India will not touch the F16 even with the Barge Pole
Major General David A Piffarerio, Mobilisation Assistant to the Deputy Commander of the US Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), probably meant it to be in lighter vain when he stated that “the United States is ready to offer F-16 fighter jets to India.”. He must have forgotten that IAF had rejected this fighter jet being technically much inferior to Rafale and the Eurofighter.
A PAF F16 Was even shot down in aerial combat by a MiG 21 Bison of the IAF ,a fighter which is at least half a generation behind the F16. For ages USA has been wanting to sell F21 an avatar of F16 but have not been able to impress and trap the IAF.
Speaking with reporters on India’s defence sector and F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets, Major General Piffarerio said, “…The more options that are out there, I think the stronger the Indian Air Force is going to be in the future.” He is probably not aware that Tejas MK1 A is far superior to any latest variant of F16.
No wonder GE the American company is giving all kinds of excuses to justify the delay in supplying the jet engines for this fighter. However this Isa good thing for India as it will spur all out development of Kaveri engine.
He added, “We certainly want to give them the best that we have — the F-16s. But ultimately it’s going to be a choice for the Indian Air Force on what they want to do with their air defence.” (We always thought that F35 was their best fighter….though India is not interested in this fighter also).
Notably, the US State Department in June had announced the clearance of two possible sales to Taiwan of F-16 parts and supporting equipment, valued at a total of USD 300 million for Taiwan.
Pentagon’s Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said the packages would include standard (USD 220 million) and non-standard (USD 80 million) spare and repair parts, components, consumables, and accessories for F-16 aircraft, as well as other technical and logistics support services, Focus Taiwan reported, citing the press releases.
The DSCA stated that the proposed sales would further strengthen Taiwan’s requirements “to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of [Taiwan’s] fleet of F-16 aircraft.”
According to the DSCA, the package would also support regional economic growth, political stability, military balance, and enhanced Taiwanese security.
The US Congress was informed of the possible sales, according to the DSCA. The permission does not imply that an agreement has been signed for the equipment, according to Focus Taiwan.
