US Approves Sale of Air-to-Air Missiles to Pakistan

After sending its first consignment of mineral samples to Washington under a rare earths deal, Pakistan may soon receive the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) from the United States. An arms contract recently notified by the United States Department of War (DoW)--formerly Department of Defence-- lists Islamabad among the buyers for AIM-120 AMRAAM.

The approval comes weeks after US President Donald Trump hosted Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir at the White House, amidst improving ties between Washington and Islamabad.

Per DoW's notification, Raytheon — the manufacturer of the AMRAAM — was given a modification of over USD 41.6 million on a "previously awarded contract (FA8675-23-C-0037)" based on "firm-fixed-price (P00026)" for the production of the missile's C8 and D3 variants.

A newly modified arms contract includes Pakistan among its foreign military sales recipients. It raises the total value of the contract to over USD 2.51 billion, and said order is expected to be completed by the end of May 2030.

"This contract involves foreign military sales to the UK, Poland, Pakistan, Germany, Finland, Australia, Romania, Qatar, Oman, Korea, Greece, Switzerland, Portugal, Singapore, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Japan, Slovakia, Denmark, Canada, Belgium, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Norway, Spain, Kuwait, Finland, Sweden, Taiwan, Lithuania, Israel, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Turkey," the notification states.

What It Means For India

Though it remains unclear exactly how many, if any, new AMRAAM missiles would be delivered to Pakistan, the development has triggered speculation about potential upgrades to the Pakistan Air Force's F-16 fleet.

The AMRAAM is compatible exclusively with the F-16 fighter jet operated by the Pakistan Air Force. The missile was used to shoot down the Indian Air Force MiG-21 flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman in February 2019, according to a report by Pakistani daily The Express Tribune.

About The Missile

According to the defence publication Quwa, the AIM-120C8 is the export version of the AIM-120D, the main AMRAAM variant in US service. The PAF currently operates the earlier C5 variant, 500 of which were acquired alongside its latest Block 52 F-16s in 2010, the paper said.

The AIM-120 is reportedly one of the world's most widely used beyond-visual-range (BVR) air combat weapons. It has a “fire-and-forget” capability, which allows the missile to be fired over long distances and manoeuvre without a radar lock. The missile uses the onboard radar to track and follow the target, freeing the pilot from having to keep it guided.

The development follows Pakistan Air Force Chief Zaheer Ahmed Babar's July visit to the US State Department.

US-Pak Relations

The development comes as relations between the US and Pakistan showed signs of improvement after the four-day military conflict between Pakistan and India in May. Pakistan credited US President Donald Trump for arranging a ceasefire and topped it by proposing his name for the Nobel Peace Prize. India has consistently maintained that the understanding on cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was reached following direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two militaries.