PAKISTAN AIR FORCE

PAKISTAN AIR FORCE

Formed on August 15, 1947, with only a handful of aircrafts and men, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) now compromises around 330 combat aircrafts and 45,000 uniformed personnel. Under the Chief and Vice Chief of Air Staff., PAF Air HQ has five Deputy Chiefs responsible for operations, engineering, personnel, administration and training respectively. Geographically, the PAF is divided into three regional commands – Northern (HQ at Peshawar), Central (HQ at Sargodha) and Southern (HQ at Masroor, Karachi). These serve as the equivalent of the RAF Fighter Command groups during the Battle of Britain. Within the Commands are four sector operations centres (SOCs) – North (Peshawar), West (Quetta), Centre (Sargodha) and South (Karachi) – with seven subordinate control and reporting centres. As in so many other ways, if you want to see how the British military once did business, you need to look no further than the Indian subcontinent.

The PAF has nine m

ain operating bases that are fully functional in bot

h peace and wartime.

These are supplemented by eleven forward bases

which become fully operational in time of war, nine f

orward attack bare bases while the 211-mile (340km

) long M-2 motorway

has dispersal strips in the Swedish Air Force fa

shion.

The PAF has some 2

2 combat squadrons,

six squadrons flying Aerospatiale Alouette

IIIs on search and rescue/liaison duties

and a composite air

transport wing. Pakistan Naval Aviation looks after maritime air operations with Lock

heed martin P-3C Orions, Breguet Atlantics, Fo

kker F-27s, Westland Sea King Mk45s, Westland Lyn

x HAS3 and Alouette

IIIs. Pakistan Army A

viation Corps flies a m

ixture of fixed and rotary wing aircraft in close supp

ort of ground operations. Its main firepower is pro

vided by Bell AH-1s Cobras.

PAF made a humble

beginning with two fighter and one transport Squadrons, a negligible infrastructure, non-existent comman

d structure, and almost nil maintenance facilities.

All it had was the cour

age and determination of a handful of its personn

el, who left no stone unturned, in shaping PAF into th

e Air Force of today.

The modernization programme taken up by PAF in 19

52 paid dividends in t

imes to come. In a phased programme, the ‘Hal

ifax’, ‘Tempest’, ‘Attacker’, ‘Tiger Moth’, ‘Viking

’, ‘Dakota’ and ‘Fury’ aircraft were progressively re

tired. With American, French and Chinese acquisitions, the PAF started flying F-86s, B-57s, F-104 Starfighters, F-

6s and Mirages. This modernization programme started with the induction of F-86 Sabre, which cha

nged the whole system of training, maintenanc

e and operations. Air

Power, was thus a major player in 1965 war, where th

e role played by both rival Air Forces, directly influe

nced outcome of the conflict. Particularly for the P

AF, 1965 war brought out its fighting spirit, and implanted a culture of devotion and sacrifice.

Six years later, PAF once again met the call of duty for defence of the motherland. During 1971, separation of East Pakistan was a serious blow to the country. However, PAF fought valiantly on both fronts, and sacrificed blood for honour of the country.

PAF TODAY

hings changed drastically in the new millennium. Not only was the Grifo 7 radar chosen for introduction in the F-7P (the radar being built bij the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex at Kamra), the PAF also received over 60 F(T)-7PG aircraft to replace the ageing F-6 Farmers. Additional Mirages were yet again acquired from Lebanon and Libya.

For their help in the anti-terrorism activities the US promissed military aid to Pakistan in 2002 and declared Pakistan a Major Non-NATO ally in 2004. This eventually led to the US granting permission to order and deliver F-16s to the country again. Furthermore six (former RAAF) C-130 are being delivered to bolster the transport capacity. The major earthquake in 2005 led to a delay in the order and the country is looking at a combined order for F-16s and the Chinese J10. The order for new built F-16C/D Block 50/52 was signed September 2006. It also included delivery of the F-16s that were affected by the embargo in the 90s!

Another new type is the FC-1/JF-17 Thunder. The aircraft was developed by a joint venture between CAC and Pakistani Aeronautical Complex (PAC). PAF hopes to acquire 150 aircraft of this type to replace a large number of the Mirages and older F-7s. The first two aircraft of 16 currenly on order for Pakistan arrived on 2 March 2007. They were officially presented on 12 March 2007 and made their first public appearance during the Pakistan Day Parade on 23 March 2007.

Four T-37Cs are forming the aerobatic team the Sherdils (Urdu for "lionhearted"). In the coming years the 20 T-37C aircraft will be replaced by the new K-8 Karakorum. The first K-8s have been operating at the Evaluation Flight at PAF Academy Risalpur since the mid-ninetees but additional aircraft (6 + 22) have recently been ordered. The Primary Flying Training Wing (PAF Academy) at Risalpur has received the first three Super Mushshaks by 10 May 2001. The main improvement on this modified version is a more powerful engine.

In 2006 the country placed an order for Swedish Saab 2000 aircraft equiped with the Erieye-system. This type will eventualy give the PAF the AWACS-capacity it was looking for.

The PAF saw the arrival of Mi-17 transport helicopters and appears to operate a number of Bell 412s as well (26 helicopters of this type were delivered to the various services in 2004/2005).

Overall Assessment

The PAF has never had things easy. For nearly 60 years it has had to safeguard national airspace and deter as much more powerful India, a task made all the more arduous by the recent embargo on acquiring the latest technology. The PAF coped by co-operating with China, and by exploiting the undoubted expertise and professionalism of its technicians to upgrade its facilities and weaponry indigenously.

Close assistance in the global war on terror has allowed the PAF to become adept to anti-insurgent operations around the Afghan border and it has learned to deliver air-weapons with decisive effect. More modern airframes are entering service but the PAF required surveillance UAVs and precision-guided munitions to attack militant hide-outs while avoiding collateral damage. Efforts to upgrade the Pakistan ground-based air-defenses need further foreign investment to bring the PAF into the network-centric age and enable it to respond to ume-sensitive targets.

Simultaneous acquisition of complex system requires significant financial and human resources. In addition, the assimilation and efficient utilization of high technology will pose a huge challenge. That said, the PAF has a lot going for it. Foreign military observers attending High mark 2005 were impressed with the professionalism of both PAF air crews and ground personnel. Ability is rewarded and at least two females are going through flying training. However, the PAF hierarchy knows that a huge efforts will be required to upgrade training systems and syllable to prepare their personnel for the future.

The Indian Air Force has its weakness. It lacks the infrastructure to support all its air efforts, especially in the southern sector. There are gaps in its low level radar coverage, its spread of Russian and Western aircraft makes for a logistic nightmare and the unreliability of many of its MiGs has led to an appalling rate of flying accidents. That said, the arrival of BAE Systems Hawk trainers will revolutionize the IAF flying training system and Washington has balance its military sales to Pakistan by allowing Lockheed Martin and Boeing to offer the F-16 Fighting Falcon and F/A-18 Hornet as candidates for the IAF’s multi-role programme. The Bush administration has also stated that it will support Indian requests for other ‘transformative system in areas such as command and control, early warning and missile defense’. This means that even when new F-16s arrive in PAF service there may still be the same relative capability gap with India.
Pakistan Air Force

In summary, the PAF may not have enough state-of-the-art equipment but for its budget and the size of its organization, it is an operationally ready and professional air force. It is on the verge of a major acquisition programme, but funding will be an abiding concern, compounded by high oil prices and the costs of the Kashmir earthquake. However, whatever the obstacles, the PAF will retain is deterrent value by virtue of the professionalism and motivation of its personnel. Whatever the challenge, the PAF will remain Pakistan’s scimitar and shield.