Pakistan receives U.S. F-16s

NEW DELHI, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- The United States has delivered the second batch of three F-16 C/D Block 52 aircraft to Pakistan.

The aircraft were flown to the Pakistan airbase at Shahbaz, which shares space with the commercial airport at Jacobabad.

Shahbaz, on the border between Pakistan's Sindh and Baluchistan provinces, is 300 miles north of Pakistan's Karachi port on the Arabian Sea, the main entry point for military logistics for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and 300 miles southeast of Afghanistan's second largest city, Kandahar.

The United States will send two more F-16 C/D Block 52 aircraft next week, Asia News International reported Sunday.

The F-16 C/D aircraft is an advanced fighter aircraft with state-of-the-art avionics and Night Precision Attack capability.

While Pakistan in 2005-06 signed a contract for 18 F-16 C/D Block 52 aircraft, political disagreements intervened. Under the arrangement, the Pakistan air force was to receive the 18 F-16 C/D Block 52 aircraft in staggered batches. The first three aircraft arrived in Pakistan in May, with the remainder expected by December.