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The Pakistan Air Force '''(PAF)''' ( branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is responsible for defending Pakistani air-space from intrusions. It also provides air support for ground troops. MISSION STATEMENT The primary mission statement of the PAF was given by Muhammad Ali Jinnah , the founder of Pakistan during his address to the passing out cadets of the Pakistan Air Force Academy Risalpur on 13th April , 1948. His following statement has been taken as an article of faith by all coming generations of PAF personnel: {Link without Title} Quaid-e-Azam, 13 April 1948, during his visit to the PAF Flying Training School at Risalpur : But the present scenario has forced and enabled the Force to come up with an improved and up-to-date Mission Statement: : HISTORY Origin (1947 - 1951) The Royal Pakistan Air Force (RPAF) was formed in gained the status of Republic on 23 March , 1956 . It has since been called '''Pakistan Air Force''' (PAF). Operating these inherited aircraft was far from ideal in Pakistan's diverse terrains, deserts and mountains; frequent attrition and injuries did not make the situation any better. However, by 1948 the air force acquired better aircraft such as the Hawker Sea Fury fighter-bomber and the Bristol Freighter . These new aircraft gave a much-needed boost to the morale and combat capability of the Pakistan Air Force; 93 Hawker Fury and roughly 50-70 Bristol Freighter aircraft were inducted into the PAF by 1950 . The jet age (1951 - 1961) Although the Pakistan Air Force had little funds to use and markets to choose from, it entered the Jet age quite early. Initially it had planned to acquire US-built F-94Cs , F-86s , or F-84s and produce its order in Pakistan. However, lack of funds and strong British pressure persuaded the PAF to acquire the British Supermarine Attacker . The first squadron equipped with these aircraft was the Number-11 "Arrow". The Supermarine Attacker had a rather unsatisfactory service in the Pakistan Air Force with frequent attrition and maintenance problems. In 1957 the Pakistan Air Force received 100 American-built F-86 Sabres under the U.S. aid program. Squadron after squadron in the PAF retired its Hawker Furys and Supermarine Attackers, and replaced them with F-86 jet fighters. In 1957 thirty-six year old Air Marshal Asghar Khan became the Pakistan Air Force's first commander-in-chief; his tenure saw a change of PAF Discipline , Professionalism and quality which even today leaves its positive mark on the PAF. During his eight-year command the PAF saw modernization and re-equipment programs, as well as stricter and better training. The new generation (1983 - 1989) In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan . The violent Soviet invasion brought hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees to Pakistan. With the war being critical to Pakistan's national sovereignty and integrity, the PAF once again sought out modernization, including the procurement of new generation fighter aircraft. France offered its new Mirage 2000 , while the PAF's senior officers were interested in procuring American F-16 or F-18L fighters. Initially the Americans refused to sell the F-16 or F-18L and instead offered F-20 , F-5E/F or A-10 aircraft. Eventually the new Republican administration of Ronald Reagan approved the sale of F-16s to Pakistan, and in 1981 an agreement was made to supply 28 General Dynamics F-16A and 12 F-16B "Fighting Falcon" aircraft to the Pakistan Air Force. The F-16 s were delivered under the "Peace Gate" Foreign Military Sales Program; the first six were delivered in 1983 under "Peace Gate-I" while the remaining 34 arrived by 1986, under the "Peace Gate-II" program. Between 1986 and 1988 Pakistani F-16s took part in frequent skirmishes with Soviet and Afghan aircraft. Pakistani F-16s typically carry two all-aspect AIM-9L s on the wingtip rails, along with a pair of AIM-9Ps on the outermost underwing racks. The F-16s also have an important strike role for which they are fitted with the French-built Thomson-CSF ATLIS laser designation pod and have the capability to deliver Paveway laser-guided bombs. The ATLIS was first fitted to Pakistani F-16s in January 1986, which became the first non-European aircraft to be qualified for the ATLIS pod. During the late 1980s, the Pakistan Air Force's Air Defence system also underwent modernization, including the induction and integration of new land-based AN/TPS-47 radars and new Crotale Surface-to-air missiles. Attempts to acquire a new AWACS aircraft were also made - with the E-3 Sentry being desired, but the U.S would not sell it and instead offered the E-2 Hawkeye . In 1988 the Pakistan Air Force sought to