Fighter Jet Activity Over Islamabad !

[Ali_Baba]

Extra fuel tanks help increase training sortie durations so I am guessing the PAF is trying to get pilots as much flight time on these airframes as possible before they are scrapped.

Might aswell burn down their remaining flight hours to give as much experience to pilots before they are retired.

What people are discounting is the "possibility" that these jets are being used to optimise the new Air-Defence network with the new HQ-9Ps and HQ-16s by acting as target drones to test coverage and new testing procedures of the overall AD network that was commissioned recently to test radar coverage and missile launch profiles over the capital to ensure optimal placement of these new assets ?

 

[DapoumeGriffin]

There might be a little accommodation process going on for the new birds, prolly J10. But i have read somewhere that a squadron of F7-PG is getting re equipped with Block-IIIs. Now PAF and God knows best what's going on

 

[Windjammer]

It's not unusual for Nur Khan Base to host fighter jets.
During 2002 stand off, i was in Pakistan and witnessed a detachment of F-7s again deployed there even though at the time, civil Islamabad airport was in full function next door.
Flights of F-7s were constantly taking off and landing around the clock. Without afterburner engaged, it's probably one of the quietest fighter aircraft out there.

 

[AeroEngineer]

Convenience probably, just speculating. Top brass needs to maintain flying status. Most are not converted to JF-17 at Kamra the nearest base. FT-7 keeps currency and maintains flying status. Probably one of ancillary benefits of the detachment.

 

[Goritoes]

It's not unusual for Nur Khan Base to host fighter jets.
During 2002 stand off, i was in Pakistan and witnessed a detachment of F-7s again deployed there even though at the time, civil Islamabad airport was in full function next door.
Flights of F-7s were constantly taking off and landing around the clock. Without afterburner engaged, it's probably one of the quietest fighter aircraft out there.

Any word about rising activity across the border?

 

[F86 Saber]

This is the last year of f7PGs..i expect two squardons to be replaced in 2022 and last squardon in 2023.
So 23rd march might be there last flypass
The f7p are gone FT7 are gone with the B versions of thunders
PAF will probabaly keep ~5 squardons of mirages till 2030
But by 2023 PAF will have full 10 squardons of jf17 & 4-5 squardons of f16s

PG's should be the last to go as they were inducted in 90 (and early 2000s if I am not wrong). They are quite capable if compared with the older non ROSE and ROSE I-II Mirage 3's and 5's, only limitation is the lack of hardpoints which can be made up by using them in numbers.

First to go should be Mirage III's ROSE - I of 7th Squadron as they are the oldest with most hours on the airframe. However JF-17 is a multirole platform and is not a direct replacement of Mirages so they will most probably be replaced by J-10's.

 

[ziaulislam]

PG's should be the last to go as they were inducted in 90 (and early 2000s if I am not wrong). They are quite capable if compared with the older non ROSE and ROSE I-II Mirage 3's and 5's, only limitation is the lack of hardpoints which can be made up by using them in numbers.

First to go should be Mirage III's ROSE - I of 7th Squadron as they are the oldest with most hours on the airframe. However JF-17 is a multirole platform and is not a direct replacement of Mirages so they will most probably be replaced by J-10's.

Early 2000s
Yet both will need rehaul as life was 2000hr for each(20 years)

Question whther PAF would want to ovwrhaul both f7s and mirages or will forgo f7 infrastruture and just keep mirage

Logical way will be to just keep mirage and save money.

 

[iLION12345_1]

PG's should be the last to go as they were inducted in 90 (and early 2000s if I am not wrong). They are quite capable if compared with the older non ROSE and ROSE I-II Mirage 3's and 5's, only limitation is the lack of hardpoints which can be made up by using them in numbers.

First to go should be Mirage III's ROSE - I of 7th Squadron as they are the oldest with most hours on the airframe. However JF-17 is a multirole platform and is not a direct replacement of Mirages so they will most probably be replaced by J-10's.

Imo The ROSE-1 mirages won’t go yet considering there’s nearly 100 stock mirages still flying (only about 70 got ROSE upgrades). PAF would rather keep rebuilding the ROSEs given their enhanced capabilities.

Also the PGs will surely go before the Mirages as they had much shorter lifespans from the get-go and cannot be similarly rebuilt as the mirages. If you look at safety records you’d see that the F7Ps and PGs have considerably worst records despite being newer.

