“Pakistan, by purchasing these armed UAVs from Turkey, wants to keep the dream of acquiring India’s Jammu-Kashmir relevant,” said NK Sood, a former officer of India’s premier external intelligence agency, RAW (Research & Analysis Wing).

“It is strange that on the one hand, Pakistan is begging before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for loans to restore its economy but on the other hand making a major deal with Turkey for Akinci drones,” Sood told EurAsian Times.

Recently Pakistan Air Force (PAF) designed a shiny patch for its combat pilots who had received training on Akinci drones in Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar. The patch shows India’s Jammu & Kashmir as Pakistan territory.

This patch will be worn by the pilots operating these Akinci combat drones. Pakistan is believed to have received the first batch of 6-7 Bayraktar Akinci drones. However, no official announcement has been made by Turkey or Pakistan.

Akinci patch of PAF is inspired by the TV series Game of Thrones and has Games of Drones written on it along with House of Akinci. The patch also quotes, “Fear cuts deeper than swords.”

The possible acquisition of Turkish drones comes at a time when the South Asian country is witnessing feuds even over the distribution of daily items like flour. But these drones are also a cause of worry for neighboring India, which is already seething under large-scale smuggling of narcotics drugs & weapons from the Pakistan border via drones.

Bayraktar Akinci is a high-altitude long-endurance drone that can be armed with ammunition. Akinci is the Turkish word for ‘raider.’ The drone can fire various missiles, both air-to-air and air-to-ground.

Bayraktar Akinci, designed and developed by the Turkish company Baykar, was first tested in 2019. The mass production of the combat drone began in 2021 and entered the Turkish armed forces in the same year.

The Turkish combat drone is a strategic class platform that can carry various payloads. As per the company’s claim, the Akinci is “capable of conducting operations that are performed with fighter jets.”

“Bayraktar Akinci is equipped with dual artificial intelligence avionics which supports signal processing, sensor fusion, and situational awareness in real-time. It carries electronic support systems, dual satellite communication systems, air-to-air radar, collision avoidance radar, and synthetic aperture radar,” reads the specifications of Akinci drones by the Turkish company.

Akinci is 12.2m in length and 4.1m in height and can carry a maximum weight of 6000 kilograms, including a payload of 1500 kilograms. As claimed by Bayraktar, the drone has a wingspan of 20m and can fly at a height of 40 thousand feet.

Pakistan, Azerbaijan, and many other nations friendly to Turkey already operate Bayraktar TB2 tactical armed drones. Azerbaijan used these TB2 drones against Armenia in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War.

These Turkish drones, along with those procured from Israel, were believed to be the primary reason for the victory of Azerbaijan against Armenia. Ukraine has also operated Turkish TB2 drones in the ongoing war with Russia.

But what has caught everyone’s eye now is the Pakistani deal for much coveted Turkish combat drones. Largely because Pakistan’s economy is in tatters these days. Pakistan was in talks with the IMF for loans, but those have been stalled.

Pakistan recently came out of the gray list of FATF (Financial Action Task Force) but cannot get loans from international funding agencies. This has led Pakistani shopkeepers to sell flour in black. People can be seen in long queues for daily used items.

There have been reports of stampedes and deaths of women and children during the flour distribution system. On Sunday, the petrol prices were increased by Rs 10, taking the price to Rs 282 per liter. Pakistan is reeling under intense inflation.

Such has been a scarcity of essential goods that Pakistan had to plead with its all-weather friend, China, for supplies of essential commodities. At Pakistan’s request, China had to open the Integrated Check Posts of the icy Karakoram Pass for the supply of goods much before their scheduled openings in April.

According to Sood, although Pakistan has no external threat from India but wants to use this bogey to acquire these Turkish drones. As is evident, India has never invaded or attacked Pakistan. All the wars (’47-48, ’65 & ’71) which both the South Asian neighboring adversaries have fought were started by Pakistan.

While speaking to EurAsian Times, Sood quoted erstwhile Pakistan Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who had said that his country (Pakistan) “could eat grass but would still make nuclear bombs.”

But Sood said that now Pakistan would not even get grass for its donkeys, referring to the large-scale flood which had erupted in large parts of the country last year, leading to the destruction of crops, which has aggravated economic turmoil.