replace its F-6s and Mirages by 1997 with the procurement of new aircraft; initially a mix of Mirage 2000 and F-16A/B Block-15OCU were to be acquired alongside 90 or so F-7 (Chinese MiG-21). However in 1988 the death of Zia-ul-Haq and Soviet disengagement from Afghanistan reduced Pakistan's value as an US ally and sanctions were put in place by US authorities quoting a suspected nuclear program. F-6 has been phased out of Pakistan Air Force and the last flight and farewell ceremony to the F-6 aircraft was held at Pakistan Air Force Base Samungli (Quetta Baluchistan), Wing Commander Arif had the honour of flying the last sortie of the F-6 aircraft in the presence of PAF Chief and Chinese Air Force high officials. The "lost" decade (1991 - 2001) From 1990 Pakistan was hit by American military embargoes in response to Pakistan's nuclear weapons development; these embargoes prevented the Pakistan Air Force from acquiring the 71 new-built F-16s from the U.S. After the 1998 nuclear tests and 1999 military coup, Pakistan was hit by further sanctions not only from the U.S but other Western nations as well; it would not be until 2002 when the U.S finally ended most of the embargoes. During the 1990s the Pakistan Air Force strived for alternative sources for its new generation fighter requirement; the French Dassault Mirage 2000-5 was chosen but was too expensive to obtain. This forced Pakistan to rely heavily on China for military aircraft. Pakistan and China worked together to develop the K-8 trainer, and continue to cooperate on the JF-17 project which aims to provide both nations with a new-generation fighter. This project is a major joint venture between Pakistan Air Force and China Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation along with Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation (CAC). The research and development cost of this project is between 450 to 500 million US dollars. It is financed up to 50%-59% by the government of Pakistan. Estimated cost per aircraft will be around 20 million US dollars. As of 2005, Pakistan had started manufacturing JF-17 s in Kamra and the first delivery of two planes has taken place in March, 2007. Present The PAF today operates fighters at Pakistan Aeronautical Complex at Kamra . The first batch of two aircraft were commissioned in PAF on 23rd March, 2007. On April 12 , 2006 , the Government of Pakistan authorized the purchase of up to 77 F-16 fighter planes from the US. The Government of Pakistan had also authorized the purchase of 36 Chinese J-10 fighter aircraft Finacial Times: Pakistan to buy F-16s from US Cabinet okays F-16 purchase Nishan-e-Haider The (1951–August 20, 1971) is the only officer of the PAF to be awarded the Nishan-e-Haider. Other heroes of the PAF include: Foreign Awards Two Pakistani pilots who carried out a daring rescue of a mountaineer are to be given Slovenia's top award for bravery. Slovenian, Tomaz Humar got stranded on the western end of the 8,125m Nanga Parbat mountain were he remained for around a week on top of the world's ninth-highest peak. The helicopter pilots plucked the 38-year-old from an icy ledge 6,000m up the peak known as "killer mountain". The Slovenian president will present Lt Col Rashid Ullah Beg and Lt Col Khalid Amir Rana with the Golden Order for Services in the country's capital, Ljubljana, this month "for risking their lives during the rescue mission", a Pakistan army statement said. BBC: Pakistan pilots get bravery award Markings The PAF's Roundel is green and white, with green being the outer color. It resembles the low-visibility roundel used by the Royal Air Force . The tail marking is simply the Flag Of Pakistan . Pakistan Air Force Day Pakistan Defense Day is celebrated every year on the 6th of September, marking the official beginning of the Indo-Pak war of 1965. While Air Force day is celebrated 7th of September. That day Air shows and other programs mark the PAF's role in defending the nation. Records Pakistan Air Force was the first to claim combat kill with a Mach 2-capable aircraft. This was done by a PAF F-104 which shot down an Indian Air Force Mystère IV with one of its Sidewinders on the afternoon of September 7 . MAJOR CONFLICTS The PAF recorded its first kill on 10 April 1959 when an Indian Air Force English Electric Canberra plane allegedly on photo reconnaissance mission over Rawalpindi was shot down. Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 See Also: Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 On 6 September 1965 war broke out between India and Pakistan. The first PAF F-104 kill of an Indian Air Force Mystère IV with one of its Sidewinders came on the afternoon of September 7 , making it the first combat kill with a Mach 2-capable aircraft. Pakistan attacked India using F-104, F-86, B-57 and RT-33A . In addition to blunting the Indian army's attacks in several sectors, and inflicting minor damage to some IAF bases, PAF had claimed 104 aircraft destroyed for a loss of 19 aircraft, while India stated a loss of 35 aircraft compared to 12 PAF aircraft destroyed. Independent observers too, do not agree on the actual number of aircraft shot down. An independent source gives the following description of the air war: "For the PAF, the 1965 war was as climatic as the Israeli victory over the Arabs in 1967. A further similarity was that Indian air power had an approximately 5:1 numerical superiority at the start of the conflict. Unlike the Middle East conflict, the Pakistani air victory was achieved to a large degree by air-to-air combat rather than on the ground. But it was as absolute as that attained by Israel." Aviation week & space technology - December 1968 issue The Six-Day War See Also: Six-Day War In between the War Of 1965 and the Indo-Pakistani War Of 1971 , PAF sent its pilots to many Arab nations during the Six-Day War . Pakistani pilots flew in the Air Forces of Jordan , Egypt and Iraq , recording 3 confirmed kills against the Israeli Air Force (including Mirages , Mystères and Vautours ) without losing any of their own planes. Flight Lieutenant Saif-ul-Azam was decorated by both Jordanian and Iraqi governments for shooting down Israeli planes. Defence Journal: Excellence in Air Combat: PAF's Forte Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 See Also: Bangladesh Liberation War Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 PAF launched a pre-planned strike, Operation Chengiz Khan , against Indian airbases. The PAF's strikes were based on the same strategy of preemptive neutralisation of enemy air capability followed by the Israeli Air Force on Egyptian and Arab air forces in Operation Focus during the Six Day War . However, this strike, though taking the Indians by surprise, did not achieve its mission objectives of completely neutralizing the IAF . The IAF was able to regroup and launch retaliatory strikes that same night. However, these strikes were not very effective either. The IAF achieved near total air supremacy towards the end of the war in the East Pakistan as the airbase of Dhaka with all the flights was destroyed although at least 23 Indian fighters were downed in the sector. The war in the west also did not fare well with PAF as the ground troops lost the decisive battles of Basantar and Longewala . The PAF found itself outgunned in East Pakistan. It only had one squadron of 16 vintage F-86 Sabre aircraft facing fourteen squadrons of Indian Air Force . On the night of 3rd and 4th December, this squadron fought against 11 squadrons of IAF and was able to repulse the attack. However, it was taken out of the war when IAF bombed the only airfield in Dhaka, twice Geocities: Men of Valor . As a result the airspace over East Pakistan could not be effectively patrolled by the PAF, this adversely effected the ability of the Pakistan army to defend its borders. PAF claims to have destroyed 130 Indian fighters in the whole course of war. Yom Kippur War See Also: Yom Kippur War During this war the PAF sent 16 pilots to the Middle East in order to support Egypt and Syria but by the time they arrived, Egypt had already been pushed into a ceasefire. Syria remained in a state of war against Israel . Eight (8) PAF pilots started flying out of Syrian Airbases; they formed the A-flight of 67 Squadron at Dumayr Airbase. The Pakistani pilots flew Syrian Mig-21 aircraft conducting CAP missions for the Syrians. Flt/Lt. A. Sattar Alvi became the first Pakistani pilot, during the Yom Kippur War, to shoot down an Israeli Mirage in air combat Geocities: Shabaz Over Golan MA Baig.co.uk: PAF Action - Middle East Conflicts . He was honored by the Syrian government From ''Scramble'': Dutch Aviation Society Magazine . Other aerial encounters involved Israeli F4 Phantoms; Pakistan Air Force did not lose a single pilot or aircraft during this war. The Pakistani pilots stayed on in Syria until 1976, training Syrian pilots in the art of air warfare. Soviet-Afghan War See Also: Soviet war in Afghanistan Soviet-Afghan War The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 in support of the pro-Soviet government in Kabul, which was being hard-pressed by Mujahadeen rebel forces, marked the start of a decade-long occupation. Mujahadeen rebels continued to harass the occupying Soviet military force as well as the forces of the Afghan regime that it was supporting. The war soon spilled over into neighboring Pakistan, with a horde of refugees fleeing to camps across the border in an attempt to escape the conflict. In addition, many