America
US approves $952 mn sale of helicopters, missiles to Pakistan
By
Arun KumarWashington, April 8
The Obama administration has notified the US Congress it's selling
Pakistan $952 million worth of attack helicopters, air-to-surface
missiles and other military assistance saying it will not alter the
basic military balance in the region.
The State Department has
approved the sale saying the "helicopters and weapon systems will
provide Pakistan with military capabilities in support of its counter
terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in South Asia," the
Pentagon's defence sales arms said Tuesday.
The proposed sale
will include 15 AH-1Z Viper Attack Helicopters and 1000 AGM-114R
Hellfire II Missiles and associated equipment, parts, training and
logistical support for an estimated cost of $952 million, the Defence
Security Cooperation Agency said.
The package also includes 32
T-700 GE 401C Engines (30 installed and 2 spares), 36 H-1 Technical
Refresh Mission computers, 32 Helmet Mounted Display/Optimized Top Owl,
17 AN/AAR-47 Missile Warning Systems and system integration and testing.
"This
proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national
security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a
country vital to US foreign policy and national security goals in South
Asia," the announcement said.
It "will provide Pakistan with a precision strike, enhanced survivability aircraft that it can operate at high-altitudes."
"By
acquiring this capability, Pakistan will enhance its ability to conduct
operations in North Waziristan Agency (NWA), the Federally Administered
Tribal Areas (FATA), and other remote and mountainous areas in
all-weather, day-and-night environments," DSCA said.
Pakistan will have no difficulty absorbing these helicopters into its armed forces,it said.
"The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region," DSCA said.
The
principal contractors will be Bell Helicopter, Textron in Fort Worth,
Texas; General Electric in Lynn, Massachusetts; The Boeing Company in
Huntsville, Alabama; and Lockheed Martin in Bethesda, Maryland.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])