Washington: The United States has approved a $686 million package for the repair, sustainment and system upgrades of Pakistan’s F-16 fighter jets, a move – say Indian military officials and defence analysts – speaks louder than official denials from Islamabad. According to them, the scale and composition of the package indicate that Pakistan’s F-16 fleet suffered significant damage during India’s Operation Sindoor.
Washington has cleared the package specifically for Pakistan’s F-16 aircraft. Military experts say that the way the package has been structured closely matches the kind of damage reported at major Pakistan Air Force installations earlier this year. In their assessment, the design of the funding aligns with losses sustained during the Indian operation in May.
The US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has formally notified the Congress about the package being extended to Pakistan. The notification lists a wide range of avionics, communications and mission-support upgrades. Analysts point out that these categories directly correspond to systems that were previously reported as damaged during Operation Sindoor.
The Sunday Guardian had earlier cited internal Pakistani documents indicating that F-16 aircraft and related infrastructure were hit following the Indian strikes.
What The US Repair Package Includes
According to the DSCA notification, the $686 million package covers the Link-16 tactical data link system, new secure communications and cryptographic modules, updates to Operational Flight Program (OFP) software, advanced mission-planning and debriefing systems, ground-based test equipment and a substantial inventory of spare parts and support items.
The package also includes engineering and technical services from original equipment manufacturers, simulator support, comprehensive documentation suites, depot-level maintenance assistance and hardware required to recalibrate and re-certify F-16 avionics and weapons integration systems.
In addition, inert Mk-82 500-pound bomb bodies are part of the package, intended for weapons-release and system-integration testing.
Indian officials say that a large portion of the funding falls squarely within the same repair and recovery categories Pakistan had rushed to address after the Operation Sindoor. They argue this reinforces the assessment that critical F-16-related systems and infrastructure were affected.
Pakistani documents flagged urgent repair requirements at air bases, including Shahbaz, Mushaf, Minhas, Masroor and Faisal. Emergency tenders issued at the time highlighted needs related to communication networks, mission-support servers, electronic warfare systems, power distribution networks, ground testing equipment and storage processors.
Taken together, these documents and the newly approved US funding paint a clear picture for analysts that infrastructure linked to Pakistan’s F-16 operations was impacted during Operation Sindoor, even though Islamabad has not publicly acknowledged any losses.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: ZEE News
