Northrop Grumman has been awarded a 488 million contract by the United States Air force to provide long term engineering and technical support of the radar systems on F-16 Fighting Falcon jets, where Pakistan is one of the beneficiary nations.
As per an official notice, the firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract will include the support of APG-66 and APG-68 radar systems.
It will be implemented in Linthicum Heights, Maryland and is expected to last until March 31, 2036.
The accord is part of the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme, and involves various partner countries, including Egypt, Greece, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Pakistan, Turkiye, and others.
The US Air Force Lifecycle Management Centre in Utah gave the contract on a sole-source basis and an initial obligation of $2.64 million is already in place.
The sale underscores the fact that Washington remains dedicated to operational preparedness of F-16 stock in friendly and partner air forces.
Although Pakistan operates a large fleet of fighter aircrafts of the US origin, the nation has been under continuously maintaining and upgrading the aircrafts.
The development was announced after another notification (in December 2025) by the Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), which notified Congress about a proposed $686 million package to upgrade the F-16 fleet in Pakistan.
The package consisted of high-level communication systems and avionics upgrades, training, and logistical support.
Lockheed Martin was revealed as the prime contractor in the upgrade programme, which is to last until 2040.
According to US authorities, the program would improve interoperability with partner forces and counterterrorism activities, but would not have an impact on US defence preparedness.
Combined with the upgrade package, the radar support contract is indicative of continued US involvement in enhancing the F-16 capabilities in Pakistan as part of wider defence cooperation models.
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