Pakistan Army Aviation Corps - Updated

[Jango]

Good news.

Now the Cobra is the only heli which we can't overhaul in house.

PAF already has a Mi-17 overhaul facility over at PAF Faisal.

BTW, would be interesting to know whether the capability to overhaul engine and transmission has also been achieved or not.

 

[fatman17]

Air Platforms
India unhappy at Russia's Mi-35 sale to Pakistan
Rahul Bedi, New Delhi and James Hardy, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
23 June 2014

India's defence links with Russia are under strain following Moscow's recent decision to supply Mi-35 'Hind E' attack helicopters to Pakistan.

Senior Indian officials are closely monitoring Russian attempts to sell an unspecified number of Mi-35s to Pakistan: a move that would tear up a decades-old informal understanding between Delhi and Moscow against supplying Islamabad any materiel.

"By offering to sell military equipment to Pakistan, the Russians are, in all probability, trying to arm-twist India from sourcing its defence requirements from alternate suppliers," former Indian Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash told IHS Jane's . "Such tactics should not intimidate India's new administration."

Pakistan's national security and foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz travelled to Moscow to thank Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for the helicopters on 21 June, just two days after Indian leaders raised concerns in New Delhi with visiting Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.

Aziz also "expressed the hope that Pakistan's further request for defence equipment would also be considered soon as part of our continued defence collaboration", a 20 June Pakistan Foreign Office statement said.

It remains unclear how many Mi-35s Russia has agreed to supply and the status of negotiations. The Pakistan Army's existing attack helicopter fleet is made up of a mix of AH-1F/S Cobras supplied by the United States. These are used to provide surveillance, attack, and close air support to ground forces engaging militants in the Tribal Areas and surrounds.

Official sources in Delhi said Rogozin had provided "ambiguous" assurances to Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj that Indian and Russian military ties would not be jeopardised by the sale to Pakistan.

Rogozin was in Delhi to reaffirm Moscow's defence ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's newly installed BJP-led government. His visit followed a 4 June statement by the Russian ambassador to India Alexander M Kadakin, who said Moscow would not do anything that would be "detrimental" to the deep strategic partnership between Delhi and Moscow.

Russia has been India's largest weapons supplier since the early 1960s, but since 2000 its monopoly has been gradually diluted by Israel, European states, and the United States.

Moscow still supplies 75.7% of India's defence equipment, followed by the US (6.8%) and Israel (5.2%). It also provides India technical assistance with some of its more classified strategic programmes, such as its nuclear-powered attack submarines.

 

[nomi007]

Good news.

Now the Cobra is the only heli which we can't overhaul in house.

PAF already has a Mi-17 overhaul facility over at PAF Faisal.

BTW, would be interesting to know whether the capability to overhaul engine and transmission has also been achieved or not.

cobra is going to retired soon
hope paa will get more advance attack helicopter

 

[Jango]

Got it confirmed that this ceremony meant that we can now also overhaul engines and transmission of Mi-17 along with the structure.

 

[nomi007]

complete story of MIL MI-17 overhaul program
Overhaul of Mi-17 Helicopters to Support the ‪Pakistan‬’s Army Aviation Command (PAAC)

In March 2009, FTA received a contract from Northrop Grumman Counter Narcotics Global Support (CNGS) to overhaul
three Mi-17 helicopters belonging to Pakistan’s Army Aviation Command (PAAC). Under FTA management, the aircraft
were sent to Saint Peters burg, Russia for overhaul at an OEM certified overhaul facility. After surmounting numerable
logistical and technical problems, the overhauls were completed 45 days ahead of schedule and on 19 July 2009, the three
aircraft were loaded onto an An-124 transport, flown to Pakistan, and handed over to PAAC. The aircraft were
immediately put to work supporting the Pakistani Army in its counter-insurgency operations and rescue missions in the
north-west regions.

As of today, FTA has provided 1500-hour overhaul services for 22 Mi-17 helicopters. Services for these helicopters has
included:
1. Inspection to determine extent of overhaul required
2. Updating aircraft assessment reports
3. Overhauling Mi-17 helicopters in accordance with OEM standards, including Russian IAC certification
requirements
4. Performing post-overhaul test flights for the overhauled Mi-17 at the overhaul facility
5. Providing final inspection and test flight report documenting proof of compliance with applicable airworthiness
regulations.

As a result of successful performance, FTA has developed strategic relationships with Russian aviation government
entities responsible for the allocation, regulation, policy, and overall authority over the Mi-series of helicopters. These
strategic relationships span the categories of support to critical to ensuring the USG receives fully certified aircraft, with
completely authentic components that are safe for operational use.

 

[nomi007]

RMY General Raheel Sharif, COAS getting out of newly overhauled MI-17 helicopter at Qasim Aviation Base, Dhamial Rawalpindi . Helicopter has been overhauled in Pakistan in collaboration with Saint Petersberg Aviation Repair Company.

 

[chauvunist]

Just in... A PAA helicopter crashed in Multan,2 officers are reported martyred...

