PAF receives first batch of F-16 Block-52 Aircraft
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GUNNER
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Pakistan Receives F-16s That May Give Advantage Over Insurgents
June 27, 2010, 6:36 AM EDT
By Tony Capaccio
June 27 (Bloomberg) -- The Pakistan Air Force today received its first four of 18 Lockheed Martin Corp. F-16s that the U.S. hopes will give the Afghan neighbor nation a crucial edge against Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in its northwest.
The aircraft give the Pakistan Air Force a night-attack capability and all-weather precision targeting, “an unprecedented advantage they have not had,” said Vice Admiral Michael Lefever, head of the U.S. military mission in Islamabad.
He predicted that the most up-to-date version of the fighter aircraft could be pressed “fairly quickly” into air operations against the Taliban, al-Qaeda and other insurgents in the ungoverned northwest provinces.
The Obama administration is seeking to solidify relations with Pakistan, as its strategy for stabilizing neighboring Afghanistan depends on weakening the fighters who have found havens in Pakistan’s ungoverned tribal areas and threaten regional stability.
“Terrorists can operate at night with impunity but we have had virtually no air cover at night,” Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington, said in an interview.
The F-16 Fighting Falcons were accepted in a ceremony at Shabaz Air Force base 300 miles (480 kilometers) north of Karachi -- an installation U.S. and Pakistan officials agreed was the best location for guarding the planes’ sensitive technology. The remaining 14 will be delivered by December, a Lockheed spokesman said.
‘One of the Few’
Twenty-five nations have Lockheed F-16s, and Pakistan is “one of the few” to have the advanced version, Lefever said in an interview. That’s “a major milestone” for Pakistan and for the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, he said.
The U.S. Air Force has completed training in Arizona of 16 Pakistani pilots, eight to instruct other pilots on the new plane’s capabilities and eight who will lead nighttime missions, spokeswoman Lieutenant Adriane Craig said in an e-mail.
The Pakistan Air Force has depended on 35 older-model F-16s built in the 1980s. Today’s delivery brings its air strike capability “to another level,” said Derek Mitchell, Pentagon Deputy for Asian affairs said in an interview.
Pakistan is now flying only day operations to support the almost 147,400 troops in its regular army and paramilitary Frontier Corps in their stepped-up offensive against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
The Air Force increased its ground strikes in 2009 to about 230 from about 95 in 2008, according to Pakistan figures.
Troubled History
Today’s delivery has “particular resonance in Pakistan” because of the history of the sale, Mitchell said. “They have seen it as a ‘marker’ in some regards,” he said.
The sale of 28 F-16s was approved in 1989 but canceled the following year as part of U.S. sanctions over Pakistan’s nuclear program.
The cancellation embittered Pakistan officials and citizens. “There are some hard feelings still,” Lefever said.
The cancellation “became emblematic of the tension in U.S.-Pakistan relations,” Haqqani said. “The delivery will be a symbol of the burgeoning strategic partnership between our two countries.”
U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz was scheduled to attend the ceremony.
Many Pakistanis consider the aircraft “a symbol of national strength and pride,” said Alan Kronstadt, a Pakistan analyst for the non-partisan Congressional Research Service.
Symbol of Strength
“It’s common to see elaborate and heroic depictions of F- 16s painted on lorries,” he said. “Many are keenly aware of the allegedly unjust non-delivery, so this transfer may help restore some trust in the U.S. as an ally,” he said.
The sale finally went through because former President George W. Bush’s administration in 2005 sought to reward Pakistan for its cooperation in the war on terrorism, including stationing thousands of its troops along its border with Afghanistan to stop Taliban and al-Qaeda infiltration and arrest suspected terrorists.
The proposed sale had to clear congressional hurdles that included concerns about the aircraft’s relevance to counter- insurgency and whether it would roil relations with its neighbor and adversary, India.
Schwartz said he didn’t think India “will see this as a strategic issue.”
Pakistan’s overall inventories of F-16s “are not so large, and the 18 new aircraft will not upset the balance,” he said in an interview.
June 27, 2010, 6:36 AM EDT
By Tony Capaccio
June 27 (Bloomberg) -- The Pakistan Air Force today received its first four of 18 Lockheed Martin Corp. F-16s that the U.S. hopes will give the Afghan neighbor nation a crucial edge against Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in its northwest.
