Pakistan is expected to receive a fresh batch of AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) from the United States, signaling a renewed phase in defence cooperation between Washington and Islamabad.
Pakistan is expected to receive a fresh batch of AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) from the United States, according to a report by Dawn on Tuesday. The development signals a renewed phase in defence cooperation between Washington and Islamabad. As per the report, a recently disclosed arms contract by the United States Department of War (DoW)—formerly known as the Department of Defence lists Pakistan among the international buyers of the high-precision AMRAAM missiles.
These advanced air-to-air weapons, designed for beyond-visual-range engagements, are currently mounted on the F-16 Falcons operated by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The same missiles were reportedly deployed during the aerial skirmishes that followed India’s Balakot airstrikes in 2019, according to Dawn.
Back in February 2019, India had launched an intelligence-led strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed’s largest training camp in Balakot, eliminating “a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action.”
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The missile manufacturer, Raytheon, was recently awarded a $41.6 million modification contract to an earlier agreement (FA8675-23-C-0037) for the production of the AMRAAM’s C8 and D3 variants, the US DoW announced in a September 30 release.
The modification which includes Pakistan among foreign military sales recipients—raises the total contract value to over $2.51 billion, according to news agency PTI. “This contract involves foreign military sales to UK, Poland, Pakistan, Germany, Finland, Australia, Romania, Qatar, Oman, Korea, Greece, Switzerland, Portugal, Singapore, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Japan, Slovakia, Denmark, Canada, Belgium, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Norway, Spain, Kuwait, Finland, Sweden, Taiwan, Lithuania, Israel, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Turkey,” the official notification stated.
The work under this contract is slated for completion by May 2030.
While it remains unclear how many new AMRAAMs Pakistan will actually receive, the inclusion of Islamabad in the contract has triggered speculation about a potential upgrade of the PAF’s F-16 fleet.
In Pakistan’s arsenal, the AMRAAM is compatible exclusively with F-16 jets. The missile was allegedly used by the PAF to down the Indian Air Force MiG-21 piloted by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman in February 2019, as per the newspaper’s report.
In July, PAF Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar held discussions with officials at the US State Department, further fueling conjecture about expanding defence cooperation.
According to defence publication Quwa, cited by PTI, the AIM-120C8 is the export variant of the AIM-120D, the primary AMRAAM used by US forces. The PAF currently fields the C5 version, 500 of which were acquired with its Block 52 F-16s in 2010, the report noted.
US-Pakistan ties
This military development comes amid improving relations between Washington and Islamabad, following Pakistan’s acknowledgment of former US President Donald Trump’s role in brokering a ceasefire after Operation Sindoor, and even proposing his name for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The operation was launched by India on May 7, in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, striking terrorist infrastructure across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The offensive led to four days of intense cross-border clashes, concluding with a mutual understanding to cease hostilities on May 10.
India, however has maintained that the ceasefire agreement was a direct outcome of talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both nations not an external mediation effort.
