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GWOT money for Pakistan fighters

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  • #46
    Originally posted by Whill View Post
    sorry! I was not referring to anything specific. I meant it in a broad term like being able to deliver the aircraft on schedule.
    Delay is common for fighter aircraft developmant. Forgot F-22, EF Typhoon? They had world's best technologies, experiance and money.

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    • #47
      Originally posted by Sumku View Post
      Cannot be more wrong than that. Infact. PLAAF was not quite happy with J-10 and was shovelled down its throat by CCP
      Sources? All the articles and Internet talk that I have come across suggest quite the opposite. Unless you are talking about the JF-17?

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      • #48
        Pak fleecing US in war on terror

        WASHINGTON: Pakistan has been fleecing the US with exaggerated and sometimes fabricated expenses for its role in the war on terror, American auditors have reported, just hours after the Bush administration forked out $ 523 million in the latest payout to its ally.

        Washington has paid more than $5 billion to reimburse Pakistan for counter-terrorism expenses of which the administration could not account for as much as $ 2 billion, according to a Government Accounting Office (GAO) audit presented before a Congressional committee on Tuesday.

        The GAO report spoke of auditors uncovering an array of dodgy costs, including millions "spent" on roads and bunkers that were never built. Islamabad also billed $200 million for an air defence radar system, even though al-Qaida has no known aircraft.

        The GAO disclosures, which first surfaced last month, led some US experts to conclude that Pakistan has used the money from the war on terror to bulk up its military for future confrontation with India.

        A more detailed scrutiny of the GAO report now reveals wide range of questionable billing, including inflated expense for meals and vehicle maintenance. At one time, the defence department was paying the Pakistani navy more than $3.7 million per year in repair and maintenance charges on a fleet of fewer than 20 passenger vehicles that was never used in combat. The charges amounted to more than $19,000 per month for each vehicle.

        The report said that more than a third of US funds provided to Pakistan after 9/11 were subject to accounting problems, including duplication and possible fraud.

        Pakistan is the largest recipient of the so-called Coalition Support Funds that the Bush administration launched in 2001, receiving more than $5.5 billion of the nearly $7 billion distributed to 27 countries.

        There was the predictable volley of questions and criticism when the matter came up on Tuesday before lawmakers tasked with oversight and government reform, even as their colleagues in other committees were busy forking out more money to Pakistan.

        "The more I learn about US coalition support funds to Pakistan, the more I am troubled: first, in terms of waste, fraud, and abuse of a huge amount of US taxpayer funds; second, about the program's failure to achieve vital US security objectives; and third, about the program's incompatibility with a long-term strategic partnership between the US and Pakistan," said John Tierney, chairman of the House oversight and government reform subcommittee on national security.

        There was also criticism from the senate. "It seems as though the Pakistani military went on a spending spree with US taxpayers' wallets and no one bothered to investigate the charges. To this day we do not have proper verification for how our money was used," said senator Tom Harkin.

        Other senators have argued for even greater funding for Pakistan, albeit in the social sector, a fact that the Pakistani envoy to US seized on to press for more money after the House cleared the latest CSF bill for $ 373 million.

        Link

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        • #49
          Meanwhile...

          ... Pakistan takes delivery of 4 F-16s at $6.4 million each :

          U.S. Delivers Four F-16 Aircraft to Pakistan
          July 28, 2008
          Embassy of the United States, Islamabad, Pakistan

          Sargodha - The Acting Commander of U.S. Central Command, Lt. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, handed over four F-16 jet fighter aircraft to Pakistan Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed in a ceremony at Pakistan Air Force Base Mushaf here today.

          Also participating in the ceremony on behalf of the United States Government were U.S. Embassy Acting Deputy Chief of Mission E. Candace Putnam; Chief of the Office of the Defense Representative Pakistan Rear Admiral Michael LeFever, and Principal Officer of the U.S. Consulate in Lahore Bryan Hunt.

          Today's ceremony completes the delivery of 14 F-16 aircraft the United States agreed to provide Pakistan under the Foreign Military Sales program. The first two were delivered in December 2005; two more in July 2007; two in February 2008; four in June 2008; and the final four today.

