three new F-16s inducted in PAF fleet

three new F-16s inducted in PAF fleet

Updated at: 1209 PST, Sunday, June 27, 2010 JACOBABAD: The first batch of the latest version F-16 C/D Block 52 high tech fighter aircraft that arrived Pakistan yesterday at the newly developed PAF Base in Jacobabad, have been formally inducted in Pakistan Air Force, Geo News reported Sunday. Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman, US ambassador in Pakistan Anne Patterson and United States Air Force Chief of Staff Gen Norton Schwartz attended the inducting ceremony. The three aircraft were ferried directly from the United States to Pakistan by PAF pilots, who had recently completed training on the new aircraft in US. Air Marshal Mohammad Hasan, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (Operations), Air Marshal Waseem ud Din, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (Administration), along with other senior PAF officials yesterday received the aircraft at the base. Pakistan attaches great significance to its air defence needs. Taking stock of the situation the country had signed a contract with the US government in 2006 for acquisition of 18 F-16 C/D Block 52 aircraft. Under this arrangement, PAF would receive these aircrafts in different batches. The delivery of all the 18 aircrafts would complete by the end of this year. The F-16 C/D Block 52 aircraft is a high tech fighter aircraft equipped with sophisticated state-of-the-art avionics suite, latest weapons with Night Precision Attack capability. These aircraft are much superior to the F-16A/Bs already in the inventory of the PAF. The US gave Pakistan four used F-16 jets last year with 18 more to be yet handed, as the process regarding the supply of these new fighter jets would complete in December 2010.