The Attack on Pakistan's Erieye

[Dazzler]

Quoting SSAAD from Pakdef.......




Just to get on record and lay this one to rest for good.


To: Group Captain Tariq Mahmood,
Director Media Affairs

Dear Sir Assalam o alaikum,

I would like to bring your attention to a multitude of news sources, mostly from Pakistani news outlets, suggesting that due to the recent attack on the Kamra air base, the entire fleet of the SAAB Erieye Early Warning aircraft has either been severely degraded or destroyed. One would hope and pray this is not the case and that these reports are based on mere hearsay or fabrication. However to put to rest the concerns of Pakistan and PAF's well wishers, who are very concerned due to such disinformation campaigns, the Directorate of Public Relations, Pakistan Air Force, or your department should come out clearly on this issue and lay to rest the speculations on the status of our AWACS fleet.

It is our perpetual hope and dua that the Almighty keep our men in uniform safe and may Allah SWT protect Pakistan from the machinations of all her enemies. Ameen. Given the precedence of attacks against our military facilities including PNS Mehran and now Kamra, I hope the armed forces are alive to such threats and their needs with regards to securing these assets and locations are being met by the Government of Pakistan.

Thank you and best regards

RESPONSE:

mediaaffair@paf.gov.pk

6:54 AM (4 hours ago)

Dear xxxxxx

i would like to thank you for your concerns about countries defence and
loyalty to Pakistan. the response given to media outlets by PAF is based
on facts and there is no reality in the rumors. a picture of CAS visit to
PAF Base Minhas just after attack is published in monthly Hilal Magazine,
published by ISPR. in this picture a Saab aeroplane can be seen clearly in
background.

Thank you and best regards
Directorate of Media Affairs
Pakistan Air Force

 

[VCheng]

...........
RESPONSE:

mediaaffair@paf.gov.pk

6:54 AM (4 hours ago)

Dear xxxxxx

i would like to thank you for your concerns about countries defence and
loyalty to Pakistan. the response given to media outlets by PAF is based
on facts and there is no reality in the rumors. a picture of CAS visit to
PAF Base Minhas just after attack is published in monthly Hilal Magazine,
published by ISPR. in this picture a Saab aeroplane can be seen clearly in
background.

Thank you and best regards
Directorate of Media Affairs
Pakistan Air Force

An airplane seen in a picture may not necessarily airworthy with a breached pressure bulkhead.

Personally, I would trust an "official" email more if the beginning letter of each sentence in the body were capitalized, but that is just me, I guess, never mind the other mistakes.

 

[SQ8]

An airplane seen in a picture may not necessarily airworthy with a breached pressure bulkhead.

Personally, I would trust an "official" email more if the beginning letter of each sentence in the body were capitalized, but that is just me, I guess, never mind the other mistakes.

That particular image does lead a lot to be desired..
What is needed to quell the rumors is something similar to the flightline display of the Mirages in 71.. to dispel claims of them being shot down.

 

[Bratva]

Quoting SSAAD from Pakdef.......




Just to get on record and lay this one to rest for good.


To: Group Captain Tariq Mahmood,
Director Media Affairs

Dear Sir Assalam o alaikum,

I would like to bring your attention to a multitude of news sources, mostly from Pakistani news outlets, suggesting that due to the recent attack on the Kamra air base, the entire fleet of the SAAB Erieye Early Warning aircraft has either been severely degraded or destroyed. One would hope and pray this is not the case and that these reports are based on mere hearsay or fabrication. However to put to rest the concerns of Pakistan and PAF's well wishers, who are very concerned due to such disinformation campaigns, the Directorate of Public Relations, Pakistan Air Force, or your department should come out clearly on this issue and lay to rest the speculations on the status of our AWACS fleet.

It is our perpetual hope and dua that the Almighty keep our men in uniform safe and may Allah SWT protect Pakistan from the machinations of all her enemies. Ameen. Given the precedence of attacks against our military facilities including PNS Mehran and now Kamra, I hope the armed forces are alive to such threats and their needs with regards to securing these assets and locations are being met by the Government of Pakistan.

Thank you and best regards

RESPONSE:

mediaaffair@paf.gov.pk

6:54 AM (4 hours ago)

Dear xxxxxx

i would like to thank you for your concerns about countries defence and
loyalty to Pakistan. the response given to media outlets by PAF is based
on facts and there is no reality in the rumors. a picture of CAS visit to
PAF Base Minhas just after attack is published in monthly Hilal Magazine,
published by ISPR. in this picture a Saab aeroplane can be seen clearly in
background.

Thank you and best regards
Directorate of Media Affairs
Pakistan Air Force

You and we all know the bone of contention is one SAAB not the whole fleet, Group Captain cunningly avoided the question.

 

[Mani2020]

Quoting SSAAD from Pakdef.......




Just to get on record and lay this one to rest for good.