The post Pakistan acquires cutting-edge Turkish Bayraktar Akinci drones; India concerned appeared first on IMR.

As a notification to the US Congress, the State Department has made a determination approving a possible foreign military sale of F-16 case for sustainment and related equipment for an estimated cost of USD 450 million, arguing that this will sustain Islamabad’s capability to meet current and future counterterrorism threats by maintaining its F-16 fleet.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on 7 September.

First major security assistance to Pakistan after Trump ceased it in 2018

This is the first major security assistance to Pakistan after Trump in 2018 had announced to stop all defense and security assistance to Pakistan alleging that Islamabad was not a partner in its fight against terrorism.

 “The United States Government has notified Congress of a proposed Foreign Military Sales case to sustain the Pakistan Air Force’s F-16 programme. Pakistan is an important counterterrorism partner, and as part of longstanding policy, the United States provides life cycle maintenance and sustainment packages for US-origin platforms,” a State Department spokesperson said.

 “Pakistan’s F-16 programme is an important part of the broader United States-Pakistan bilateral relationship. The proposed sale will sustain Pakistan’s capability to meet current and future counterterrorism threats by maintaining its F-16 fleet. The F-16 fleet allows Pakistan to support counterterrorism operations and we expect Pakistan to take sustained action against all terrorist groups,” the spokesperson further said in response to a question.

According to the Congressional notification, the proposed sale does not include any new capabilities, weapons, or munitions.

It said that Pakistan has requested to consolidate prior F-16 sustainment and support cases to support the Pakistan Air Force F-16 fleet by reducing duplicate case activities and adding additional continued support elements.

The USD 450 million foreign military sale to Pakistan participation in F-16 Aircraft Structural Integrity Programme, electronic combat international security assistance programme, international engine management programme, engine component improvement programme, and other technical coordination groups; aircraft and engine hardware and software modifications and support and aircraft and engine spare repair/return parts.

 ‘Partner forces in ongoing counterterrorism efforts’

The Pentagon said this 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 proposed sale will continue the sustainment of Pakistan’s F-16 fleet, which greatly improves Pakistan’s ability to support counterterrorism operations through its robust air-to-ground capability. Pakistan will have no difficulty absorbing these articles and services into its armed forces,” it said.

According to the Congressional notification, the proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The post US approves $450 million F-16 fleet sustainment programme to Pakistan appeared first on IMR.

The Pakistani government has confirmed the purchase of at least 25 Chinese J-10C fighter jets for the Pakistan Air Force.

Sheikh Rashid, Pakistan’s interior minister, told reporters in Rawalpindi on Wednesday that a squadron of 25 Chinese-made jets would do a flyover on March 23.

According to Sheikh Rashid, the Chinese fighter jets are “an answer to India’s Rafale jets.”

During their talk, however, the minister repeatedly mispronounced the names of the planes, referring to them as “Chinese JS-10.”

Rashid is known for making fun of his elite English-medium colleagues by referring to himself as a graduate of Urdu-medium colleges.

While rumours of Pakistan getting Chinese jets have been circulating for some time, there is still a large question mark over the Chinese jets’ ability to compete with the modern French Rafale.

Although China has been utilising the J-10C multirole fighter aircraft to replace the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s (PLAAF) brigades’ considerably outdated J-7E fighters, it has relied on its much more sophisticated J-20 stealth jets to monitor the Taiwan Strait and the East China Sea.

Last year, the J-10C aircraft took part in a joint Pakistan-China exercise, where Pakistani experts got a detailed look at the fighter jets.

The joint drills began on December 7 and lasted roughly 20 days in Pakistan, with China sending J-10C and J-11B fighter jets, as well as KJ-500 early warning aircraft and Y-8 electronic warfare aircraft, and Pakistan sending JF-17 and Mirage III fighter jets.

Pakistan has a fleet of US-made F-16s, which are a suitable match for the Rafale, but it needed a new multirole all-weather fighter to supplement its defence after India bought Rafale jets.

The post Pakistan buys 25 Chinese J-10C fighters in response to India’s Rafale appeared first on IMR.