Where are the F-16 worshipers? Please read this article.
An agreement with the United States means the Pakistani Air Force can only use its F-16s for counterterrorism missions.
nationalinterest.org
Where Were Pakistan’s F-16s During Its Clash With India?
May 13, 2025
By:
Christian D. Orr
An agreement with the United States means the Pakistan Air Force can only use its F-16s for counterterrorism missions.
Now that
the Trump administration has mediated a ceasefire and
Operation Sindoor (the official Indian government moniker for its operation in Pakistan) has wound down, reports are circulating that the two belligerents’ fighter jocks engaged each other in a clash involving over 125 jets, in what some pundits are calling the “
largest dogfight since WW2.”
Yet amongst all the
claims and
counterclaims from each country’s media outlets about which side
supposedly one-upped the other, references to the
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Tejas (“Radiance”) and the
Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon, aka
“the Viper,” are conspicuous due to their absence. Which naturally begs the question “Why?”
America’s Demands on Pakistani F-16s
Thus far, I have been unable to answer the Indian Air Force’s part of that question. But we do have the answer to the Pakistani half of the question, thanks to Regtechtimes reporter Mayur Joshi in an article republished on MSN: “
Counterterrorism Only: U.S Blocked Pakistan’s F-16s from War Use Against India.” To wit:
“
According to the [foreign military sales] agreement between the United States and Pakistan, these jets can only be used for counterterrorism missions. That means they are meant to help fight terrorists inside Pakistan, especially in areas like the tribal regions near the western border. The jets are not meant for use in any direct war with another country. The rules don’t directly mention India, but it is clearly understood that these planes should not be used in any conflict with India. The agreement also covers the use of certain missiles like the AIM-120 AMRAAM, which are loaded on the F-16s. These missiles are also under strict control and cannot be used without permission from the US.
Even though Pakistan owns the jets, the US still controls what they can and cannot do with them. If Pakistan uses the F-16s in a war against India without permission, it would break the agreement.”
Needless to say, a response to India’s conventional uniformed military forces doesn’t qualify as a counterterrorism mission.
A violation of this agreement would trigger the United States to cut off the provision of spare parts, repair work, and other logistical assistance to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Vipers, effectively leaving them grounded.
As far as the internal counterterrorism mission for the F-16 is concerned,
the Iraqi Air Force demonstrated during its 2015-2018 fight against the Islamic Stateterrorist group that Viper could indeed play an effective role. (As a quick personal aside, in an ironic twist of fate, several of my old former contractor colleagues with whom I worked on the Iraqi F-16 program are now
doing the same thing for the PAF F-16 program.)
No Such Quid Pro Quo from China
By contrast, China has imposed no such usage restrictions on its own warbirds—such as
the JF-17 Thunder and
J-10 Vigorous Dragon fighters—or the ordnance that Beijing has sold to Pakistan. This explains why we are hearing stories about the PAF’s successful use of
Chinese-made PL-15 air-to-air missiles against the Indian Air Force’s
French-built Rafale jets (as well as Russian-designed
Su-30MKIs and
MiG-29s).
Parting Observations on the Pakistani F-16
According to my TNI colleague Sebastien Roblin, the last time a PAF F-16 driver was officially credited with an air-to-air jet kill was way back on Lt. Khalid Mahmood shot down an
Su-24M “Fencer” bomber belonging to the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan Air Force (the aerial warfare branch of the puppet government installed by the Soviet Union during the
Soviets’ occupation of
Afghanistan).
Though twenty-seven years is a long lag time, that’s still a real-world combat experience factor that, as far as we know, the Indian Tejas crews are still lacking.
In the meantime,
the hypothetical showdown between Tejas and Viper remains just that, hypothetical.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr
Christian D. Orr was previously a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ) and 19FortyFive. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with
