From radar to avionics… Pakistan’s F-16 fleet will be upgraded with American ‘armour’

The US Air Force has announced a major contract worth $488 million to provide long-term technical and engineering support to the radar systems of F-16 fighter jets. The special thing about this deal is that Pakistan is also included in it. This is being seen as America’s long-term strategy to keep the air forces of its allies strong.

This important defense contract has been given to the leading American company Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation. Its purpose is to maintain the operational preparedness of F-16 aircraft of allied countries for a long time. According to official information, under this contract, engineering and technical support will be provided to the ‘APG-66’ and ‘APG-68’ radar systems used in F-16 fighter jets, which will improve their capability and performance.

Upgrade and support work will continue till 2036

Under this project, upgrade and technical support work will be done in Linthium Heights, Maryland, USA. This program is going to continue till 31 March 2036. This contract has been issued by the Lifecycle Management Center (Utah) of the US Air Force. For this, initially $2.64 million has been released from the fund of financial year 2026. This deal has been done under America’s ‘Foreign Military Sales’ (FMS) program. Apart from Pakistan, it also includes Bahrain, Belgium, Chile, Denmark, Egypt, Greece, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, South Korea, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Thailand and Turkey.

The lifespan of Pakistan’s F-16 will increase by 2040.

This new contract is part of the American cooperation being given to Pakistan. Earlier in December 2025, America’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) had informed about an upgrade package of $686 million for Pakistan’s F-16 fleet. This package includes ‘Link-16’ tactical data system, cryptographic equipment, avionics upgrades and training support. Apart from this, improvements are also being made in ‘identification friend-or-foe’ system, accurate navigation tools and secure communication devices.

Focus on modernization and interoperability

According to DSCA, the purpose of this upgrade is to modernize Pakistan’s F-16 aircraft, so that their service life can be extended till 2040. Besides, its objective is also to establish better coordination (interoperability) with America and other allied countries in anti-terrorism operations. Lockheed Martin was chosen as the main contractor for this upgrade program. American officials had made it clear that there would be no need to send American personnel to Pakistan for this work.

Pakistan welcomed

According to diplomatic sources, Pakistan has welcomed the continuous support from America for its F-16 program. Sources said that these upgrades will increase the lifespan of the aircraft and improve technical coordination with other systems. According to sources, Pakistan Air Force has included many new options in its fleet in recent years, thereby reducing dependence on any one platform. Nevertheless, it considers it extremely important to maintain its existing F-16 capabilities.

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