The United States on Friday rejected reports that Pakistan will get new advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAMs) under a recently revised contract.
The US clarified that this amendment pertains only to maintenance and spare parts support and does not include delivery of any new weapons.
In a statement, the US Embassy said the War Department’s September 30 announcement referred to “amendments to existing Foreign Military Sales contracts for maintenance and spares for a number of countries, including Pakistan.”
The embassy stressed that “contrary to false media reports, no part of this referenced contract amendment is intended for the delivery of new AMRAAMS to Pakistan,” and added that the continued work “does not include the upgrade of any of Pakistan’s current capabilities.”
The clarification comes after media reports, including Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper, interpreted the US War Department’s September 30 contract update as a new missile sale to Pakistan.
The official release announced that Tucson, Arizona-based Raytheon Company has received a US$41 million modification to an existing contract.
The total value with the AMRAAM production contract exceeds US$2.5 billion.
According to the original War Department 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 included among the participating countries in the announcement, the US Embassy has now confirmed that its inclusion is related to continued ongoing support and not new missile deliveries.
Earlier, Pakistan had purchased around 700 AMRAAMs for its F-16 fleet in 2007, which was the largest international order for the air-to-air missile system at that time.
News of a new supply agreement came just weeks after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief General Asim Munir met US President Donald Trump in September.
