AH-64, Harpoons for Pakistan?

US mulling weapons sales to Pakistan

17 June 2004: The United States is considering a Pakistani request for selling the newest variants of surface-to-air missiles, the 2001 anti-ship Harpoon missiles, state-of-the-art communication equipment, and at least ten AH-64 attack helicopters for the anti-Al Qaeda operations in the FATA areas of Baluchistan and the North West Frontier Province.

Pakistan is a major non-NATO military ally (MNNA) of the US, and as such, the US has to consider if not concede all its requests, but Pakistan also has to make out a case for getting these weapon systems, which it has not so far, and diplomats say is unlikely to.

Pakistan is willing only to pay a third of the price for all the weapons systems, save the Harpoons, which it is eager to buy even at full price, but the US is puzzled to what use Pakistan could put anti-ship missiles in the anti-Al Qaeda campaign in the mountainous FATA region.

Diplomats said that if Pakistan is unable to make a case for these weapons systems, as is very likely, then the US may lease them, except the Harpoon missiles, for the duration of the anti-Al Qaeda campaign.

In normal circumstances, India would not question the weapons’ sales, as they are meant for anti-terrorism operations, but diplomats indicated that to put pressure on India to deploy troops in Iraq, etc, the US could even supply the Harpoons and other force multipliers.

http://newsinsight.net/nati2.asp?recno=2801