Pakistan, With Eye on India, to Lease Up to 8 U.S. Frigates

Pakistan, long troubled by India’s naval buildup, has struck a deal to lease up to eight of the 16 U.S. Navy frigates that are being retired for budgetary reasons, officials said Friday.

The ships being offered to Pakistan are Garcia and Brooke class frigates built in the mid-1960s.

Lt. Barbara Kent, a Navy spokeswoman, said Congress on Thursday was informed of the deal in a letter from Rear Adm. Thomas C. Lynch, the Navy’s chief of legislative affairs. Congress has 30 days to block the transaction.

Pakistan has yet to say exactly how many frigates it wants.

The Navy declined Friday to say how much Pakistan would pay for the use of the warships. But according to the Defense Security Assistance Agency, the highest rental fee that Pakistan would be charged for eight frigates would be $6.31 million per year.

Kent said nine frigates will be offered for inspection, identifying them as the Brooke, Ramsey, Schofield, Bradley and O’Callahan, all based in San Diego; Talbot and Edward McDonnell, based in Mayport, Fla.; Page, based in Norfolk, Va., and Sample, based in Pearl Harbor.

The deal with Pakistan is being struck five months after India leased a nuclear-powered attack submarine from the Soviet Union.

“The Indian navy is getting to be a powerful force,” said one Pentagon source. “Pakistan is naturally concerned and they’re prepared to put forward the manpower needed to operate these ships.”