$41 million AMRAAM deal with Pakistan sparks speculation

New Delhi: The recent modification of an American order on missile manufacturer Raytheon, which mentions Pakistan as a recipient of a sale order, has thrown up speculation on the nature of weapons being supplied to the neighbouring country but could just be a standard upgrade to existing systems.

At the centre of the speculation is a $41-million modification on an order for C8 and D3 variants of Advance Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM). These missiles are already in service with Pakistan and were also launched by its F16s during the Balakot conflict.

The Pentagon order, dated September 30, mentions 35 nations, including Pakistan, as those likely to purchase the missiles under the Foreign Military Sales pact. However, the very limited value of $41 million is likely to mean upgrades as part of the standard life of a weapon systems.


Given that the current cost per unit of an Amraam is nearly $2 million, the amount is unlikely to mean fresh purchases for now.

It may be noted that days after the Pentagon notification came to light, it was announced on Tuesday that Raytheon has received a $11.2 million order for obsolescence management of the Amraam missile series. This will go towards upgrading processors and electronics of existing systems.

Pakistan has increasingly been using Chinese air-to-air missiles as its fighter jets also come from Beijing. Chinese missiles being bought by Pakistan are both cheaper and have longer ranges than American systems being supplied.