Pakistan navy receives 2 US-made surveillance aircrafts

The Pakistan Navy has received two state-of-the-art surveillance aircraft made by the United States. Militants had destroyed two similar planes nine months earlier. According to a statement issued by Pakistan Navy, it is to receive six such aircraft in batches of two. The first batch was received in 2010, but the planes were destroyed during a 17-hour siege of a key naval base in Karachi last May blamed on the Taliban. The attack killed 10 personnel and deeply embarrassed the military, just three weeks after Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad. Part of the US foreign military funding (FMF) program, these P3C aircraft are modified with the latest avionics/sensors. The planes are provided to patrol the Arabian Sea, which is a crucial trade route, but heavily laden with Somali pirates. Speaking at the induction ceremony, Vice Admiral M Zakaullah welcomed the addition, saying the aircraft would help "maintain the requisite vigil in our vital area of interest in the North Arabian Sea." He added that the area, an important trade and energy corridor for the global economy, is home to intense maritime activity, legal and illegal, and thus warrants continuous guard. He noted that the planes will help increase the force’s combat capacity. (QNA) LY