ISLAMABAD, Jan 20: The new chief of the Pakistan Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Pervaiz Mehdi Qureshi, has said that Pakistan should buy aircraft from Russia to upgrade its capabilities since there is ``little expectation'' of the United States releasing Pakistan's 71 F-16 aircraft ordered but not delivered due to the Pressler Amendment. ``We should try and open a dialogue with Moscow for their good, cheaper aircraft,'' said Pakistan's air chief, in his first ever interview, published in a local English language daily.Qureshi said, ``We would be well placed if all the 71 F-16's ordered had been delivered to us, but I think that the Pressler law was not made to scrap within a span of four years as it was a specific law to deal with Pakistan.
The air chief said in his interview that ``technological disparity'' between Pakistan and India has ``assumed acute proportions.'' He said that if war broke out with ``the enemy'', the decisive factor would be air power.
Pakistan, he added, has four options to acquirehi-technology aircraft: Russia, Britain, Sweden and France.
Regarding the development of the Super-7 aircraft, Qureshi said that it was a ``viable option'' for which the air frame would be manufactured in China, its engine supplied by Russia and the remaining systems would be bought from Western sources.
``The Super-7 is a multi-role medium term aircraft, which should not be confused with the Mirage 2000-5,'' said the Pakistani air chief. It is being developed with cooperation from China.
The Pakistan air chief was appointed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after allegations of drug smuggling by some officers led to the removal of the then air chief. A highly decorated officer, Qureshi is regarded by observers as being a competent and honest officer brought in to clean the image of the air force which was affected by the drug smuggling scandal.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
