 Raptor is certainly an advanced aircraft design and is superior to the F-16, but the F-16C/D's and F-15D/E' aren't going anywhere for at least 10 years. As for the JSF, it's still several years from production, and congress, as they have done many times in the past, could cancel the program at a moments notice. The engine that they intend to use in the production model is still in the design phase with the first production engine sceduled to be ready in 2011.
I'll make it simple to understand...F-16C+nuclear bomb=really hot day in Tel Aviv. In addition to that, the first thing the Pakistanis are going to do with the first plane delivered is gut it to see what makes in tick. How long do you think it'll take before that information is sold to every third world dictatorship and terrorist group in the world, considering the fairly cozy relationship Pakistan has always maintained with said nations and organizations?
RE: What are they thinking?! Tell me this isn't a bad idea!
I think this is much to do about nothing. We have sold so many F16's it's no big deal. We have sold these to Saudi, and for some dictator to get the plans for one, so what, they would have to be able to build one. The advanced electronics alone would be to hard to construct with out a factory set up to do it. The F-22 Lightning (they changed the name) is ready for production, they are only waiting for Congress to spend the money.
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May 30, 3:11 am my little girl was born.
RE: What are they thinking?! Tell me this isn't a bad idea!
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The F-22 Lightning (they changed the name)
You must play computer games, because that's the only place the F/A-22 has been called the "Lightning." It seems that Lockheed-Martin still calls the aircraft that they designed and are building the "Raptor". They must not have gotten the memo from Novalogic (the ones who made the PC flight sim called F-22 Lightning), huh?
F/A-22 in flightF/A-22 Raptor - Air Dominance for the 21st Century
No fighter in the world comes close to matching the F/A-22. By every measure, the Raptor represents extraordinary breakthroughs in maneuverability, stealth, sensor fusion - a wealth of parameters that define a new era in fighter capability.
The origins of the F/A-22 can be traced to the early 1970s, when the U.S. Air Force began studying concepts for replacement of its F-15 air superiority fighter. This became a formal program when the service requested proposals for an Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) in October 1985. The simple fact: New air and ground threats were looming that the F-15 would not be able to counter.
Now these threats will be defeated by the highly lethal and survivable F/A-22, with its balance of increased speed and range, enhanced offensive and defensive avionics, and reduced observability. The design of the F/A-22 also emphasizes reliability and maintainability of systems.
The F/A-22 is capable of flying and fighting against the most advanced integrated radar networks and dense surface-to-air missile environments in the world - now and in the future. A new generation of fighters is under development in several countries around the world today. The advent of these new fighters, as well as the continuing export of current air defense and adversary advanced fighter technology to the Third World, put the United States' ability to gain and maintain air superiority, much less air dominance, at increasing risk. The F/A-22 will retain the competitive edge through innovations and technologies no one can match.
In early 2001, the U.S. Air Force introduced a concept called Global Strike Task Force in which the F/A-22 Raptor is the enabler for all other forces. The success of any major air-land operation - today and in the future - depends primarily on the United States' preeminent ability to detect and destroy enemy fighters as well as attack high-value ground targets with precision weapons.
With the F/A-22, the era of U.S. air dominance - against all ground- and air-based threats - has begun.
You should not base your knowledge of military aircraft on what you see in a video game.
RE: What are they thinking?! Tell me this isn't a bad idea!
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First of all, the F-16 project wasn't even commissioned until 1972
Damn typo, but still is old tech. and this sale doesnt mean beans. Heres the straight poop on the F-16
F-16 FIGHTING FALCON
Mission
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a compact, multi-role fighter aircraft. It is highly maneuverable and has proven itself in air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack. It provides a relatively low-cost, high-performance weapon system for the United States and allied nations.
Features
In an air combat role, the F-16's maneuverability and combat radius (distance it can fly to enter air combat, stay, fight and return) exceed that of all potential threat fighter aircraft. It can locate targets in all weather conditions and detect low flying aircraft in radar ground clutter. In an air-to-surface role, the F-16 can fly more than 500 miles (860 kilometers), deliver its weapons with superior accuracy, defend itself against enemy aircraft, and return to its starting point. An all-weather capability allows it to accurately deliver ordnance during non-visual bombing conditions.
In designing the F-16, advanced aerospace science and proven reliable systems from other aircraft such as the F-15 and F-111 were selected. These were combined to simplify the airplane and reduce its size, purchase price, maintenance costs and weight. The light weight of the fuselage is achieved without reducing its strength. With a full load of internal fuel, the F-16 can withstand up to nine G's -- nine times the force of gravity -- which exceeds the capability of other current fighter aircraft.
The cockpit and its bubble canopy give the pilot unobstructed forward and upward vision, and greatly improved vision over the side and to the rear. The seat-back angle was expanded from the usual 13 degrees to 30 degrees, increasing pilot comfort and gravity force tolerance. The pilot has excellent flight control of the F-16 through its "fly-by-wire" system. Electrical wires relay commands, replacing the usual cables and linkage controls. For easy and accurate control of the aircraft during high G-force combat maneuvers, a side stick controller is used instead of the conventional center-mounted stick. Hand pressure on the side stick controller sends electrical signals to actuators of flight control surfaces such as ailerons and rudder.
Avionics systems include a highly accurate inertial navigation system in which a computer provides steering information to the pilot. The plane has UHF and VHF radios plus an instrument landing system. It also has a warning system and modular countermeasure pods to be used against airborne or surface electronic threats. The fuselage has space for additional avionics systems.
Background
The F-16A, a single-seat model, first flew in December 1976. The first operational F-16A was delivered in January 1979 to the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.
The F-16B, a two-seat model, has tandem cockpits that are about the same size as the one in the A model. Its bubble canopy extends to cover the second cockpit. To make room for the second cockpit, the forward fuselage fuel tank and avionics growth space were reduced. During training, the forward cockpit is used by a student pilot with an instructor pilot in the rear cockpit.
All F-16s delivered since November 1981 have built-in structural and wiring provisions and systems architecture that permit expansion of the multirole flexibility to perform precision strike, night attack and beyond-visual-range interception missions. This improvement program led to the F-16C and F-16D aircraft, which are the single- and two-place counterparts to the F-16A/B, and incorporate the latest cockpit control and display technology. All active units and many Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units have converted to the F-16C/D.
The F-16 was built under an unusual agreement creating a consortium between the United States and four NATO countries: Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway. These countries jointly produced with the United States an initial 348 F-16s for their air forces. Final airframe assembly lines were located in Belgium and the Netherlands. The consortium's F-16s are assembled from components manufactured in all five countries. Belgium also provides final assembly of the F100 engine used in the European F-16s. Recently, Portugal joined the consortium. The long-term benefits of this program will be technology transfer among the nations producing the F-16, and a common-use aircraft for NATO nations. This program increases the supply and availability of repair parts in Europe and improves the F-16's combat readiness.
USAF F-16 multi-mission fighters were deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1991 in support of Operation Desert Storm, where more sorties were flown than with any other aircraft. These fighters were used to attack airfields, military production facilities, Scud missiles sites and a variety of other targets.
Most recently in the Spring of 1999 during Operation Allied Force, USAF F-16 multi-mission fighters flew a variety of missions to include suppression of enemy air defense, offensive counter air, defensive counter air, close air support and forward air controller missions. Mission results were outstanding as these fighters destroyed radar sites, vehicles, tanks, MiGs and buildings.
General Characteristics
Primary Function: Multirole fighter
Builder: Lockheed Martin Corp.
Power Plant: F-16C/D: one Pratt and Whitney F100-PW-200/220/229 or General Electric F110-GE-100/129
Thrust: F-16C/D, 27,000 pounds
Length: 49 feet, 5 inches (14.8 meters)
Height: 16 feet (4.8 meters)
Wingspan: 32 feet, 8 inches (9.8 meters)
Speed: 1,500 mph (Mach 2 at altitude)
Ceiling: Above 50,000 feet (15 kilometers)
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 37,500 pounds (16,875 kilograms)
Range: More than 2,000 miles ferry range (1,740 nautical miles)
Armament: One M-61A1 20mm multibarrel cannon with 500 rounds; external stations can carry up to six air-to-air missiles, conventional air-to-air and air-to-surface munitions and electronic countermeasure pods
Unit cost: F-16A/B , $14.6 million (fiscal 98 constant dollars); F-16C/D,$18.8 million (fiscal 98 constant dollars)
Crew: F-16C, one; F-16D, one or two
Date Deployed: January 1979
Inventory: Active force, F-16C, 590 and F-16D, 130; Reserve, F-16C, 60 and F-16D; 10 and Air National Guard, F-16C, 438 and F-16D, 40.
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I'll make it simple to understand...F-16C+nuclear bomb=really hot day in Tel Aviv. In addition to that, the first thing the Pakistanis are going to do with the first plane delivered is gut it to see what makes in tick. How long do you think it'll take before that information is sold to every third world dictatorship and terrorist group in the world, considering the fairly cozy relationship Pakistan has always maintained with said nations and organizations?
Mike
Gee Mike, that senario sounds real good, you the only problem with using a nuke is what your enemy does in return. Why havent the Pakys nuked India yet? they share a common border.
Oh another thing, judging by the tone of your post, your last name must be Hunt.
RE: What are they thinking?! Tell me this isn't a bad idea!
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Oh another thing, judging by the tone of your post, your last name must be Hunt.
Oh boy, that's a good one! Very original too. Don't know how I can possibly endure such a scathing junior high insult! So when do you graduate from the 7th grade? I think a rerun of Bevis and Butthead is on that you'd better go watch, you're obviously in need of some intellectual stimulation.
Oh, and pardon me for thinking it's stupid to arm our enemies. I'd think that our government would learn from its past mistakes (Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and a few dozen other Third World cesspools that we've given or "sold" weapons to) and not repeat the same mistakes again. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is a sure sign of stupidity, insanity, or both.
What are they thinking?! Tell me this isn't a bad idea!
