PAF detected US planes near Jalalabad border before OBL operation

[Patriot]

eport has revealed that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) radars installed in Peshawar and Risalpur were functioning properly on May 2 and the movement of some half-a-dozen planes was detected near the Jalalabad border at 11 pm before the US helicopters entered Abbottabad to kill Osama bin Laden.

“One aircraft was identified as a US AWACS and the remaining five were recognised as F-18 jets of the US. These planes flew near the Pakistani border, but did not cross into the airspace of Pakistan,” the report added.

Meanwhile, the PAF formed a special investigation committee to probe into the violation of Pakistan’s airspace by the US helicopters to kill Osama bin Laden. It is the first committee formed to investigate the incident. The team will see how the Pakistani forces remained ignorant about the presence of foreign helicopters.

The committee, being headed by a group captain, has started its work by checking the record of radars thoroughly and interviewing officials who were on duty when the US helicopters violated Pakistan’s airspace.

“More such committees will be formed to unveil the facts about the Abbottabad operation,” the sources added. The committee will investigate how Pakistan’s radar system, which could detect the flights outside Pakistan’s limit, could not notice the US helicopters, which entered into Pakistan and remained there for hours. The officers of PAF will also examine the aspect whether the planes, traced by the radars, were meant to divert the attention of Pakistani forces.
PAF detected US planes near Jalalabad border before OBL operation - GEO.tv

 

[The HBS Guy]

..detected the planes but not the ones that actually came in and did the job.

 

[53fd]

Double thread. Mods please merge.

http://www.defence.pk/forums/pakist...ar-jalalabad-border-before-obl-operation.html

 

[Patriot]

..detected the planes but not the ones that actually came in and did the job.

yes, they were either stealth choppers or flying too low.

 

[The HBS Guy]

yes, they were either stealth choppers or flying too low.

Your AF chief says the radars were inactive.

 

[53fd]

Your AF chief says the radars were inactive.

There is a whole thread talking about how the radars were active. You can't mindlessly believe the statements of officials right now, even Panetta initially denied that stealth helicopters had been used. There are countless contradictions in official US accounts as well.

 

[Pioneerfirst]

No doubt the helicopter were stealth but there were some mistakes on the part of PAF too.It took them 1/2 hr to get their fighters in air and those from sargodha not JF-17 from 16th or 26th Squadron Peshawar, the nearest one.

 

[krash]

No doubt the helicopter were stealth but there were some mistakes on the part of PAF too.It took them 1/2 hr to get their fighters in air and those from sargodha not JF-17 from 16th or 26th Squadron Peshawar, the nearest one.

Are you seriously telling me that you believe the notion that it took the PAF 30 min (15 min in other accounts) to get their boys airborne????? This is not just insanely untrue but also impossible!

 

[pmukherjee]

Don't you think a Group Captain is too junior a man to be heading such a committee? Group Captains or Colonels are basically unit/squadron commanders. If he has to investigate the commander of an Air Force base, he should be minimum an Air Commodore or AVM.

 

[Rafi]

According to my information PAF was scrambled as soon as the aircraft crossed the Durand Line, but the Pakistani civilian and military leaders, who by this time were informed by the US why they were going in, told them to stand down. PAF was monitoring the heli's alongside the PA on the ground.

 

[pmukherjee]

According to my information PAF was scrambled as soon as the aircraft crossed the Durand Line, but the Pakistani civilian and military leaders, who by this time were informed by the US why they were going in, told them to stand down. PAF was monitoring the heli's alongside the PA on the ground.

So basically those F -18s and AWACS on the other side of the border were a show of force by the Americans presenting an underlying threat to deter the PAF from intervening into the ongoing SEAL operation? Maybe, it was those US fighters over Jalalabad which made the PAF to pause after scrambling?

 

[gambit]

Are you seriously telling me that you believe the notion that it took the PAF 30 min (15 min in other accounts) to get their boys airborne????? This is not just insanely untrue but also impossible!

Do you know how long it actually take for a fighter to get airborne? Assuming that the pilot is on base, in his flight suit, and is qualified to fly...

- Try at least five minutes to don his personal gear,
- his crew chief needs another five-ten minutes to prep the aircraft,
- two-five minutes to strap in the pilot,
- two-five minutes for the engines to spool up,
- two-five minutes for the aircraft's INS to align itself,
- two-five minutes to taxi to the runway.

All of this is assuming nothing goes wrong. Ground controllers perfectly directed all aircrafts out of their spots and onto the runway. But what if the pilots are not on base? How long will that take to hunt them down and get them on base? You are assuming that an airbase has someone in gear and on alert at all time.

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

I say, but what about this news?

Pakistan 'aware of US raid' after it began

(AFP) – 5 hours ago

DUBAI — Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik told an Arab satellite TV on Monday he knew of the US raid which killed Osama bin Laden only 15 minutes after its launch but had no idea of the target.

"I was made aware of the operation 15 minutes after it started," the minister told Al-Arabiya channel in an interview, but he was not aware of the target.

Link

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

No doubt the helicopter were stealth but there were some mistakes on the part of PAF too.It took them 1/2 hr to get their fighters in air and those from sargodha not JF-17 from 16th or 26th Squadron Peshawar, the nearest one.

JF 15, as per what is claimed on the threads, is superior to F 16, right?

If so, why were they cocooned?

They would have been ideal to take on the US assets.

Or am I wrong?

 

[SQ8]

JF 15, as per what is claimed on the threads, is superior to F 16, right?

If so, why were they cocooned?

They would have been ideal to take on the US assets.



Or am I wrong?

Lets not drag this into what the JF is and is not,I sense cynicism in your post...

The JF is still being put through its paces on an operational level.. amongst other reasons its being used solely for transition training.

The F-16's are have been operational on day/night intercepts longer than the JF's..
it pretty simple.. its better to leave the "non-zero'ed" albeit more powerful rifle at home.. and bring the old trusted one along in an emergency.

Also, better to expose the emitters of a known electronic suite to the Americans.. than something brand new we would rather keep under wraps.. especially with the ELINT suckers right on the edge of the border.