India | UK | US

Lockheed gets $498 mn contract to sell F-16s to Pakistan

Posted : Tue, 01 Jan 2008 05:28:01 GMT
By : Arun Kumar
Category : US (Business)
News Alerts by Email ( click here )
US Business News | Home
Washington, Jan 1 - The US Defence Department has awarded a $498.2 million contract to Lockheed Martin Corp to supply 18 F-16 aircraft to Pakistan just ten days after the US Congress slapped restrictions on military aid to Islamabad.

Lockheed will sell 12 F-16C plus six F-16D planes to Pakistan under the contract, the department announced in a list of defence contract awards Monday, but did not say how soon the fighter jets would be delivered.

The award to Lockheed is in line with a senior US official's assertion that the Congressional restrictions on providing $50 million in military aid to Pakistan would not affect the sales of F-16 aircraft.

'The F-16 programme is a Pakistani purchase, their money, they are buying them. And our foreign military finance, our military assistance goes for different purposes and is not involved at this point in the F-16 sales,' said Richard Boucher, assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs.

'So they will be able to continue that and we will be able to continue our efforts...so they can do the fight against terrorism that they are in,' he said in a media teleconference last month shortly after Congress linked the military aid to Islamabad's efforts to fight terror.

Boucher had also expressed confidence that the restrictions would not prevent the Bush administration from providing military aid to Pakistan, which has received about $10 billion in US funding since 2001.

Pakistan is to get 18 new F-16C/D fighters by 2010 besides upgrades for its current fleet of 34 F-16 combat aircraft as part of a $2.1 billion deal for new weapons, avionics, engines, and other equipment for F-16 fighters announced in September last year.

Lockheed, the Pentagon's No. 1 contractor, won a $144 million contract in 2006 for materials needed to build the F-16s.

In authorising $300 million in aid to Pakistan, the Congress had said $50 million of it can only be used after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice certifies that Pakistan is making 'concerted efforts' to prevent terrorists and the Taliban from operating inside its borders.

Boucher said he had little doubt that the administration would get the money. 'We are confident that we will be able to report to Congress on the developments in the areas that they have identified,' he said.

Asserting, this is very much part of the counter-terrorism effort, Boucher said: 'It goes to TOW missiles. It goes to tactical radios that their forces can use to plan military operations. And it goes to support the programme for P-3C aircraft that help them do maritime patrols.'

He added: 'Pakistan is currently, for the second time, in command of the Combined Task Force 150 that patrols the seas off Pakistan and the Arabian Gulf to prevent terrorist activities on the high seas.


(c) Indo-Asian News Service

Share/Save/Bookmark

Article : Lockheed gets $498 mn contract to sell F-16s to Pakistan
Print this article
Email this article

Stay Updated
News gadget on your Google homepage
Subscribe to a news feed in Google Reader


Related News

Hershey, Nestle, sweeten war for Cadbury
Washington - Hershey and Nestle are expected to jump into the war over Cadbury sweets, media reports said Saturday, just weeks after the British-based stalwart rejected a hostile bid by US Kraft Inc. The growing market for chocolate in the developing...

US stock drop slightly on Dell profits, mixed for week
New York - Technology and energy shares pushed US stocks lower Friday, capping a mixed week for investors amid unease about the pace of the world's economic recovery. Tech stocks slid after a disappointing earnings report from computer giant Dell, wh...

GM: Opel restructuring plan by mid-December; cuts up to 25 per cent
Washington - US carmaker General Motors will present a new restructuring plan for its European operations by mid-December, Nick Reilly, the new head of GM Europe, wrote on his new blog Friday. While the details were still being hashed out, Reilly war...

US stock sell-off on fears of weak recovery
New York - US stocks followed global markets in a broad decline amid investor fears over the world's uneasy recovery from recession. Major US stock indices fell about 1 per cent on average, following hefty declines in the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 and Japan's...

US leading economic indicator gains 0.3 per cent
Washington - A key measure of US economic performance gained in October, according to a private research group Thursday, signalling that a broader recovery may be taking hold. The New York-based Conference Board's Leading Economic Index added 0.3 per...

US stocks fall slightly on technology earnings
New York - US stocks posted modest losses Wednesday on poor profit forecasts from technology firms and a surprising dip in home construction. Earnings from Salesforce.com and Autodesk were worse than expected. Other technology shares losing ground in...

Obama acknowledges danger of double-dip recession if deficit grows
Washington - President Barack Obama said Wednesday he was mindful of the dangers brought on by the country's skyrocketing budget deficit, warning that too much spending could lead the United States into another recession. Obama, who has taken heavy c...

Have your Say
Name
Email
Subject
Your Comment

Enter Verification code
 
  

 

 
Your Comments

F16 Sale
By: Muhammad Khurram , Thu, 03 Jan 2008 18:04:09 GMT

It is very good news that America is ready to sale the F-16 to Pakistan. I think that Pakistan needs more than 100 F16's for Security purpose. I hope that American will supply the F16's to Pakistan without any sanctions. Pakistan is the best partner of America and it is the duty of the American Government to take care the security of Pakistan and whatever Pakistan Army is demanded, must be handed over to them.

thanks



More US (Business) News click here
Follow The Earth Times
Subscribe to RSS Follow Earth Times on TwitterNews by email
Share/Save/Bookmark

 
 



 
Subscribe to free Earthtimes
News Alerts by Email Click here
For RSS Feeds Click here
or Create your own RSS

Add to Google Toolbar
Breaking News
Press Releases

 


The Earth Times
News Category

© 2009 www.earthtimes.org, The Earth Times, All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy
Earth Times accept no responsibility or liability either directly or indirectly for views or opinions expressed in articles or comments.