India is upset over a US package for Pakistan’s F-16 squadron.

India has complained to the US about the US finalising a contract to give Pakistan’s F-16 force a $450 million maintenance package.

On September 14, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh spoke on the phone with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to express his nation’s worries.

The fleet of US-made aircraft is a vital component of Pakistan’s military arsenal, which India, its arch-rival, fears may be deployed against it.

Singh expressed India’s displeasure on the recent US decision to give a support package for Pakistan’s F-16 fleet on Twitter.

“Had a cordial and fruitful phone call with Mr. Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defense. We talked about improved defence and security cooperation and the rising convergence of strategic interests.

We also talked about methods to improve industrial and technological cooperation, as well as how to work together on cutting-edge and important innovations, he added.

The same issues were brought up by Indian officials when speaking with US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu last week.

According to a readout provided by the US Defense Department, Austin congratulated Singh on the INS Vikrant’s commissioning and emphasised the occasion’s importance for India’s role as a provider of security in the Indo-Pacific.

The statement read, “As the US and Indian military operate and coordinate more closely together, the two defence commanders vowed to increasing information-sharing and logistics collaboration.”

They emphasised their shared resolve to significantly bolster military-to-military ties as they “examined the multifaceted India-US defence collaboration.”

Although Pakistan has a large fleet of Chinese-made planes and is a nuclear-armed country like India, the F-16s are still the most efficient and modern aircraft in its arsenal.