The aircraft give the Pakistan Air Force a night-attack capability and all-weather precision targeting, “an unprecedented advantage they have not had,” said Vice Admiral Michael Lefever, head of the U.S. military mission in Islamabad.
He predicted that the most up-to-date version of the fighter aircraft could be pressed “fairly quickly” into air operations against the Taliban, al-Qaeda and other insurgents in the ungoverned northwest provinces.
The Obama administration is seeking to solidify relations with Pakistan, as its strategy for stabilizing neighboring Afghanistan depends on weakening the fighters who have found havens in Pakistan’s ungoverned tribal areas and threaten regional stability.
“Terrorists can operate at night with impunity but we have had virtually no air cover at night,” Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington, said in an interview.
The F-16 Fighting Falcons were accepted in a ceremony at Shabaz Air Force base 300 miles (480 kilometers) north of Karachi -- an installation U.S. and Pakistan officials agreed was the best location for guarding the planes’ sensitive technology. The remaining 14 will be delivered by December, a Lockheed spokesman said.
‘One of the Few’
Twenty-five nations have Lockheed F-16s, and Pakistan is “one of the few” to have the advanced version, Lefever said in an interview. That’s “a major milestone” for Pakistan and for the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, he said.
The U.S. Air Force has completed training in Arizona of 16 Pakistani pilots, eight to instruct other pilots on the new plane’s capabilities and eight who will lead nighttime missions, spokeswoman Lieutenant Adriane Craig said in an e-mail.
The Pakistan Air Force has depended on 35 older-model F-16s built in the 1980s. Today’s delivery brings its air strike capability “to another level,” said Derek Mitchell, Pentagon Deputy for Asian affairs said in an interview.
Pakistan is now flying only day operations to support the almost 147,400 troops in its regular army and paramilitary Frontier Corps in their stepped-up offensive against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
The Air Force increased its ground strikes in 2009 to about 230 from about 95 in 2008, according to Pakistan figures.
Troubled History
Today’s delivery has “particular resonance in Pakistan” because of the history of the sale, Mitchell said. “They have seen it as a ‘marker’ in some regards,” he said.
The sale of 28 F-16s was approved in 1989 but canceled the following year as part of U.S. sanctions over Pakistan’s nuclear program.
The cancellation embittered Pakistan officials and citizens. “There are some hard feelings still,” Lefever said.
The cancellation “became emblematic of the tension in U.S.-Pakistan relations,” Haqqani said. “The delivery will be a symbol of the burgeoning strategic partnership between our two countries.”
U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz was scheduled to attend the ceremony.
Many Pakistanis consider the aircraft “a symbol of national strength and pride,” said Alan Kronstadt, a Pakistan analyst for the non-partisan Congressional Research Service.
Symbol of Strength
“It’s common to see elaborate and heroic depictions of F- 16s painted on lorries,” he said. “Many are keenly aware of the allegedly unjust non-delivery, so this transfer may help restore some trust in the U.S. as an ally,” he said.
The sale finally went through because former President George W. Bush’s administration in 2005 sought to reward Pakistan for its cooperation in the war on terrorism, including stationing thousands of its troops along its border with Afghanistan to stop Taliban and al-Qaeda infiltration and arrest suspected terrorists.
The proposed sale had to clear congressional hurdles that included concerns about the aircraft’s relevance to counter- insurgency and whether it would roil relations with its neighbor and adversary, India.
Schwartz said he didn’t think India “will see this as a strategic issue.”
Pakistan’s overall inventories of F-16s “are not so large, and the 18 new aircraft will not upset the balance,” he said in an interview.
Crypto
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☪☪☪☪;957647 said:
Acha yar naraz mat ho... i was just paranoid about no CFT's on F16 but found and an artiacle which explains CFTs are detachable on the ground depending on the mission.
Block52/60 F-16 aircraft, currently procured for Israel, Greece, and the UAE, have structural, plumbing, and wiring provisions for the Conformal Fuel Tanks (CFT). These external, pod-like fuel reservoirs are attached on the upper surface of the F-16s fuselage, with the tanks lower surface conforming to the aircraft shape. The upper surface arrangement allows the CFTs to be relatively light weight because nothing is suspended from them. With an empty weight of 900 pounds, tank set holds 450 gallons (ca. 3,050 pounds, or 2,271 litres) of additional JP-5/8 fuel.
