Pak to get six more F-16 aircraft from US on Dec 13

Six new F-16 C/D Block 52 high-tech aircraft will reportedly arrive in Pakistan from the United States on December 13, after which the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) will have a total of 18 such aircraft.

In 2005-06, Pakistan had signed a contract with the US government for the acquisition of 18 F-16 C/D Block 52 aircraft, under which the PAF would receive these state-of-the-art aircraft from the US in staggered batches, the Daily Times reported.

While the first batch of three aircraft arrived in Pakistan in May 2010, and the second batch- of the same quantity- at the PAF Base in Shahbaz (Jacobabad) in October, six more aircraft reached the country in November.

The F-16 C/D aircraft is a high tech fighter aircraft equipped with state-of-the-art avionics suite and latest weapons with Night Precision Attack capability. These aircraft are part of the bid by the PAF to modernise and enhance its air defence capabilities.