 

[Fahad Khan 2]

Just in... A PAA helicopter crashed in Multan,2 officers are reported martyred...

Which one Mi17??

 

[razgriz19]

Ex-Jordanian AH-1S Cobra and AS-330 Puma from PAA.
Pak Army operates one squadron of these former Jordanian Cobra attack helicopters.

hahah i just noticed! Cobra has a Jesus nut!

 

[Inception-06]

Which one Mi17??

Cobra Ah-1

 

[fatman17]

Two pilots martyred in army helicopter crash

June 26, 2014 - Updated 055 PKT
From Web Edition

MULTAN: Two pilots were martyred Wednesday when an army helicopter crashed in Multan while carrying out a training exercise, military officials said.
"Two army aviation pilots embraced martyrdom when their helicopter crashed during a night flying training mission due to a technical fault at Multan tonight," the military said in a statement.
A senior military official told AFP that a dust storm that hit the aviation base as the helicopter was taking off could have been a factor in the crash.
The official and the statement did not give the type of helicopter, but army has Russian and American helicopters in its fleet. (AFP)

another Cobra crash!

 

[nomi007]

salute to those pilots who fly coffin cobras
shameful attitude both by military and govtwhy they are not replacing them
there is urgent need to replace ah-1 & uh-1 with latest and advance helos
yar jis se be karo wz-10 lo ya t-129 jo be lena hai lo par le lo

 

[fatman17]

Two Killed in Pakistan Army Helicopter Crash
June 26th, 2014
A PAKISTAN Army Aviation Corps helicopter crashed on the runway at Multan Army Aviation Base due to a technical fault […]

 

[fatman17]

 

[nomi007]

Pakistani Cobra Crash Further Stresses Tired Fleet
ISLAMABAD — The fatal crash of a Pakistan AH-1F Cobra helicopter gunship during a night training mission Wednesday has further whittled down the well-worn fleet at a time when it is engaged in efforts to cleanse North Waziristan of the Taliban and its allies.

Though the type of helicopter was not specified in any reports or statements, official sources gave off-the-record confirmation to Defense News that it was a Cobra gunship.

Though the cause of the crash, which killed the two crew, is still being investigated, it is thought a dust storm that blew up over the base in Multan, which is home to the Army’s aviation arm, was a factor.

Pakistan has been desperately trying to replace its 1980s era Cobra fleet for years, but has only managed to acquire a small number of surplus AH-1Fs from the US and ex-Jordanian helos.

However, analyst Usman Shabbir of the Pakistan Military Consortium think tank said the platform could soldier on until a replacement is found.

“I think the Cobra fleet would endure for a while. We have excellent maintenance and now overhaul facilities for them,” he said.

A small number of armed Airbus Helicopters AS550C3 Fennec helicopters were ordered to support the Cobras, but there is no sign yet of them in service.

Former Australian defense attache to Islamabad, Brian Cloughley, said 10 may have been ordered alongside the unarmed variant (of which one may have crashed in Islamabad in March 2011), but he is unsure if they were actually delivered.

Pakistan has not been able to obtain assistance from the US in this area. Efforts to acquire the AH-64 Apache were rebuffed by Washington, and what was considered the most likely alternative, the AH-1Z Viper, now also appears unlikely to be supplied.

This has left the Turkish TAI T-129 and the Chinese CAIC WZ-10 as the types most likely to replace the Cobra over the long term.

Turkey has attempted to sell the T-129 to Pakistan. It offered an initial number of T-129s free of charge and help to set up an assembly facility at the home of Pakistan’s aviation industry in Kamra, near Islamabad.

However, China is also reportedly offering its WZ-10, and even Turkish officials admit Beijing will be able to offer more flexible payment options.

To complicate matters further, Pakistan is also negotiating with Russia for a number of Mi-35 Hind gunships.

Pakistan already has a small number of Hind gunships that it acquired from defecting Afghan crews in the 1980s, and there has been talk of refurbishing them and bringing them into service.

But Cloughley says these airframes “are past usability.”

He is optimistic, though, that a deal will soon be signed.

“I don’t know the status of the Mi-35 deal, but Moscow is very keen to provide them and it only needs a go-ahead for things to move swiftly,” he said.

Another possible alternative, he said, is the Sikorsky Battlehawk.

The AH-60L Battlehawk has been ordered by the UAE, but Shabbir is unsure if Pakistan will opt for this.

“Maybe if it comes from US funding; it is not a dedicated gunship like Cobra, so the need to find a replacement for Cobras will still be there,” he said.

Cloughley, however, says finances again may force the decision.

“The Chinese machine apparently on offer, the Z-10, doesn’t measure up to the Mi-35 or go anywhere near the Battlehawk, but of course, as usual, it will all come down to money,” he said.

“I think in the long run the Chinese option seems more feasible during to better financial and wider weapons package,” Shabbir said.

Pakistani Cobra Crash Further Stresses Tired Fleet | Defense News | defensenews.com