The extra fuel increases range, loiter time, and combat persistence as well as reduces the demand for tanker support. Range increase is on the order of twenty to forty percent, depending on the stores configuration and mission profile. The tanks have neglible effect on the aircraft agility, at subsonic speed, However, at supersonic speed, the drag is increased proportionally to the increase in speed. When fitted with CFT the aircraft retains almost the full handling qualities, flight limits, and signature. A complete set can be removed or replaced within two hours. The CFTs are built to Lockheed Martin's specification, by IAI as a sole source, as part of the Peace Marble V program offsets.
The CFTs have very little adverse effect on the F-16s renowned performance, said Maj. Timothy S. McDonald, U.S. Air Force project pilot for CFT testing at Eglin. A set of CFTs carries 50 percent more fuel than the centerline external fuel tank, but has only 12 percent of the drag. The CFTs are designed for the full F-16 flight envelope up to 9 gs, maximum angle of attack and sideslip and maximum roll rate.
Israel, for example placed a special significance to the operational flexibility of its new F-16I, derived from the added range and endurance provided by the CFT. For medium range air-to-surface missions, CFTs can eliminate the need for wing tanks. This allows doubling the F-16s primary weapon capacity and flying with two, rather than one, types of large weapons in a balanced configuration. In long range missions, the use of CFT dramatically increases the operational radius of the aircraft, since it enables the aircraft to fly a long range strike mission, with full weapon's load, and engage in air combat when external (370 Gal) fuel tanks are dropped. When external 370 gal jetissonable tanks or 600gal non-jetissonable external tanks are added the F-16 can demonstrate up to 60-70 percent increase in operational radius. Another Israeli development utilizes a new fuel carrying configuration for the F-16, which enables the carrying of up to four 370 gallon external tanks, plus one 300 gallon under the belly, resulting in 25% increase in mission radius and twice the endurance on patrol missions.
Conformal fuel tanks cannot be discarded when empty. This is because conformal tanks are plumbed into the aircraft, and can only be removed on the ground
Myth_buster_1
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Congrats
One paf official told me that every weapon is stripped of and throuly checked from any defects.
The CTF r part of the package
ANd people need to cut the crap here
One paf official told me that every weapon is stripped of and throuly checked from any defects.
The CTF r part of the package
ANd people need to cut the crap here
arsalan shafique
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Did U GuyZ NOtICed THAt First F-16 D BLK 52 TOuChed THE GRoUND n JUmPEd A BIT n THEn PROPERly Anded????
Imran Khan
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new poilets may be on new thrust engine
Taha Samad
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No, they won't
DANGER-ZONE
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have u guys noticed,green flag and PAF logo has been removed.
now they will paint the gray one.
now they will paint the gray one.
MastanKhan
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Hi,
That is what planes do when they land----some landings are smoother than the others.
fanna4paf2
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where is 801 to 803 and 901? and when will new delivery?
x_man
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Hi guys
First of all congrats to all Pakistanis here for achieving a capability that was looooong outstanding.
Now the second and the important thing....Please stop freaking out over CFTs and the rest of the equipment....We have got it all.... even the CFTs and AMRAAMs.....Most of the equipment is already here and the rest will follow soon.
PAF will attach the CFTs and you shall soon be seeing the pics of F-16s with them and AMRAAMs loaded.
There is nothing that has been kept away from us... so dont put a long face and show us all how good you look when smiling.
As another member said, it was a tech issue....aircraft will be here with the next batch...
We had 2 F-16Ds and one F-16C....all block 52
The current F-16s have arrived in the combat scheme...all the flashy and eye catching colours are gone... hence all flags in grey.
First of all congrats to all Pakistanis here for achieving a capability that was looooong outstanding.
Now the second and the important thing....Please stop freaking out over CFTs and the rest of the equipment....We have got it all.... even the CFTs and AMRAAMs.....Most of the equipment is already here and the rest will follow soon.
PAF will attach the CFTs and you shall soon be seeing the pics of F-16s with them and AMRAAMs loaded.
There is nothing that has been kept away from us... so dont put a long face and show us all how good you look when smiling.
where is the 4th Aircraft as reported before
As another member said, it was a tech issue....aircraft will be here with the next batch...
We had 2 F-16Ds and one F-16C....all block 52
The current F-16s have arrived in the combat scheme...all the flashy and eye catching colours are gone... hence all flags in grey.
air marshal
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air marshal
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