Special to WorldTribune.com

LONDON — Jordan has delivered U.S.-origin fighter-jets to Pakistan.

Pakistan has received the first of 13 F-16A/B multi-role fighters from Jordan.

Pakistani sources said five aircraft arrived and were deployed by the Pakistan Air Force on April 27.

“This new fighter would increase the capacity of the Air Force,” Pakistan Air Force commander Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt said.

This marked the first delivery of F-16s by Jordan. Over the last 15 years, Jordan has developed an F-16 fleet of more than 60 aircraft, all of them surplus from NATO air forces.

Diplomatic sources said the United States, blocked by Congress, has urged other F-16 operators to export the aircraft to Pakistan. They said potential suppliers included Egypt, Jordan and Turkey.

In his address, Butt said Pakistan was forced to purchase surplus F-16s
because of budget difficulties. He said the fighters, housed at the Air
Force base in Sargodha, were in good condition.

  F-16A/B multi-role fighters, Jordan exports surplus F-16s to Pakistan, Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt