Pakistan Air Force | News & Discussions.

[fatman17]

Patch of 88 SAR

 

[blinder]

As far as I know, there are at least 13 AW139, but likely, 14 delivered:

SIX-050 to SIX-055 [6] op by ERC
16-062 & 16-063, so likely also 16-061; op by Army [2 or 3]
EYE73 [1] op by gvmt
17-001 & 17-002 plus two more (temp Italy reg CSX81922 and 81923) [4] op by Air Force

I recall reading somewhere that the AW order was for 14. That is after the ERC examples. That would bring the grand total to 20. If that is the case we could see around six more being delivered this year and next.

 

[GriffinsRule]

Of the AW-139s operated by PAA, at least two are configured for VIP transport.

 

[Bilal Khan (Quwa)]

Of the AW-139s operated by PAA, at least two are configured for VIP transport.

Acc. to the MoDP 2015-2016 yearbook, 4 AW139s were ordered, seemingly split between the PAF and PAA (i.e. 2 each). The PAF's AW139s are clearly SAR-centric, but at least one of the PAA's has been used for VIP, but it's unclear if is configured for VIP (e.g. special seating) or if such things are fixed (possibly modular/removable).

A second AW139 batch was ordered in Feb. 2017, but we don't know how many. If the PAF plans to replace its Alouette IIIs with the AW139s, then I suppose we can look to 10-12 more AW139s in the long-run.

 

[khanasifm]

http://www.scramble.nl/orbats/pakistan/airforce

 

[fatman17]

C130 Hercules, AW139 SAR and F16 Vipers at PAF Base Shabaz [emoji1191][emoji1191][emoji1191] https://t.co/jCsQ9LLu59

 

[Tps43]

C130 Hercules, AW139 SAR and F16 Vipers at PAF Base Shabaz [emoji1191][emoji1191][emoji1191] https://t.co/jCsQ9LLu59
View attachment 457859

1 C-130 is always stationed at Shabaz for any contingency.

 

[hassan1]

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[fatman17]

Naval Weapons

PN, PAF successfully test-fire C-802 anti-ship cruise missiles

Gabriel Dominguez, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly

06 March 2018

This image shows PNS Saif an F-22P-class frigate, test-firing a Chinese-built C-802 radar-guided anti-ship missile in the North Arabian Sea on the final day of the ‘RIBAT-18’ exercise. Source: Via ISPR

The Pakistan Navy (PN) and the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) have successfully test-fired various Chinese-built radar-guided anti-ship cruise missiles to demonstrate the services’ “firepower and combat readiness”, according to a 5 March statement by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR): the media wing of the Pakistani military.

The test-firings took place in the North Arabian Sea on the final day of the ‘RIBAT-18’ exercise, with the C-802AK missile being launched from a PAF JF-17 Thunder multirole combat aircraft and the C-802 missile from a PN Sword (F-22P)-class guided-missile frigate.

“Missiles launched from both platforms successfully hit their intended targets, which not only re-asserts the efficacy of [the] weapon systems but also manifests the extended range of joint PN-PAF sea-air operations and desired synergy between the two services,” said ISPR.

 

[fatman17]

Air Platforms

PAF equips SAR squadron with AW139 helicopter, says report

Gabriel Dominguez, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly

06 March 2018

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has equipped its No 88 search-and-rescue (SAR) squadron with the AgustaWestland AW139 multirole twin-engine helicopter, according to a 3 March report by the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).

Citing a PAF press statement, the state-owned media outlet also reported that the squadron was renamed “No 88 Combat Support Squadron and Advanced Helicopter Training School” following the induction of the platform.

PAF commander Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman, who attended a ceremony to mark the event at the Shahbaz Air Base (Jacobabad), was quoted by AAP as saying that the PAF had selected the AW139 “as the most effective solution for our requirements” after an in-depth analysis of the SAR platforms available worldwide.

 

[fatman17]

The navy and air force of Pakistan have conducted joint live-fire exercises of anti-ship missiles. Conducted on March 5 under the watchful eye of Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi along with Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman, the Chinese-made C-802 missiles were fired from the multi-mission F-22P frigate PNS Saif and JF-17 fighter aircraft with all missiles hitting their targets. The firing was held on the final day of Exercise RIBAT-18, which focused on validating war fighting concepts under the evolving multi faceted threats.

