Pak says Indian AWACS would trigger arms race

Islamabad, May 28 (PTI) Pakistan Thursday voiced concern
over the acquisition of Airborne Warning And Control System
(AWACS) aircraft by India and said it would counter the threat
by inducting 500 American Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles.

Claiming that induction of AWACS by India would trigger a
new arms race in the subcontinent, Pakistan's Air chief Air
Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman said Islamabad would match this
capability by acquiring its own AWACS by September this year.

The Air chief told newsmen in Risalpur that Pakistan was
also procuring more US-made F-16 fighter aircraft.

Suleman was commenting on reports that India had inducted
the first of its three Phalcon AWACS into the Indian Air
Force.

Pakistan is proposing to buy a Swedish SAAB Ericsson
AWACS, which however, have a limited range as compared to the
Phalcons.

The Air Chief said PAF was supporting the military in its
ongoing operations in Swat and Malakand in NWFP. "PAF had
destroyed several Taliban hideouts and caches of ammunition to
pave the way for rapid advance by ground forces in Swat."

Asked about whether Pakistan had capability to shoot down
drones, Suleman said "definitely" and cited the shooting down
of an Indian surveillance plane in 2002 near Lahore. PTI CORR
PMR
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