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Tuesday, July 12, 2005 US to sell spy planes to Pak to counter India Press Trust of India Posted online: Tuesday, July 12, 2005 at 1308 hours IST Islamabad, July 12: In an apparent balancing act following concerns expressed by Pakistan over the recently signed 10-year defence pact between India and US, Washington has offered to sell its Hawkeye-2000 surveillance planes to Islamabad. The American offer to sell the planes was made during a briefing held for top Pakistani defence officials on board US aircraft carrier Nimitz, currently anchored 171 km off Karachi coast yesterday, a Pakistan TV network reported. Two Hawkeye aircraft were also flown to Pakistan navy station PNS Mehran in Karachi yesterday to display them for Pakistani defence officials. A special demonstration of the planes and their features was also held by the commander of Nimitz, rear admiral peter H Daley, on board the warship for the delegation of Pakistan defence officials headed by Defence Secretary Retd General Tariq Wasim Gazil, Geo TV reported. US had earlier offered to sell surveillance aircraft, being used by US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to spy on the movements of the terrorists, to Pakistan, it quoted the American officials as saying. Hawkeye-2000 is operated on ground and on board the US warships. Besides attending the briefing, Gazil also inspected the F-18 jets during the visit of the US naval ship. The Pakistani defence officials team that visited the ship included officials from army, navy, air force and Pakistan's maritime security agency. Equipped with latest communication facilities, the Hawkeye is used to maintain effective contacts between land, air and naval forces. Talks are being held between the two countries on pricing as well as the quantum of planes to be sold to Pakistan. The American offer to sell the new surveillance aircraft to Pakistan follows serious concerns raised by its leaders over the India-US defence pact signed during the recent visit of Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee to the United States. Pakistan has said that acquisition of Pac-3, patriot defence missile systems by India from United States would upset the balance of power in the region and spur arms race. Islamabad is currently on the verge of acquiring F-16 planes to keep in step with the modernisation drive of the Indian Air Force (IAF). According to Pakistan Air force (PAF) officials, Pakistan plans to acquire about 70 new as well as used F-16 aircraft from us at a price of around three billion dollars. Complete archives at http://www.sitbot.net/ Please let us stay on topic and be civil. OM YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
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