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Pakistani F-16 upgrade will not affect counterinsurgency funding, says US
By Trefor Moss, with additional reporting by Farhan Bokhari
7/29/2008
The US State Department has denied that the financing of mid-life upgrades for Pakistan's F-16 fleet will divert funds away from counterinsurgency operations against the Taliban.
Acting Deputy Spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos confirmed in a 24 July briefing that USD226 million-USD227 million of the USD300 million equipment and training budget earmarked for Pakistan in 2008 was destined for the F-16s.
However, he said that this money "was already allocated for other updates on different airframes in Pakistan" and that the work would help Pakistan to "effectively [employ] these aircraft in support of ground operations against terrorist groups".
Explaining what the upgrade would involve, Gallegos said: "What we're looking at is advanced avionics and radar upgrades, and communications and targeting systems that will enable real-time communication with ground forces that will generate ground position data that can be used to direct guided munitions to a target."
The US Congress requires that the USD300 million be spent on counterterrorism and law enforcement, leading to questions about whether Pakistan was actually using its F-16s to launch airstrikes against terrorist targets, rather than simply as a counterweight against India.
Caption: The US is expecting Pakistan to use its F-16s to strike Taliban targets in return for funding mid-life upgrades (Jane's/Patrick Allen) 185 of 424 words
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