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PAKISTAN AIR FORCE ACQUIRES AIRBUS A319 | July 2022 .

PAF, do it....
438adcb21d3fbb02ac030d7c7470db5c94ecfdda.jpeg
 
Well may be its CIA
CIA use a French-built a/c !

Highly unlikely...

The a319 certainly isn't the most popular variant of the a320 Family. Not many operators out there. Even the the a319Neo hasn't hit the triple digit mark in Orders placed. However, it does have the best range over the rest of the variants.

There was that tweet above about converting it into a Aerial Refueling Tanker.
[I mean seriously 🤪 ...]​

It should be noted that the Indian Air Force did last year approve the conversion of 6 ex-Air India a320 to be converted into AWACS (Airborne Early Warning and Control).

indian-air-force-plans-to-develop-airbus-a320-awacs-aircraft.jpg

Even though, an AWACS is not something that can be discarded - especially if there is support from our good friends in China...(if we can get a waiver from France).

However, it is my belief that it'll just be utilized as an ACJ (airbus Corporate Jetliner) - a VIP variant of the a320 Family.

@araz @Bilal Khan (Quwa) @AeroEngineer @Imran Khan @Desert Fox 1 @GriffinsRule @HRK @iLION12345_1 @Path-Finder @PanzerKiel @Yasser76 @Zarvan @ziaulislam
 
It might be a stretch, but you could configure the A319 for air-to-air refueling (AAR).

The range is similar to the C-390 (which is capable of AAR) and they also use similar engines.

However, the real question is if the PAF can get the expertise to configure the fuel management system to work with the UPAZ pods it has on the IL-78s. IMO this is something a company Paramount Group can do as the PN trusted them to help design the Sea Sultan LRMPA out of the Lineage 1000E. @denel
 
It might be a stretch, but you could configure the A319 for air-to-air refueling (AAR).

The range is similar to the C-390 (which is capable of AAR) and they also use similar engines.

However, the real question is if the PAF can get the expertise to configure the fuel management system to work with the UPAZ pods it has on the IL-78s. IMO this is something a company Paramount Group can do as the PN trusted them to help design the Sea Sultan LRMPA out of the Lineage 1000E. @denel

Didn't PAF just overhaul it's IL-78's?

As for converting to an ISR platform, could be the case, but I would definitely be surprised if this airframe was chosen for the role. Pakistan does not have a huge area, neither do we have any force projection scenarios (like the US which needs a presence half way across the globe).

A prop based platform like the Army or even a Saab 2000 (platform commonality) could have been a better choice...but let's see what is the intended role for this.

I sincerely hope it's not VIP transport under the garb of medevac.
 
Didn't PAF just overhaul it's IL-78's?

As for converting to an ISR platform, could be the case, but I would definitely be surprised if this airframe was chosen for the role. Pakistan does not have a huge area, neither do we have any force projection scenarios (like the US which needs a presence half way across the globe).

A prop based platform like the Army or even a Saab 2000 (platform commonality) could have been a better choice...but let's see what is the intended role for this.

I sincerely hope it's not VIP transport under the garb of medevac.
Yep, they overhauled the IL-78s, but that doesn't mean a new tanker would come online right away. If they're pursuing an original tanker project, then it would take a couple of years before they see the first aircraft. From there, it'd take a few years to amass a large enough fleet to replace the IL-78 in the tanker role.
 
Didn't PAF just overhaul it's IL-78's?

As for converting to an ISR platform, could be the case, but I would definitely be surprised if this airframe was chosen for the role. Pakistan does not have a huge area, neither do we have any force projection scenarios (like the US which needs a presence half way across the globe).

A prop based platform like the Army or even a Saab 2000 (platform commonality) could have been a better choice...but let's see what is the intended role for this.

I sincerely hope it's not VIP transport under the garb of medevac.
The aircraft is an excellent choice for SIGINT and ELINT missions, a long range aircraft for a small area of operations means greater mission time. It will definitely have enough power to operate the power hungry equipment it needs for those special missions. We can configure it into our own RC-135.😇
 
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