TAI Hands Over First PAF F-16 Aircraft To Pakistan

The Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc. (TAI) has handed over to Pakistan the first PAF F-16 aircraft after the modernization and flight tests were successfully completed. TAI and the Pakistan Air Force, in 2009, signed a deal called the F-16 Modernization (Peace Drive II) Program under which TAIs engineers and technicians perform avionics and structural modernization of a total of 41 F-16 aircraft that are in the inventory of Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The test flights of each modernized aircraft are also performed by TAI’s F- 16 Test Pilots. Within the terms of the deal, TAI also provides classroom and on-the-job training to 72 PAF technicians. Upon completion of their trainings, the technicians directly participate in the ongoing modernization activities at TAI. The entire program, which began in 2010, is expected to be completed by September 2014.