Lastly, the mirages serve in A2G roles, even the stock mirages are still useful for that because they can carry whatever a ROSE mirage can (smart munition guidance can be done by another platform) or they can just be used for basic CAS. The F7PG is a lot less capable in that regard because it cannot carry much, even if it has better radar and flight dynamics than the stock mirages.

 

[Signalian]

Imo The ROSE-1 mirages won’t go yet considering there’s nearly 100 stock mirages still flying (only about 70 got ROSE upgrades). PAF would rather keep rebuilding the ROSEs given their enhanced capabilities.

Also the PGs will surely go before the Mirages as they had much shorter lifespans from the get-go and cannot be similarly rebuilt as the mirages. If you look at safety records you’d see that the F7Ps and PGs have considerably worst records despite being newer.

Lastly, the mirages serve in A2G roles, even the stock mirages are still useful for that because they can carry whatever a ROSE mirage can (smart munition guidance can be done by another platform) or they can just be used for basic CAS. The F7PG is a lot less capable in that regard because it cannot carry much, even if it has better radar and flight dynamics than the stock mirages.

Mirage airframes are really old now. ROSE Mirage program was completed in early 2000s. It will be almost 20 years in next few years.

 

[F86 Saber]

Early 2000s
Yet both will need rehaul as life was 2000hr for each(20 years)

Question whther PAF would want to ovwrhaul both f7s and mirages or will forgo f7 infrastruture and just keep mirage

Logical way will be to just keep mirage and save money.

Both are being rebuilt in Kamra, MRF and ARF respectively so I think the decision should be made based on life of Airframe which for PGs is a lot less than Mirages.

Imo The ROSE-1 mirages won’t go yet considering there’s nearly 100 stock mirages still flying (only about 70 got ROSE upgrades). PAF would rather keep rebuilding the ROSEs given their enhanced capabilities.

Also the PGs will surely go before the Mirages as they had much shorter lifespans from the get-go and cannot be similarly rebuilt as the mirages. If you look at safety records you’d see that the F7Ps and PGs have considerably worst records despite being newer.

Lastly, the mirages serve in A2G roles, even the stock mirages are still useful for that because they can carry whatever a ROSE mirage can (smart munition guidance can be done by another platform) or they can just be used for basic CAS. The F7PG is a lot less capable in that regard because it cannot carry much, even if it has better radar and flight dynamics than the stock mirages.

PGs are also being rebuilt in Kamra so maintenance is not an issue, in fact, sourcing parts for PGs is much easier with Chinese help as they can be built from scratch here. Mirage parts availability is only from cannibalization of retired Mirages or sourcing from countries which have retired their fleet, both sources provide parts which are already heavily used. This results in a hell of a difference in maintenance cost for both.

A2G role will be fulfilled by J-10, also we have Nasr to deliver the payload. Mirages are no longer needed.

 

[iLION12345_1]

Both are being rebuilt in Kamra, MRF and ARF respectively so I think the decision should be made based on life of Airframe which for PGs is a lot less than Mirages.




PGs are also being rebuilt in Kamra so maintenance is not an issue, in fact, sourcing parts for PGs is much easier with Chinese help as they can be built from scratch here. Mirage parts availability is only from cannibalization of retired Mirages or sourcing from countries which have retired their fleet, both sources provide parts which are already heavily used. This results in a hell of a difference in maintenance cost for both.

A2G role will be fulfilled by J-10, also we have Nasr to deliver the payload. Mirages are no longer needed.

We don’t know what role J-10 will fill and as is stands it seems they won’t fill any A2G role at all, rather they’ll be A2A birds while JF-17s take over A2G, but all remains to be seen, we can’t say anything for certain until delivery.

Mirage airframes are really old now. ROSE Mirage program was completed in early 2000s. It will be almost 20 years in next few years.

In an ideal world both of them would be already retired, I was just highlighting the fact that the mirages have a better safety record despite being older, and that the non ROSE mirages would Likely go first if mirages were to be retired.

 

[Akh1112]

nur khan always gets a detachment of fighters atleast once a year, though, typically its F-16s iirc that go and visit in the summer months

 

[wasileo80]

Which F-16s are you talking about which will form 5th Sqd ?

Aggressors - 29 Squadron

 

[Windjammer]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1003168503569240

 

[Maarkhoor]

flying in excitement of J10CE coming to Pakistan

F10 CE