The U.S. is also considering selling Lockheed Martin\u2019s Hercules C-130 military transport plane to Vietnam, according to Reuters news agency. The U.S. lifted a longstanding arms embargo on its former enemy Vietnam in 2016. <\/p>\n
In 2022, Hanoi said it was ready to reduce its heavy reliance on Russian arms, which accounted for around 80% of total weapons imports at the time. <\/p>\n
A year later, during then-President Joe Biden\u2019s visit to Hanoi, Vietnam and the U.S. began talking in earnest about a major deal. <\/p>\n
It may have come to fruition this month, after Vietnam scrambled to cut its record trade surplus with the U.S. in the face of threatened 46% tariffs. <\/p>\n
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said earlier in April that Vietnam would buy more American weapons as part of addressing the trade imbalance between the two countries. <\/p>\n
The Vietnamese foreign ministry did not answer Radio Free Asia\u2019s calls about the reported F-16 deal. An email to the U.S. State Department was unanswered at the time of publication.<\/p>\n
US military trainers<\/b><\/h3>\n
In November last year, Vietnam received delivery of five Beechcraft single engine turboprop aircraft, the first batch of 12 ordered from the U.S.<\/p>\n
The planes, built by Textron Aviation, are used to train fighter jet pilots, which sparked speculation a deal on the F-16 was close.<\/p>\n Russia has supplied most of Vietnam\u2019s military planes, including 35 Sukhoi Su-30s and more than 30 Su-22s but there has been growing concern about safety and maintenance of the ageing fleet.<\/p>\n At the start of last year, a Vietnam Air Force Su-22 tactical fighter-bomber lost control and crashed during a routine training flight in Quang Nam province. <\/p>\n In November, a Russian Yak-130 training aircraft exploded mid-air in Binh Dinh province. Its two pilots ejected and survived.<\/p>\n Military deals with the U.S. could alarm Vietnam\u2019s communist neighbor China, whose president and defense minister both visited Vietnam this month. <\/p>\n China\u2019s state-backed Global Times<\/i> newspaper was critical of possible U.S.-Vietnam military ties when the Biden administration raised the prospect of F-16 sales two years ago.<\/p>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.rfa.org\/resizer\/v2\/TWO4AG6ZB5CGXF4YBHSTEJZOEM.jpg?auth=c18c2e4fb05a5d3a3af17ecf93f555c1d228f7bf423eafb470e459150ed27805&smart=true&width=1500\")
Chinese concerns<\/b><\/h3>\n