Scraps Stuffs - Random musings from apun ka desh

A while back, the Bush administration made public their decision to supply Pakistan with 24 F-16 combat aircraft. As part of their equal-equal treatment of India, they also announced their decision to sell F-16 and F-16 class aircraft to India, should we wish to buy them.

The motives behind supplying F-16s to Pakistan can be many

1. Rewarding their "faithfull ally" for "supporting" the so-called US war on terror
2. Preventing the loss of five thousand odd jobs at the F-16 plant which is guess is in Forth-Worth, Texas - Bush's home state
3. Supporting the balance of power between India and Pakistan by preventing India from achieving overwhelming dominance in air power, something which we are in the process of doing
4. Try and make money by selling large numbers of similar aircraft to India. The US is a past master in the game of selling sophisticated arms to both sides in a conflict. They sell to Turkey as well as Greece. They also sell to Israel and to Egypt and Saudi Arabia

On no account should India actually take the bait and make the mistake of buying US warplanes. There are a number of reasons for doing so

1. The US is a notoriously unreliable supplier of arms. Even signed contracts are not sacrosanct. After India's nuclear tests, the US stopped the supply of spare parts that kept most of India's fleet of Sea King helicopters non-operational. At least one of India's Sea Harriers was also grounded because the US refused to supply spares for it. Although both the Sea King and Sea Harriers are of British origin, some of their crucial spare parts are of US origin.
2. Buying large numbers of F-16s from the US (we have an outstanding need to purchase about 126+ multi role combat aircraft - MRCA to replace the phasing out of older types and airframes in the next few years) will enable the US to cheaply keep their F-16 plant operational, therby enabling Pakistan to get cheap and ready supply of spares from it.
3. Buying large numbers of F/A-18s serves no purpose because F/A-18 C/D versions are short ranged while the F/A-18 E/F versions are simply bomb trucks without the requisite agility required for air to air work. Besides the Super Hornet (F/A-18 E/F) is pretty expensive. Better to spend out scarce monetary resources on better aircraft from more reliable suppliers who will sell us their aircraft with few string attached and also provide transfer of technology to a higher extent than the US ever will. Besides the US hasn't ever allowed third-party equipment (primarily avionics) to be installed in their aircraft, except minor items from OEMs
4. Buying from the US rewards the US for supplying the aircraft to India's adversary. The F-16s will not be used on anyone else except India. Also the moment Pakistanis feel that the US is backing them (and supplying large quantities of sophisticated aircraft is certainly a strong signal), they start getting cocky and issuing veiled threats. Witness Musharraf's threat of many more Kargils if the India-Pakistan "dialogue" doesn't being to produce results (read, results entirely in Pakistan's favour)

The primary problem with this US decision is the possibility, nay the probability, of the aircraft being supplied to Pakistan free of cost! Having Pakistan buy them serves as a limit to the number the Pakistanis can acquire. Giving them away removes the limit. Already there is a talk on the Pakistanis' acquiring upto 111 of these aircraft including upgrading their existing older Block 15 versions of the F-16. If this turns out to be true, only a fool will say that the balance of power in South Asia is not altered (actually lots of "well regarded" Indian analysts like K. Subrahmanyam who really should know better, also argue that the balance of power is not altered).

As far as I'm concerned any additional Indian soldiers killed because of these F-16s will put paid to the analysts rantings.