of the rebels used Pakistan as a sanctuary from which to carry out forays into Afghanistan, and a steady flow of US-supplied arms was carried into Afghanistan from staging areas in Pakistan near the border. This inevitably resulted in border violations by Soviet and Afghan aircraft attempting to interdict these operations. Between May 1986 and November 1988, PAF F-16s have shot down at least eight intruders from Afghanistan. Four of the kills were Afghan Su-22s bombers, three were Afghan transports (two An-26s and one An-24), and one was a Soviet Su-25 bomber . Most of these kills were achieved using the AIM-9 Sidewinder, but a Su-22 was destroyed by cannon fire and the one An-24 crash landed after being forced to land upon interception. At least one F-16 was lost in these battles, in the encounter between F-16s and Soviet MiG-23s on 29 April 1987 . PAF claims that it was shot down by friendly fire. Other sources suggest that it might have been hit by a bomb dropped by a MiG or that one of the MiG pilots downed it by cannon fire (the MiGs were not armed with missiles) but did not claim it since there was no permission given to fire. ACIG: Indian-Subcontinent Database AirWar: Афганистан. Война в возду Russian Air Force, Chapter 3 Kargil war During the The first aircraft, a fell 12 miles inside Pakistan held Kashmir; the pilot did survive but was shot dead by the Pakistani Army. COMMAND STRUCTURE Personnel and command The Air Force has about 65,000 active personnel with about 10,000 reserves. The Chief of the Air Staff holds the operational and administrative powers. He is assisted by a Vice Chief of Air Staff and six Deputy Chiefs of the Air Staff who control and administer the Administration, Operations, Engineering, Supply (logistics), Personnel, and Training divisions of the PAF respectively. In addition, there are three non-operational directorates for PR, Air Intelligence and Recruitment. Recently, the Air Headquarters (AHQ) has been moved from Chaklala to Islamabad. Major Air force bases are at Shorkot , Karachi , Quetta , Kamra , Peshawar , Mianwali , Sargodha and Risalpur . There are many war-time operational forward bases, civilian airstrips and runways as well as emergency motorways. Ranks The current officer rank structure follows Royal Air Force designations: In 2006 the Pakistan Air Force changed the rank insignia for its officers, abandoning the ring insignia in favour of an army-style one based on stars PAF rank insignia change . List of PAF Chiefs # Air Vice Marshal Allan Perry-Keane (August 1947 - February 1949) # Air Vice Marshal R.L.R. Atcherley (February 1949 - May 1951) # Air Vice Marshal L.W. Cannon (May 1951 - February 1955) # Air Vice Marshal A.W.B. McDonald (February 1955 - July 1957) # Air Marshal Asghar Khan (July 1957 - July 1965)Air Marshal Asghar Khan was the First native Pakistani C-in-C # Air Marshal Nur Khan (July 1965 - September 1969)Air Marshal M. Nur Khan was the Air Force Chief in the 1965 war with India # Air Marshal A.Rahim Khan (September 1969 - March 1972) # Air Marshal Zafar Chaudhry (March 1972 - April 1974) # Air Chief Marshal Zulfiqar Ali Khan (April 1974 - July 1978) # Air Chief Marshal M. Anwar Shamim (July 1978 - March 1985) # Air Chief Marshal Jamal A. Khan (March 1985 - March 1988) # Air Chief Marshal Hakimullah (March 1988 - November 1991) # Air Chief Marshal Farooq F. Khan (November 1991 - November 1994) # Air Chief Marshal Abbas Khattak (November 1994 - November 1997) # Air Chief Marshal Pervaiz Mehdhi Qureshi (November 1997 - November 2000) # Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir (November 2000 - February 2003)Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir died when his Fokker F27 crashed into a mountain near PAF Base Kohat, in February 2003 # Air Chief Marshal Kaleem Saadat (March 2003 - March 2006) # Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed (March 2006 - present) SPECIAL FORCES See Also: Special Service Wing Special Service Wing (SSW) is an independent commando division of the Pakistan Air Force . It is an elite special operations force similar based upon the US Air Force's Special Tactics unit and the US Army's Ranger unit. This the newest component to the Special Forces of Pakistan. The division is still being trained and built up which will initially field between 700 to 1,000 men in 1 Company and is expected to be combat ready soon. BASES These are the bases from which the PAF planes operate during peace time. They have complete infrastructure of hardened shelters, control towers, workshops, ordnance depots etc. These are ten in number and are : # PAF Mushaf ( Sargodha ) # PAF Masroor ( West Karachi ) # PAF Rafiqui ( Shorkot ) # PAF Peshawar # PAF Samungli ( Quetta ) # PAF Mianwali # PAF