{"id":117429,"date":"2025-12-11T19:29:57","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T14:29:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=117429"},"modified":"2025-12-11T19:29:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T14:29:57","slug":"major-boost-for-paf-as-us-approves-686m-for-f-16-fighter-jets-upgrade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2025\/117429\/","title":{"rendered":"Major boost for PAF as US approves $686m for F-16 fighter jets upgrade"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>WASHINGTON(National Times)-  The United States has approved a $686 million upgrade package for the Pakistan Air Force\u2019s F-16 fleet, according to a letter the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) sent to Congress on December 8. The DSCA notification has formally triggered a 30-day Congressional review window, during which US lawmakers are likely to discuss the F-16 technology sale to Pakistan. According to the agency\u2019s submission, the proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by allowing Pakistan to retain interoperability with US and partner forces in ongoing counterterrorism efforts and in preparation for future contingency operations. The package includes Link\u201316 systems, cryptographic equipment, avionics updates, training, and comprehensive logistical support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dunyanews.tv\/en\/Pakistan\/910678-pakistan-joins-list-of-30-nations-in-us-missile-sales-agreement\">Pakistan joins list of 30 nations in US missile sales agreement<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The proposed sale takes place as Washington, under US President Donald Trump, warms up to Pakistan after his recent meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir. The DSCA letter said the sale will maintain Pakistan\u2019s capability to meet current and future threats by updating and refurbishing its Block\u201352 and Mid Life Upgrade F\u201316 fleet. \u201cThese updates will provide more seamless integration and interoperability between the Pakistan Air Force and the US Air Force in combat operations, exercises, and training, and refurbishment will extend the aircraft life through 2040 while addressing critical flight safety concerns,\u201d the letter added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON(National Times)- The United States has approved a $686 million upgrade package for the Pakistan Air Force\u2019s F-16 fleet, according to a letter the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) sent to Congress on December 8. The DSCA notification has formally triggered a 30-day Congressional review window, during which US lawmakers are likely to discuss [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":117430,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Major boost for PAF as US approves $686m for F-16 fighter jets upgrade - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2025\/117429\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Major boost for PAF as US approves $686m for F-16 fighter jets upgrade - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WASHINGTON(National Times)- The United States has approved a $686 million upgrade package for the Pakistan Air Force\u2019s F-16 fleet, according to a letter the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) sent to Congress on December 8. The DSCA notification has formally triggered a 30-day Congressional review window, during which US lawmakers are likely to discuss [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2025\/117429\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-11T14:29:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-670x370-98.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"370\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2025\/117429\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2025\/117429\/\",\"name\":\"Major boost for PAF as US approves $686m for F-16 fighter jets upgrade - Nation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2025\/117429\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2025\/117429\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-670x370-98.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-11T14:29:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2025\/117429\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2025\/117429\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2025\/117429\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-670x370-98.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-670x370-98.png\",\"width\":670,\"height\":370},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2025\/117429\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Major boost for PAF as US approves $686m for F-16 fighter jets upgrade\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\",\"name\":\"Nation\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\",\"name\":\"humza Jahangir\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"humza Jahangir\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/author\/humza\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Major boost for PAF as US approves $686m for F-16 fighter jets upgrade - Nation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2025\/117429\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Major boost for PAF as US approves $686m for F-16 fighter jets upgrade - Nation","og_description":"WASHINGTON(National Times)- The United States has approved a $686 million upgrade package for the Pakistan Air Force\u2019s F-16 fleet, according to a letter the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) sent to Congress on December 8. 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