To: Group Captain Tariq Mahmood,
Director Media Affairs

Dear Sir Assalam o alaikum,

I would like to bring your attention to a multitude of news sources, mostly from Pakistani news outlets, suggesting that due to the recent attack on the Kamra air base, the entire fleet of the SAAB Erieye Early Warning aircraft has either been severely degraded or destroyed. One would hope and pray this is not the case and that these reports are based on mere hearsay or fabrication. However to put to rest the concerns of Pakistan and PAF's well wishers, who are very concerned due to such disinformation campaigns, the Directorate of Public Relations, Pakistan Air Force, or your department should come out clearly on this issue and lay to rest the speculations on the status of our AWACS fleet.

It is our perpetual hope and dua that the Almighty keep our men in uniform safe and may Allah SWT protect Pakistan from the machinations of all her enemies. Ameen. Given the precedence of attacks against our military facilities including PNS Mehran and now Kamra, I hope the armed forces are alive to such threats and their needs with regards to securing these assets and locations are being met by the Government of Pakistan.

Thank you and best regards

RESPONSE:

mediaaffair@paf.gov.pk

6:54 AM (4 hours ago)

Dear xxxxxx

i would like to thank you for your concerns about countries defence and
loyalty to Pakistan. the response given to media outlets by PAF is based
on facts and there is no reality in the rumors. a picture of CAS visit to
PAF Base Minhas just after attack is published in monthly Hilal Magazine,
published by ISPR. in this picture a Saab aeroplane can be seen clearly in
background.

Thank you and best regards
Directorate of Media Affairs
Pakistan Air Force

There are total 4 erieyes and no one ever claimed all to be destroyed or severely damaged , since the first day its been said that one is totally destroyed . so the picture referred by the official is not good enough to refute the claims as it can be one of the survived ones in the pic,may be the one that was airborne during the attack. This is not the proper way to refute something ,had PAF been so enthusiastic ( it would have been the case if there was no damage) they would have released the images of all erieyes rather than showing 1 aircraft which looks like more of a making up to me rather than anything else.

If you know that good chunk of public has a belief of one erieye to be destroyed in the attack and people questioning the capability of AF then this is the best time to show all the erieyes if there has not been any damage or just slight damage so PAF can gain trust of those people, there is no point in hiding it, why would someone want to be under criticism and question marks when they have proof to everything ,baffling

 

[Jango]

We are expecting the PAF media directorate to tell the truth on email to some unknown??? That's fantastic!!!

Very clever of the spokesman as well.

 

[Safriz]

There are total 4 erieyes and no one ever claimed all to be destroyed or severely damaged , since the first day its been said that one is totally destroyed . so the picture referred by the official is not good enough to refute the claims as it can be one of the survived ones in the pic,may be the one that was airborne during the attack. This is not the proper way to refute something ,had PAF been so enthusiastic ( it would have been the case if there was no damage) they would have released the images of all erieyes rather than showing 1 aircraft which looks like more of a making up to me rather than anything else.

If you know that good chunk of public has a belief of one erieye to be destroyed in the attack and people questioning the capability of AF then this is the best time to show all the erieyes if there has not been any damage or just slight damage so PAF can gain trust of those people, there is no point in hiding it, why would someone want to be under criticism and question marks when they have proof to everything ,baffling

10025 is the erieye damaged and out of service.
No independant source for verifying the extent of damage to 10025, so i will go with the official report,which this email does not deny..
It confirms the original press release.
The nose damage may have been to electronics inside the nose cone,which is apperantly taking time to repair/replace.
Or as @VCheng subggests,it may well be a punctured forward pressure bulkhead,that too is a major repair...and takes time..
PAF may not be in too much of a hurry because in peace time you dont need the entire fleet of AWACS and 10025 can wait until probably the replacement parts are sourced,and or a propper recommened set of tests and certigication has been conducted as per manufacturer's instructions/recommendations.

But yes now i totally agree with official and original press release of one erieye damaged...,
@nabil_05 thanks for the update sir,much appreciated.. Now we have some official word on the matter...

 

[Viper0011.]

Quoting SSAAD from Pakdef.......

Dear xxxxxx

i would like to thank you for your concerns about countries defence and
loyalty to Pakistan. the response given to media outlets by PAF is based
on facts and there is no reality in the rumors. a picture of CAS visit to
PAF Base Minhas just after attack is published in monthly Hilal Magazine,
published by ISPR. in this picture a Saab aeroplane can be seen clearly in
background.

Thank you and best regards
Directorate of Media Affairs
Pakistan Air Force

This e-mail is sketchy as hell. I wouldn't trust any word written here. Just the way e-mail messages shows up, it doesn't even look like a professional PR person from a professional organization wrote it.
One AWACS gone or severely damaged. A second one had some shrapnel hits, nothing too serious. And besides the damaged one, the rest are working.

 

[Mani2020]

10025 is the erieye damaged and out of service.
No independant source for verifying the extent of damage to 10025, so i will go with the official report,which this email does not deny..
It confirms the original press release.
The nose damage may have been to electronics inside the nose cone,which is apperantly taking time to repair/replace.
Or as @VCheng subggests,it may well be a punctured forward pressure bulkhead,that too is a major repair...and takes time..
PAF may not be in too much of a hurry because in peace time you dont need the entire fleet of AWACS and 10025 can wait until probably the replacement parts are sourced,and or a propper recommened set of tests and certigication has been conducted as per manufacturer's instructions/recommendations.