          The U.S. Government provided the aircraft to Pakistan at no cost except for the expenses of preparation and transport from the United States to Pakistan. The four aircraft presented today are valued at approximately US$6.4 million each.

          Link

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          • #50
            Just like Russia, US too is creating competetion for itself by these sales

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            • #51
              Originally posted by Sumku View Post
              Just like Russia, US too is creating competetion for itself by these sales
              You mean selling weapons to both camps? It worked for China during the Iran Iraq War.

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              • #52
                The Bush Administration keeps pushing hard for Pak F-16 upgrade

                UNREAL !!!!

                US admin ask Senate to finance mid-life upgrade of Pak's F-16
                DDI News
                Thursday 16 October, 2008

                The US administration has held a special briefing to persuade Senate staffers to help finance the mid-life upgrade of Pakistan's ageing fleet of F-16 combat jets in the face of opposition to the move in the Congress.

                US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, who looks after South Asian affairs at the State Department, briefed the staffers, telling them that upgrading the F-16s would increase Pakistan's effectiveness in the war against terror.

                Pakistan has a total of 34 F-16s purchased mostly in the 1980s and the jets are currently in need of a mid-life upgrade to retain their combat effectiveness. In recent weeks, the military has used the F-16s to target Taliban hideouts in the troubled Bajaur tribal region.

                The US government has already accepted Pakistan's request to refurbish the aircraft by equipping them with modern technology and weapon systems to make them comparable with newer versions of the F-16s.

                The mid-life upgrade will cost a USD 891 million.

                Pakistan agreed to pay USD 417 million and asked the US to provide the remaining USD 474 million, the newspaper reported today.

                The proposal is strongly resisted in the US Congress.

                Lawmakers say that Pakistan does not need F-16s to fight terrorists.

                They have argued that Pakistan needs financial support to revive its economy and not for buying F-16s.

                They also say that given the country's economic situation, Pakistan may fail to pay its share for upgrading the aircraft, thus forcing the US to bear all the expenses.

                In July, the US State Department notified a Senate committee that it had accepted Pakistan's request to make available USD 226 million from the foreign military finance programme for upgrading the F-16s.

                The US administration needs Congress's permission to provide the remaining amount.

                Pakistan had initially agreed to bear most of the cost but under the new arrangement, the US will provide almost half of the money needed.

                The State Department said the move was aimed at helping "a strong ally" faced with a difficult financial situation.

                Pakistan also had plans to buy 36 new F-16s at a total cost of USD 5.1 billion but after the devastating 2005 earthquake in the Kashmir region brought on a financial crunch, it reduced its order to 18 jets.

                In addition to the purchase of the new jets, Islamabad has received an additional 14 used F-16s from Washington due to its status as a "major non-NATO ally".

                This arrangement allows American allies to receive surplus defence equipment. The White House has rejected criticism that Pakistan could only use the F-16s against its nuclear rival India and not against terrorists.

                "The F-16s that they have are used in counter-terrorism operations. We made them available to the Pakistanis and they need to be maintained," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

                Administration officials have told the Senate that refurbishing Pakistan's ageing fleet of F-16 jets will "dramatically reduce collateral damage and civilian casualties" in operations in the tribal areas.

                The upgraded aircraft will provide the Pakistan Air Force the capability to conduct "precision air strikes against al-Qaeda, Taliban and other groups", the officials said.

                They argued that a mid-life upgrade of the jets will "very significantly" increase the air force's capability to conduct close air support and precision night attack missions.

                When Pakistan purchased its initial batch of F-16s in the 1980s, the jets did not have night vision capabilities.

                Since most of the jets are over 20 years old, they need to be refurbished to enhance their service life.

                US officials told the Senate that four of the F-16s are being upgraded in Fort Worth, Texas, and will be delivered to Pakistan in December 2011.

                Bush administration officials also told lawmakers that the F-16 had become an iconic symbol of bilateral relations and their commitment to each other.

                Given the "tangible and symbolic importance of Pakistan's F-16 programme", the officials requested Congressional support to redirect funds from the foreign military financing for refurbishing the jets.

                Link
                Last edited by Shipwreck; 16 Oct 08,, 14:18.

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