PAF achieves capability to use Motorway as its unconventional Air Base

[SQ8]

does that make major difference?
you can land and take off from that road but what about logistkc supplys in case of destruction of air bases?

To sum it up without going into a lenghty debate..

Each of those sections.. can support air ops with similar ability as a full fledged FOB..

Nawaz Sharif deserves praise for this one..
Those sections can take on the same load as a PAF FOB within 36 hours.

And they arent the only .. "reserved" innocuous strips in Pakistan.
Something we learnt from the swedes.

I suppose the whole <800m takeoff run at farnborough with full tanks never crossed the minds of many out here.

 

[Jango]

Actually travelling on the M-2, people can recognise atleast 3 strips if they know what to look for.
1) a straight level stretch of atleast 4 kms
2)Re-enforced road surface
3) Darakhtoon ki saara waqt chanti hui huti hay.
One is near Lahore the other two are in between the first strip, second is near where Sargodha highway runs parallel to M2 and the 3rd is before entering the Pothowar plateau and Salt Range some klicks before the DG cement factory.
Islamabad to Peshawar M2 also has atleast two strips.
Given proper surfacing there are also many stretches on GT road which are suitable for use as highway strips. GT road though is one highway which cannot be closed.

exactly, i only knew the location of the one near lahore, didnt know the location of the others.An even easier way to distinguish is if there is straight stretch, different dividers, and as you said darakhton ki chanti!

 

[Najam Khan]

I suppose the whole <800m takeoff run at farnborough with full tanks never crossed the minds of many out here.

Yes, in addition to that Bk52's with proper braking procedures and full drogue chute can land in less than 1000meters strip. Cross wind create problem sometimes...by using appropiate rudder it can be tackled....Using highways is a good strategic move, mastering its use can change the shape of battle field any time!

 

[BelligerentPacifist]

If commuters know where those 'reserved' strips are, you can be sure they'd be accounted for in the enemy's to-hit-list. And endanger civilian lives, but they don't count do they.

 

[Abingdonboy]

This sort thing reminds me of Cold war era preparations in Western Europe where similar measures were implemented given they expected most airbases taken out within hours of conflict. It was from this that the Harrier was born- designed to literally pop-up from cleared forests/fields and take the fight to the MiGs. An intuitive measure when fighting a numerically larger AF with many more bases and larger reserves. Adds a level of "strategic depth" that it seems Pakistani military tacticians are so infatuated with.