Pakistan is waiting for the F-16 since many years and now the time came the New F-16 fighter jets were rolled out yesterday in Fort Worth, Texas. The fighter jets are due for delivery to Pakistan’s military. Lockheed Martin presented the first set of new F-16s for the Pakistani air force in a ceremony attended by U.S. and Pakistani military officials in Texas. Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman attended the ceremony as the chief guest.

These state-of-the-art F-16s will bolster PAF’s fleet of high tech combat aircraft and will enable it to undertake wide variety of missions across the entire spectrum of operations.

The first F-16 order is designated Peace Drive I in line with a tradition in the international sales program. The latest presentation raised the number of F-16s ordered by Pakistan to 54. Pakistan ordered its first aircraft from Lockheed Martin in 1963 with the C-130B airlifters. The Pakistani air force received its first F-16 deliveries in 1982.

“Peace Drive is the flagship of modernization for Pakistan’s air force,” said John Larson, vice president of F-16 programs for Lockheed Martin. “It is the latest configuration of the best 4th generation multirole fighter available in the world today.”

The Peace Drive -I program is for 12 F-16Cs and six F-16Ds. The first of the two-seater F-16Ds is scheduled for delivery in December. Remaining aircraft are scheduled for 2010 delivery.

The F-16 is the choice of 25 nations. More than 4,400 aircraft have been delivered worldwide from assembly lines in five countries. The F-16 program has been characterized by unprecedented international cooperation among governments, air forces and aerospace industries. Major upgrades to all F-16 versions are being incorporated to keep the fleet modern and fully supportable over the aircraft’s long service life.

Besides CAS PAF, the ceremony was also attended by Ms Kay Granger (Member US House of Representatives), Gen Norton Schwartz (Chief of Staff USAF), General David H Petraeus, Commander CENTCOM, Hussain Haqqani (Ambassador of Pakistan to the US), Ralph Heath (President LM Aero), John Larson (VP F-16/F-2/T-50 Programmes) and other distinguished guests from the US Government, LM Aero and the Government of Pakistan. (thenews.com.pk)

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