Pak puts US F-16 deal on hold

I cam across this tiny article about the Pakistan-US F-16 deal

www.expressindia.com...

Basically the PAF has complained that the 36 F-16s being offered by the US are bereft of vital electronic systems.

Anybody have more info on this. What was originally offered to the PAF and what is being offered now. What systems, if any, have been taken out of the sale??

offensive EW suite

eg SEAD

So the SEAD suite is not offered any more and was in the first place?
If so then the US is certainly trying to tailor-make the sale for 'anti-terror operations' rather than a a a/c capable of carrying out strikes against more organised(read India) defences.
Looks good for the J-10?

Originally posted by Daedalus3
So the SEAD suite is not offered any more and was in the first place?

SEAD was never offered and thats what the pakistanis want, so the deal is apprantly on hold. There is also other problems with the F-16 as outlined below in the article

Pakistan decides to delay F-16 deal with US

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has decided to delay signing a deal to purchase F-16 aircraft from the US after it found that the planes would be delivered without electronic warfare systems, which are vital for real time monitoring. The F-16 deal is thought to be Pakistan's reward for assisting the US in the war on terror, but relations between the two allies are on a low in recent months.ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has decided to delay signing a deal to purchase F-16 aircraft from the US after it found that the planes would be delivered without electronic warfare systems, which are vital for real time monitoring. The F-16 deal is thought to be Pakistan's reward for assisting the US in the war on terror, but relations between the two allies are on a low in recent months.

After the Pakistani Air Force complained that the warfare components were missing, the Ministry of Defense requested the US Secretary of Air Force International Affairs, (SAIFA) to extend the date of purchase till December 31 this year, according to a report in Pakistani weekly Friday Times. Pakistan was thought to be on the verge of signing the letter of acceptance (LOA) for purchase of 36 F-16 fighters, but the deal looks to be in murky waters now.

President Musharraf is expected to speak to his US counterpart George Bush on the matter this week. The deal was delayed because the US decided to impose new conditions. "So the signing deal is off. Perhaps President Musharraf will try to extract some concessions during his meeting with Bush. But the entire deal is likely to spark much more debate and change before finalization," a Pakistani officials told Friday Times.

The report adds that the 36 aircraft, which are a part of the deal, did not have EW capabilities, which would increase the power of Pakistan's radar warning receiver (RWR).

Also the aircraft would only be able to identify non-Nato enemies. The Pakistani official said that if any NATO aircraft were involved in the battle it would be tough to detect them.
Relations between the US and Pakistan have soured recently, because the US thinks Pakistan is not doing enough to hunt down Osama bin Laden. Pakistan maintains that it is helping the US in every way it can. www.earthtimes.org...