But yes now i totally agree with official and original press release of one erieye damaged...,
@nabil_05 thanks for the update sir,much appreciated.. Now we have some official word on the matter...

The point here is there should be a systematic way for everything, we have seen ISPR coming forward and talking about various issues on media (press release) so here again the same lines should be followed . We have mehran attack and we knew what we have lost ,we digested it and moved on but in this case everything has been so crude that we are still on the point where we were on the first day of attack, still messing around with what happened . These entities may it be politicians or security forces should be liable to the general public . They need to give up the mentality of considering the public as alien to these issues , there should be a proper disclosure of such issues after all the public too is a stakeholder .

By disclosure i doesnt mean to compromise security but for the issues like this one they need to step up

 

[Jango]

The pressure bulkhead and the vertical assembly modification of the Saab AWACS for the ERIEYE radar was done by a company named Patricomp. Just general info.

Looks like we have moved away from the 'damaged nose cone' story to 'pressure bulkhead'..
@VCheng, are you of the opinion that forward pressure bulkhead damaged? If true then this is very much serious. Aft pressure bulkheads are not part of the aircraft body per se, they are a different body fitted to the aircraft, so replacing them is much easier than the forward pressure bulkhead. Just a replacement job in essence. A forward pressure bulkhead however is part of the aircraft body, meaning it is joined to the aircraft itself and is one with the whole aircraft. So it is not a part that you take off with screws and replace. The whole section then needs to be examined and replaced etc etc. The cockpit systems etc are also in the way. So it does have the potential to render the aircraft useless and irreparable.

 

[Najam Khan]

That particular image does lead a lot to be desired..
What is needed to quell the rumors is something similar to the flightline display of the Mirages in 71.. to dispel claims of them being shot down.

It was after the war Jan 1972? It should be done to shut all mouths, but there is no trouble in media, views of forums audience doesn't matter to them...unless some member takes a proper route and writes an article in a Pakistani paper (this is a suggestion to all who are intrigued about the remaining count of Saabs).

Regarding status of Saab-2000s in PAF, I believe its 'one damaged' airframe, the routine use of remaining ones have undergone significant change too.

 

[Safriz]

It was after the war Jan 1972? It should be done to shut all mouths, but there is no trouble in media, views of forums audience doesn't matter to them...unless some member takes a proper route and writes an article in a Pakistani paper (this is a suggestion to all who are intrigued about the remaining count of Saabs).

Regarding status of Saab-2000s in PAF, I believe its 'one damaged' airframe, the routine use of remaining ones have undergone significant change too.

Can we request you to write the article?
Your articles regularly appear in news papers,and the upper echolons must be among your readers...
An article written by you will definately attract attention.

The rumors are not only on forums but the whole of PAF Kamra staff colony says the same and recently a PDF member visiting IDEAS 2012 was told the same that all is lost....and told by a uniformed officer..
So the ambiguity exists even among PAF ranks,obvioysly among officers who have no access to info about the erieye..

So a article by yourself will do a lot of good.

 

[Jango]

The rumors are not only on forums but the whole of PAF Kamra staff colony ....

You can add PAC colony (and PAC ARF and MRF itself), GHQ, AHQ, and PAA ranks to that as well!

 

[Najam Khan]

Can we request you to write the article?
Your articles regularly appear in news papers,and the upper echolons must be among your readers...
An article written by you will definately attract attention.

The rumors are not only on forums but the whole of PAF Kamra staff colony says the same and recently a PDF member visiting IDEAS 2012 was told the same that all is lost....and told by a uniformed officer..
So the ambiguity exists even among PAF ranks,obvioysly among officers who have no access to info about the erieye..

So a article by yourself will do a lot of good.

Honestly speaking I don't believe on such stories, I have cross checked such claims already with some men in blue and I see no reason in writing on rumored news/claims.

If I or any other person writes down a story based on claims of individuals it will get attention of DPR, PAF (which most of you guys wanted) but at the same time it will not be much helpful. They will only issue a typical press-release quoting author's name, article date etc then what...we are back to square one?

 

[Safriz]

Honestly speaking I don't believe on such stories, I have cross checked such claims already with some men in blue and I see no reason in writing on rumored news/claims.

If I or any other person writes down a story based on claims of individuals it will get attention of DPR, PAF (which most of you guys wanted) but at the same time it will not be much helpful. They will only issue a typical press-release quoting author's name, article date etc then what...we are back to square one?

Yes,thats true. Its hard to end all the conspiracy theories. The only way to end this rumour mill is if and when all the erieyes take part in a PAF exercise and are reported in the news as such,or the nation sees them in a flypast (which is highly unlikely).
If you can find a way to find out the extent of damage and update in repair on the damaged erieye? 10025 does appear as out of service on multiple websites,while the reported status of other saab 2000 hasnt changed....only 10025 has changed from 'Active' to 'stored'.
Any updates on 10025 or whichever is the damaged airframe , will be much appreciated.