Minhas ( Kamra ) # PAF Chaklala ( Rawalpindi ) # PAF Faisal ( Karachi ) # PAF Risalpur ( Risalpur ) WOMEN'S ROLE IN AIR FORCE Women have been enrolled in the Pakistan Air Force since the early times, but their induction had been limited to the ground branches only. But women are now allowed to enroll in the aerospace engineering and fighter pilot programs of the nation's air force academy. Two batches of female fighter pilots graduated in year 2006 bringing out the first female pilots of the Pakistan Air Force. BBC:Pakistan gets women combat pilots On March 31st 2006, Saba Khan, Nadia Gul, Mariam Khalil and Saira Batool were among 36 aviation cadets who received their wings after three and a half years of regular training. Saira Amin, a female cadet, has made history by being the first woman pilot to have won the Sword of Honour in any defence academy of Pakistan, at the passing out parade of the 117th GD (P) at Risalpur Pakistan's first women fighter pilots Of the first four female pilots, none qualified for a fighter aircraft squadron of the Air Force. They are therefore now part of the light communication squadron of PAF. PAF AIRCRAFTS GALLERY Ground SAM vehicles
ENGINEERING & MAINTENANCE CAPABILITY Since independence the PAF has developed and nurtured an extensive in house engineering, maintenance and repair capability. Indigenization of in house maintenance has enabled it to maintain force levels and high serviceability / reliability rates. The premier maintenance organizations supporting the mission of the Pakistan Air Force include F6 Rebuild Factory, Mirage Rebuild Factory, Aircraft Manufacturing Factory, Kamra Avionics Rebuild Factory, No 102 Air Engineering Depot (Aero-Engines Overhaul), No 107 Air Engineering Depot (Avionics), No 108 Air Engineering Depot (Ground Radars), No 109 Air Engineering Depot (Missiles), No 130 Air Engineering Depot (Transport Aircraft Overhaul). R&D work is done at Central Technical Development Unit, Special Task Group & No 118 Software Engineering Depot. The PAF managed / supported Air Weapon Complex (AWC) produces a number of high technology armament and munitions for the air force. The College of Aeronautical Engineering (CAE) situated at PAF Academy Risalpur graduates engineers in aerospace and avionics specialty and is a world class institute with a high reputation for the quality of its graduates and fulfills requirements for both army & navy as well as a number of foreign countries. Apart from this Pre Trade Training School, School Of Aeronautics, School Of Electronics, Administrative Trades Training School and School Of Logistics fulfills different manpower requirements of Pakistan Air Force. FUTURE PLANS In light of Pakistan's significant contribution to the War On Terror , the United States and Western European countries, namely Germany and France, lifted their defense related sanctions on Pakistan; enabling the country to once again seek advanced Western military hardware. Since the lifting of sanctions, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) became heavily active in evaluating potential military hardware; such as new fighter planes, radars, land based air-defense systems, etc. The key factor had been the lifting of American sanctions on Pakistan; including restrictions on military combat aircraft - namely the Lockheed Martin F-16. However the urgent relief needed in Kashmir after the October 8th Earthquake forced the Pakistan Military to stall its modernization programme; so it could divert its resources for fuel and operations during the rescue effort. The modernization stall would end in April 2006 when the Pakistani cabinet approved the Pakistan Air Force's proposal to procure 132 new fighters from the U.S and China. The Pakistan Government has launched the Armed Forces Development Programme - 2019 (AFFDP-2019); this programme will oversee the modernization of the Pakistan Air Force from now to 2019. According to the Business Recorder , a leading financial newspaper in Pakistan, PAF is interested to increase its strength. Pakistan to buy 98 hi-tech aircraft from US and China The wish list includes:
PAF will be looking for additional F-16 MLU from third parties. In July 2007 Commander of Central Air Command of US Air Force Lt-Gen Gary L. North , and another US Aviator flew a pair of F-16 s to Pakistan for them to be handed to the Pakistan Air Force . This was very extraordinary and unforeseen, because US CENTCOM commandants don't distribute jet aircraft to other partner nations. The Pakistan Air Force will consist of a variety of air-to-air and air-to-surface munitions. Known systems include the following:
SEE ALSO Integrated Dynamics Systems,Pakistan FOOTNOTES REFERENCES
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