 

[fatman17]

 

[fatman17]

ASIA DEFENSE
Pakistan Stands Up New Fighter Squadron

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/ Eric Salard

Pakistan Stands Up New Fighter Squadron
The Pakistan Air Force inaugurated a new JF-17 fighter squadron in Quetta last month.


By Franz-Stefan Gady
March 08, 2018



The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) stood up a new fighter squadron composed of Aeronautical Complex/Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (PAC/CAC) JF-17 “Thunder” multirole fighter jets in Quetta, Balochistan last month, according to local media reports.

The new squadron, designated Number 28 “Phoenix,” is the sixth PAF unit to receive the JF-17 lightweight, single-engine, multirole combat aircraft to date. “From now on, No. 28 MR Squadron, equipped with Pakistan’s (…) JF-17, has the responsibility of providing day and night aerial defense of the country, especially along the western borders of Pakistan [shared with Iran and Afghanistan],” the PAF Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman was quoted as saying by the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).

The PAF is expected to induct 150 JF-17 combat aircraft over the next years, split into three productions blocks: Block I, Block II, and Block-III. PAC has so far produced 50 Block I aircraft and 50 Block II JF-17s. Twelve more Block II JF-17 aircraft are expected to be rolled out in 2018. Pakistan is estimated to be capable of assembling up to 25 JF-17 aircraft per year without technical or logistical assistance from China. (PAC produces 58 percent of the airframe and CAC 42 percent.) Once the Block-II JF-17 order is complete this year, PAC will switch to producing the aircraft’s most advanced version.

Among other things, “the JF-17 Block III, the latest variant of the combat aircraft, will feature new avionics including Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA), which will replace the older Nanjing Research Institute of Electronic Technologies’ (NRIET) KLJ-7 X-band fire control radar, and a new electronic warfare system, among other things,” I summarized in 2017. A selected number of Block II and the future Block III variants also feature an in-flight refueling (IFR) probe, which suggests that the aircraft could be deployed for longer-range maritime strike missions. (The PAF and Navy have recently conducted a live-fire exercise, which included the launch of an anti-ship missile from a JF-17.)

Powered by a Russian designed but Chinese license-built Klimov RD-93 (a RD-33 derivative) turbofan engine, the aircraft can reportedly reach a top speed of up to Mach 1.6 and has an operational range of up to 1,200 kilometers without refueling. The fighter jet can be armed with a variety of weapons and features seven hardpoints. The JF-17 is reportedly capable of carrying a weapons payload of over 3.5 tons, including air-to-air, air-to-surface, and anti-ship missiles.

“The JF-17 was originally developed to replace the PAF’s aging fleet of Dassault Mirage III/5 fighter jets by 2o20,” I explained in 2016. “Pakistan is looking to replace 190 aircraft — primarily Chengdu F-7 and Dassault Mirage III/5 fighter jets — by 2020 presumably with a mixture of F-16 and JF-17 aircraft.”

Pakistan and China are also working on a two-seat trainer variant of the JF-17, dubbed JF-17B, which, according to some reports, could be the basis for the JF-17 Block III version of the aircraft.“In comparison to the single-seat JF-17, the JF-17B variant features a dorsal fin that contains an additional fuel tank,” I reported in May 2017. The aircraft prototype also has a slightly larger wingspan and a marginally modified nose section and features a larger swept-back vertical stabilizer housing a new three-axis fly-by-wire system.

Pakistan is looking to export the JF-17.

 

[STRANGER BIRD]

F7PG Thunderbolts lined up at Samungli air base

 

[Shabi1]

According to PAF active aircraft list on wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_Pakistan_Air_Force_aircraft

F-16s = 76
Mirage 3s = 75 (2025 retirement)
Mirage 5s = 82 (2025 retirement)
JF-17 = 100
F-7PGs = 60

Total = 393

F-7Ps have been replaced by JF-17s with F-7PG variant remaining in service. But now instead of retiring Mirages PAF chose to raise a new squadron.

Mirages alone are 75+85 = 160. Looking at numbers it's unlikely JF-17s alone can fill these numbers.

What are your opinions. Looks like JF-17 will receive further PAF order beyond the 50 JF-17 Block-3s but still in my opinion there is room in the fleet for another aircraft before the 5th Gen project Azm (rumored J-31). Because combined Mirage and F-7PG its 220 aircraft and even with a eventual 250 fleet size of JF-17 their is a balance of 70 jets. Otherwise PAF will need to shrink the overall fleet size.

5th Gen project Azm is slated for a aircraft to start replacing F-16s.