Thursday, February 24 2005 20:00 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: The United States may sell F-16 fighter aircraft and Patriot missile systems to India in a dramatic change of policy aimed at "exerting some degree of leverage" over New Delhi, a leading US think tank has said.

"What is clear is that there is a growing consensus in Washington that the US should no longer be shy about selling India military equipment as part of a wider defence partnership that in turn is critical to a major new geopolitical relationship," says a report by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

"Supplying arms to New Delhi would be a dramatic change in US policy and certainly the most notable arms sale since the US lifted its nuclear embargo on India in 2001," CSIS, quoted an anonymous US analyst as saying.

"For the United States, providing military technology and equipment would have the added benefit of allowing Washington to exert some degree of leverage over New Delhi," it said.

"By purchasing US hardware, India would be dependent on the United States for vital maintenance, support and upgradation programmes to keep the weapons operational," it added.

The US may sell F-16s to both India and Pakistan and Patriot 2 to India, the report said.

However, it added that an influx of advanced weapons into Islamabad, including the possible sale of F-16s to Pakistan, runs contrary to New Delhi's 'goal' of maintaining asymmetry between its military forces and Pakistan's.