F-16 Fighter Jigsaw Puzzle

F-16 Fighter-"The Buzzard Boys from Aviano" During 1993-1994, the 510th Fighter Squadron flew more than 1,700 combat sorties from Aviano AB, Italy, in support of "Operation DENY FLIGHT." In the skies over Bosnia-Herzegovina, the squadron became the ominous "BOSNIA BUZZARDS".

Suspected US drone attack kills 27 in Pak
Sat-May 16, 2009

Islamabad / Press Trust of India

As the Pakistan Army prepared to overwhelm Taliban militants in the Swat Valley,  at least 27 people were killed and six others injured in an missile attack by a US drone in the troubled North Waziristan tribal region on Saturday, witnesses and officials said.

The spy plane fired two missiles at a madrassah (seminary) and a vehicle in Mir Ali area of North Waziristan Agency, witnesses said.

The local political administration said all the people killed in the attack were Taliban fighters though there was no information whether any foreign national was among the dead.

Drones hovered over North Waziristan after the attack, causing panic among people. Local residents said the Taliban cordoned off the area after the attack and prevented people from approaching the site.

This was the third drone attack this month in Pakistan's tribal belt. The area where Saturday's attack occurred is considered a hub for Taliban and al Qaida militants. Eight militants were killed in a drone attack in neighbouring South Waziristan Agency on Tuesday.

There have been over 40 drone attacks since August last year. Nearly 400 people have been killed in these strikes.

Pakistan has angrily opposed the drone attacks, describing them as a violation of its sovereignty and counter-productive for the war on terror due to the collateral damage caused by them.


Blast in Peshawar

Also on Saturday, an explosives-laden car blew up in Peshawar's old city quarters claiming 11 lives, including two children as the army stepped up its operations against Taliban in the region.

Though no group claimed responsibility for the attack in which 20 others were injured, groups like Taliban have threatened to carry out suicide attacks in retaliation of the ongoing army operations in Swat and Buner and Drone attacks in the tribal attack.

Explosives hidden in a car parked in Kakshal in the old quarters of Peshawar went off on Saturday afternoon when the area was crowded with people. A school bus was among several vehicles that were hit by the blast.

The explosive-laden car was parked outside a cyber cafe that was damaged by the blast. Several children, who were in the school bus, and some women were among the injured. The blast caused panic in the city.

Several persons were arrested immediately after the blast and taken by police to an undisclosed location for questioning. There were also reports that some people had resorted to firing after the explosion though there was no official word on this development.

US to sell F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-03-26 08:48


The United States announced plans to sell F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan despite objections from Islamabad's nuclear-rival India.


The sale was part of a new strategic approach to the troubled subcontinent that was presented to both countries by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on her visit there earlier this month, a senior US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A US F-16 jet fighter takes off in 2003 from the US airbase Spangdahlem, Germany. Key US ally Pakistan welcomed a decision by Washington to sell it F-16 fighter jets despite the opposition of nuclear-armed rival India.[AFP/File]
US President George W. Bush on Friday telephoned Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to inform him of the decision, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.


Singh expressed to Bush his "great disappointment," saying it could have "negative consequences" for India's security, according to the Indian leader's spokesman, Sanjaya Baru, in New Delhi.


But the US official said "we don't see any impact on the relevant military balances in the region," adding that the United States was prepared to sell the F-16 and the more sophisticated F-18 fighters to India if they wanted them.


The sale to Islamabad was to make Pakistan more secure, the official said. "It's in the interest of India, Pakistan and the United States that Pakistan feels secure."


India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947 and came close for a fourth clash in 2002.


Pakistan, which has become a major ally of the United States in its war on terror after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, said it would buy the latest version of the F-16.


"We welcome this good gesture and it shows good friendship between Pakistan and the United States," Information Minister Sheikh Rashid said in Islamabad.


The US official said although the number of F-16's offered to Pakistan would be "relatively small, there is no set limit on what the United States is going to be willing to sell."


US officials said Congress was notified Friday of the sale to Pakistan, which already has such combat aircraft.


Democratic Representative Tom Lantos said Pakistan had been a valuable ally in the war against terrorism and gave "strong" support to the F-16 sale.


Islamabad reportedly wants to buy up to 25 additional units.


It has been seeking additional multi-role fighter jets since 1990 when a deal for 40 such planes fell through because of US concerns over the country's nuclear programme.


But relations between the United States and Pakistan warmed up after Islamabad helped the Americans topple the hardline Taliban regime in Afghanistan in 2001.


India says arming Pakistan with the sophisticated warplanes would upset the military balance in the region and cast a shadow over the slow dialogue process under way between the nuclear-armed neighbours.


Pramit Mitra, an analyst with the Center of Strategic and International Studies, said among key questions about the sale were: the number of planes to be sold to Pakistan and whether they would have a capability to arm nuclear weapons in mid-air.



Washington had previously expressed a desire to remove that capability, he said.

The United States should have made the sale conditional upon Pakistan promising not to increase the size of its nuclear arsenal, halting any production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons as well as implementing reforms on export controls, said Brookings Institution analyst Michael O'Hanlon.

"This would have been a better way to justify the F-16 sale," he said.

India is considering buying combat aircraft "on a scale very large," the anonymous US official said.

It is believed India was eyeing a variety of aircraft, including Lockheed Martin's F-16s, France's Dassault Aviation's Mirage jet fighters, Swedish-made Gripen fighters and the Russian MiG range, made by Mikoyan-Gurevich.

US officials said Washington was willing to work with New Delhi in defense co-production and technology licensing, and covering areas such as command and control, early warning systems and missile defense as part of a plan to make India a "major world power in the 21st century".