In his second term as President, Donald Trump has stunned the world by reversing the policies and decisions he had made in his previous term. For the South Asian region, this means Pakistan receives funding for maintaining its F-16 fighter jet fleet while its arch-rival India gets an unexpected offer for the sale of the F-35 stealth aircraft.
Shortly after taking office in January 2025, Trump ordered a 90-day foreign aid freeze, halting all kinds of aid, including humanitarian assistance, in a bid to prioritize America’s interests. However, by the end of January, Trump reversed course and granted military aid to Egypt and Israel, the US’s closest allies in the Middle East.
However, Trump also made some other lesser-known exceptions, a list of which was obtained by Reuters earlier this month. Of the 243 items on the list, there is a little surprise: the US$397 million funding for Pakistan to maintain the F-16 fighter jet fleet.
According to reports, the US will monitor the use of these cutting-edge fighter jets to ensure they are used only for counterterrorism (CT) and counterinsurgency (COIN) operations and not deployed against India, Pakistan’s adversary across the border. This is because the US military sale agreement with Pakistan limits how the country can use these warplanes.
The unfreezing of money for Pakistan’s F-16 sustenance by Donald Trump at this juncture is interesting because it was Trump himself who had earlier halted all defense and security aid to Pakistan in January 2018. At the time, Trump expressed disdain for Pakistan for not acting against certain terrorist networks and alleged that Islamabad was not a partner in America’s fight against terrorism.
“The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit,” Trump had said at that time. “They give safe havens to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan…No more!”
Later, the Biden administration approved the potential sale of F-16 fighter jet fleet sustainment and related equipment to Pakistan in a deal valued at US$ 450 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement the sustainment program would assist Pakistan in its campaign against terrorism with a reminder that it will not affect the status quo in the region.
At the time, India voiced “serious objections” to the US plan for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Pakistan. However, US officials tried to assuage India’s concerns by arguing that it was a sale and not assistance from the US government.
While the Indian government has yet to react to the latest F-16 aid granted to Pakistan, it is anticipated to take a strong exception to the decision.
Earlier, the Pakistani Air Force allegedly used the F-16 Fighting Falcons against India in 2019 following India’s air strikes on terrorist hideouts in Balakot, Pakistan. The move triggered a massive controversy as an IAF MiG-21 was downed in the encounter. On its part, India claimed to have shot down a Pakistani F-16, but Islamabad denied India’s claim.
While Pakistan denied using the F-16, it was later reprimanded by the US for misusing the aircraft against the IAF.
Against that backdrop and amid strengthening ties with India, it is unclear why the Trump administration released funds for the F-16 sustainment. However, it largely points to the President’s priorities related to security, counter-terrorism, and a crackdown on narcotics, which perhaps includes giving a second chance to Pakistan, a former US Cold War ally.
For one, the security situation in Pakistan has been rapidly deteriorating, especially with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) attacks on civilians and Pakistani security forces on the rise.
The decision appears to have outraged Indian netizens on social media site X. Some users cited the 2019 air strike incident to stress that Pakistan could not be trusted and would likely use its F-16 fleet against the IAF again, emboldened by the United States’ support.
Nonetheless, this development comes at a rather interesting time. In addition to providing F-16 support to Pakistan, the Trump administration has also surprised the world by offering India the F-35 Lightning II stealth aircraft.
Trump’s Unexpected F-35 Offer To India
US President Donald Trump’s offer to sell India its 5th-generation fighter jet, the F-35 Lightning II, has been an interesting development because the Indian military operates the Russian-origin S-400 Triumf air defense system.
The US was not as forgiving with NATO member Turkey when it expelled it from the F-35 consortium for purchasing the S-400 air defense system.
The offer by Trump surprised observers because even though the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been looking to close the capability gap with the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), it has not particularly been keen on purchasing the American stealth fighter jet.
Several military experts who spoke to EurAsian Times have argued that purchasing an American stealth aircraft would likely come with a host of restrictions that will dilute India’s long-held strategic autonomy.
Even Lockheed Martin, the aircraft manufacturer, has maintained that India is not yet ready for such a weapon system, as it will take the country time to operate such a technologically advanced aircraft.
India would have to spend a lot of money to purchase this aircraft. The F-35A version has a flyaway cost of about US$82.5 million per unit. However, export prices usually include extra expenses, bringing the effective unit cost to about US$100–110 million. Additionally, the operating cost, subsequent upgrades, and spares will further increase the life-cycle costs of F-35 induction.
Also, it is highly unlikely that the US will transfer technology to India for the local manufacturing of the F-35s. This would be in stark contrast to the IAF Chief Air Marshal AP Singh’s emphasis on the importance of manufacturing aircraft in the country, which gives India the ability to carry out upgrades and weapons integration as required.
Moreover, the US often retains the right to restrict another country’s use of its platform. So, much like its restriction on Pakistan’s F-16, the US can restrict India from using the F-35 against Islamabad in the event of a war.
Meanwhile, Russia has also offered its fifth-generation fighter jet, Su-57 E, to India. Moscow is also offering the transfer of technology, local manufacturing, and collaboration on the development of India’s indigenous fifth-generation fighter jet.
India’s indigenous fifth-generation aircraft, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), is expected to be in production by the mid-2030s. Several experts have suggested that India buy a limited number of stealth fighters from available options as a stopgap solution.
However, it must be noted that Trump’s offer is informal, not formal. Nonetheless, it is safe to say that Trump has played an intriguing trick by providing F-16 support to Pakistan and offering the F-35 to India.
