US Denies Reports of New Missile Sale to Pakistan
Washington: The US on Friday rejected reports suggesting that Pakistan would receive new Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) under a recently amended contract, explaining that the change was only related to sustainment and spare parts support and did not include any new weapons deliveries.
The War Department’s Sept. 30 announcement referred to “an amendment to the existing Foreign Military Sales contract for reinforcements and spare parts to several countries, including Pakistan,” the U.S. Embassy said in a statement.
The embassy emphasized that “contrary to inaccurate media reports, no part of the contract amendment in question is directed towards the delivery of new AMRAAM to Pakistan” and added that the sustainment study “does not involve an upgrade to any of Pakistan’s existing capabilities”.
The statement was made following media reports, including reports from Pakistan. Dawn The newspaper interpreted the US War Department’s contract update dated September 30 as a new missile sale to Pakistan. Raytheon Co., headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, has received a US$41 million modification to its existing AMRAAM production contract, bringing the total value to over US$2.5 billion, the official announcement announced.
According to the War Department’s original statement, the contract covers foreign military sales to several countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Israel, Australia, Qatar, Oman, Singapore, Japan, Canada, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Kuwait, Turkey and Pakistan, and is expected to be completed by May 2030.
Although Pakistan was among the participating countries in the announcement, the US Embassy confirmed that this list was related to ongoing sustainment support and not new missile deliveries.
Pakistan had previously purchased around 700 AMRAAMs for its F-16 fleet in 2007; this was the largest international order for an air-to-air missile system at the time.
Reports of a new supply deal emerged weeks after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defense Staff Gen. Asim Munir met with US President Donald Trump in September.
