Pakistan will soon receive Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) from US defence manufacturer Raytheon, following a contract modification that added the country to the buyer list, it emerged on Tuesday.
According to a September 30 press release issued by the US Department of War, Raytheon has been awarded a $41.6 million firm-fixed-price modification to a previously approved contract for the enhanced C8 and D3 variants of AMRAAM missiles. The update raises the total value of the deal to $2.5 billion, up from $2.47 billion.
The contract specifies that production work will be carried out in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to conclude by May 30, 2030. Pakistan joins a list of buyers that includes the United Kingdom, Poland, Germany, Finland, Australia, and Saudi Arabia, among others.
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Notably, Pakistan was not included in the initial May 7 contract, marking this addition as a significant development in US-Pakistan defence relations. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) equips these missiles on its F-16 fighter jets, which have been central to its air defence capability.
The AMRAAM missiles were also reportedly used during Operation Swift Retort in February 2019, when the PAF shot down two Indian Air Force jets violating Pakistani airspace over Kashmir.
Pakistan had previously purchased 700 AMRAAM missiles in 2007, the largest international order for the weapon at that time. The new inclusion signals renewed strategic cooperation between Islamabad and Washington amid improving bilateral ties.
