No upgrade to Pakistan’s capabilities: US denies reports of supplying AMRAAMs to Islamabad

The US has said that it is not providing any new AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) to Pakistan. This comes amid reports that amid strengthening bilateral ties, the US was providing AMRAAMs to Pakistan that would upgrade their air power.

The US government said that the list released on September 30 was of standard contract announcements, “which referred to an amendment to an existing Foreign Military Sales contract for sustainment and spares for several countries, including Pakistan”.

“The administration would like to emphasise that contrary to false media reports, no part of this referenced contract modification is for deliveries of new Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) to Pakistan. The sustainment does not include an upgrade to any of Pakistan’s current capabilities,” it said. 

The clarification came after reports stated that Pakistan was set to receive AIM-120 AMRAAMs from the United States, as per a recent arms contract notification by the United States Department of War lists Pakistan as a buyer of the AMRAAM system. The contract, awarded to Raytheon, the manufacturer of the AMRAAM, has been modified with an additional value of over USD 41.6 million, stated reports. 

The notification stated that the contract modification expands the agreement's scope to meet the needs of multiple countries, including the UK, Poland, Pakistan, Germany, Finland, Australia, Romania, Qatar, Oman, Korea, Greece, Switzerland, Portugal, Singapore, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Japan, Slovakia, Denmark, Canada, Belgium, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Norway, Spain, Kuwait, Sweden, Taiwan, Lithuania, Israel, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Turkey. Work under the contract is scheduled for completion by the end of May 2030, it said.