WASHINGTON, July 12: Pakistan is considering several airborne surveillance systems to protect its air space against unwanted intrusions but has not yet decided which system to buy, Ambassador Jehangir Karamat told Dawn on Tuesday. He was commenting on media reports that during a briefing for top Pakistani defence officials aboard US aircraft carrier Nimitz, US officials offered to sell Hawkeye-2000 early warning systems to Pakistan. The aircraft carrier is currently anchored 171 kms off Karachi’s coast.

The reports said that two Hawkeye aircraft were also flown to Pakistan Navy station PNS Mehran in Karachi on Monday to display them for Pakistani defence officials.

“Since we have not even asked for them, how can you say that two planes have already been given to Pakistan?” asked Ambassador Karamat while referring to a media report in Urdu which said that “do tayyaray Pakistan ko faraham kar diay gai hain.”

Mr Karamat, who is also a former army chief and Pakistan’s chief negotiator in Washington for defence purchases, said Hawkeye is one of the several surveillance systems that Pakistan Air Force and Navy are interested in. “To say that we have received them, or the Americans have made any specific offer, will be wrong.”

Gen Karamat said the Americans had indicated sometime back that they would be prepared to sell the Hawkeye-2000s if Pakistan asked for them. “But no decision has yet been taken. Bilkul naheen.”

“The air force and the navy have to evaluate this system, compare its price and capabilities with other systems, see what’s available, check the competitiveness of its technology and compare it with our needs before taking any decision,” said Ambassador Karamat.

“So the correct position is that no decision has yet been taken; neither in Washington to give us the planes nor in Islamabad to buy them.”

Pakistan’s air attaché in Washington, Group Captain Nadeem Javed, said the visit of the Pakistani defence officials to the Nimitz was “a routine visit during which all available aircraft are shown, even rides are offered but no decisions are taken or offered made.”

Group Capt Javed said Pakistan is also looking at the Swedish surveillance system called Erieye, Boeing’s Airborne Warning and Control System called Awacs, mini-Awacs and a couple of other systems.

Defence experts in Washington say that Pakistan’s main consideration while buying a surveillance system would be its capability to match Israel’s Phalcon Airborne Early Warning, Command and Control System. In March 2004, India signed a $1.1 billion deal with Israel to buy three Phalcons.

Under this deal, the Israeli Phalcon radar is to be mounted and integrated on the Russian-designed IL-76 plane. The Indian Air Force had tried Russian A-50 AWACS planes during war games a few years ago, but later decided to go for the Israeli Phalcon mounted on the IL-76 platform with Russian control systems. The Israel Aircraft Industries developed the Phalcon weapons system both for the Israeli defence forces and for export. The world’s most advanced AEWC&C system, the Phalcon, was developed and produced by ELTA using Active Phased Array Electronic Scanning Technology rather than a mechanically rotating antenna used by current Awacs systems, giving Phalcon greater operational flexibility and performance by several orders of magnitude.

The Phalcon AEW&C aircraft is based on four sensors: phased-array radar, phased-array IFF, ESM/ELINT and CSM/COMINT. A unique fusion technology continuously cross-relates the data gathered by all sensors. When one of the sensors reports a detection, the system automatically initiates an active search of the complementary sensors. The US, which provided the Phalcon technology to Israel, has already cleared the deal with India.