The TOI correspondent from Washinton: Amid strained ties with New Delhi, the Trump administration has notified Congress of a $686 million sustainment and modernisation package for Pakistan's aging F-16 fighter jet fleet just weeks after Islamabad's high-profile lobbying blitz secured warmer ties with the White House.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) transmitted the proposal to US lawmakers earlier this week, kicking off a 30-day congressional review period. Of the total value, $649 million funds items such as avionics upgrades, cryptographic modules like AN/APX-126 Identification Friend or Foe systems, mission-planning software, spare parts, simulators, training, and logistical support from contractors such as Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas.
About $37 million covers defense equipment, including 92 Link-16 tactical data link systems for secure, real-time battlefield data sharing with US and NATO forces, plus six inert Mk-82 500-pound bomb bodies for integration testing.
DSCA justifies the sale as vital to US national security, enabling Pakistan—a Major Non-NATO Ally—to sustain interoperability in counterterrorism operations and joint exercises. The upgrades target Block 52 and Mid-Life Update F-16 variants, addressing "critical flight safety concerns" and extending their service life through 2040.
Officials stress the package adds no new offensive capabilities or US personnel on Pakistani soil, insisting it "will not alter the basic military balance in the region"—a pro-forma nod to Indian sensitivities.
This marks the latest in a string of F-16 deals dating to post-9/11 counter-insurgency efforts. In 2016, the US sold eight Block 52A/B jets for $665 million (later amended to $699 million), including radars and spares. Earlier, 2006's "Peace Drive I" delivered 18 F-16C/D aircraft with AIM-120C missiles for $890 million, while a 2010 sustainment package cost $78.6 million. The 2025 notification builds on February's $400 million upgrade and October's AMRAAM missile supply, signaling steady US commitment despite past frictions, including from Pakistan being a breeding ground for a scores of terrorists from Osama bin Laden to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.
The timing amplifies Indian concerns, coming amid President Donald Trump's visible pivot toward Islamabad this year. Since his January inauguration, Trump has hosted Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir twice—at the White House in June and September—and met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif three times this year. Trump has lavished praise on Sharif as a "good guy" and is also in apparent awe of the title “Field Marshal” which he keeps repeating like a pet mantra.
Analysts say Pakistan's aggressive diplomacy, including hiring Trump's former business partners and bodyguard as lobbyists, cryptocurrency deals with his family and friends, and promises to supply rare earth ores, has flipped US policy. While this netted Pakistan favorable tariff treatment, the F-16 nod follows Trump's imposition of heavy tariffs on Indian goods, exacerbating bilateral strains. New Delhi has maintained official silence on the matter.
Trump’s $ 686 million package came even as the Republican majority US Congress, rendered supine and toothless in the face of White House assertion of executive authority, wheeled out familiar lines about U.S-India ties being the “defining relationship of the 21st century” which is important for a “free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific” at a hearing of the House Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday.
By most accounts, including testimony by three experts – Jeff Smith, Dhruva Jaishankar, and Sameer Lalwani – who spoke before the panel, the Trump administration has fallen short of nurturing US-India ties in its second term.
Rajghatta is author of Kamala Harris: Phenomenal Woman