Featured Zaheer Ahmad Babar appointed new Chief of Pakistan Air Force

[baqai]

R&D means good stuff for future, but damn my inner poster boy fan wanted HP to be in that position

 

[Dil_Pakistan]

First of all congrats to the new Air Chief..

Also no need to feel pessimist or dejected i feel. Many a times the head is the one who commands and administrates but its the soldiers beneath who plan and fight. Its more about the team that you build around. The new chief seems to have admin experience at hand.

Now i don't know about R & D role he played, but probably it bodes well especially if he's really a R & D minded guy. For example:
1) It will help with project AZM which is an ambitious project and may need alot of R & D and or out of box solutions
2) Maybe he will push for partnership with Turkey/TAI etc. in their projects such as TF-X and joint R & D and projects.
3) Focus on indigenous projects and continuous improvement. One area this could help is Pakistan's own drone programs.

Also, since i read that he is a mirage guy, so:
1) Maybe he'll push for that egypt mirage horus thing whatever that was ( i belief that was a rumour or maybe it stalled)
2) If there is a requirement, he may push for having J-10s (another delta platform) rather than just waiting on the vipers which may or may not come (since US is no more reliable in this regard)

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

1) It will help with project AZM which is an ambitious project and may need alot of R & D and or out of box solutions
2) Maybe he will push for partnership with Turkey/TAI etc. in their projects such as TF-X and joint R & D and projects.
3) Focus on indigenous projects and continuous improvement. One area this could help is Pakistan's own drone programs.

Also, since i read that he is a mirage guy, so:
1) Maybe he'll push for that egypt mirage horus thing whatever that was ( i belief that was a rumour or maybe it stalled)
2) If there is a requirement, he may push for having J-10s (another delta platform) rather than just waiting on the vipers which may or may not come (since US is no more reliable in this regard)

As for TF-X, TAI wants to model it after JF-17 by progressing block-wise! Block 1 probably won't be like a text-book FGF as it'll have current F-16 engines and probably without super-cruise or TVC capabilities.....

According to the TAI boss they're in touch with the Pak facilities....

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

R&D means good stuff for future, but damn my inner poster boy fan wanted HP to be in that position

In the public service the earlier you flare up the earlier you leave! The folks too much in the public limelight aren't good for heading the institutes with too many smart folks for the ego comes forth.....

 

[BRAVO_]

in my opinion AM Haseeb Paracha was a better choice but then my choices does not matter... i hope new chief will prove us all wrong and he will surpass his predecessors ... i wish him luck and success ...

 

[PakShaheen79]

Clearly! man with a plan!

 

[Thorough Pro]

And what is your opinion based on? having heard his name before? and not having heard the other guys name ever?

in my opinion AM Haseeb Paracha was a better choice but then my choices does not matter... i hope new chief will prove us all wrong and he will surpass his predecessors ... i wish him luck and success ...

 

[Reichmarshal]

You may know better but I would most humbly disagree since the PAF responded within 24 hours in such a comprehensive manner. A more plausible view is that much as we all love HP he was the junior most. IK has had a policy to promote people on the basis of merit and we have heard from way back in 2019 that the 4 AMs are at par with one another. As to the Indian intrusion into Pak air space I do not think it was avoidable. The intrusion may have been only for a few seconds and really could not have been prevented.
If you have 4 competent and at par guys then IK will choose the most senior one and this appears to have happened (well at least second most senior one!!!). It may also depend on the needs of the AF for the next 3 years and AM Zaheer Ahmed Baber might have performed wonders without being in the lime light. lastly as someone has already pointed out the outgoing AM chooses his successor and at least advises the PM about the decision. It may have been that the outgoing AM might have advised for AM Zaheer to be promoted.
I think we should now put the rumour mill to rest and congratulate the new Air chief and hope and pray for Pakistan and PAF's success.
A

like I said in my earlier post that most of us are not in the know but one thing I know that the no. of PAF AM and former chiefs in the office of the CAS in the morning after the indian intrusion was something to behold and the slug match that insured that was scary and everyone wanted the person at fault removed and court-martialed. AM Haseeb was being considered the person at fault.
But wt saved him was his response and his actions in leading from the front operation swift retort. But did get a slap on the wrist.

in one of my posts above, i mentioned the fact that the CAS advises the PM who is the most suitable person for the job of CAS.

 

[Reichmarshal]

I must say you have a valid point, and above all, there is more than a grain of truth in it.

Almost everyone here is not aware what happened in the highest echelons of Armed Forces, all the services, post IAF and pre PAF strike.


And... AM HP had a negligible role in it.

Most of us here are not aware of wt happens most of the time in the middle echelons of power, so knowing something that happens in the highest echelons of power would burn our wings to a cinder.

AM haseeb was the main man as he was Deputy Chief of Air Staff, Operations (DCAS-O) at the time.

 

[PanzerKiel]

AM haseeb was the main man as he was Deputy Chief of Air Staff, Operations (DCAS-O) at the time.

By virtue of his appointment... It might seem that way.... However, I would disagree here.

DCAS Ops is roughly equivalent to army's DG MO and CGS.... But the policy always comes from the top, meaning COAS and CAS..... These under command appointments then implement that policy....

It's just like.... For a military defeat, we exonerate COAS or CAS, and punish DCAS, DG MO or CGS.....

.... In order words, whatever PAF or AM HP did, or didnt manage to do on 26 Feb, wasn't against CAS orders... It can't happen that you do something which is against the given policy of CAS.....

... And believe me, in the time between post IAF and pre PAF strike, the bone of contention was exactly this same thing.... That why the intruding IAF jets weren't shot down despite very clear orders from our PM.

@araz @Air Wolf

 

[Inception-06]

PAF, finally the F-16 lobby is defeated.

Mashallah, thats the best news I hear this year great !

 

[_NOBODY_]

Who knows there might be an air launched version of Babur LACM/SLCM as well... Apart from Raad...

Won't we be needing a strategic bomber for that?

 

[Inception-06]

By virtue of his appointment... It might seem that way.... However, I would disagree here.

DCAS Ops is roughly equivalent to army's DG MO and CGS.... But the policy always comes from the top, meaning COAS and CAS..... These under command appointments then implement that policy....

It's just like.... For a military defeat, we exonerate COAS or CAS, and punish DCAS, DG MO or CGS.....

.... In order words, whatever PAF or AM HP did, or didnt manage to do on 26 Feb, wasn't against CAS orders... It can't happen that you do something which is against the given policy of CAS.....

... And believe me, in the time between post IAF and pre PAF strike, the bone of contention was exactly this same thing.... That why the intruding IAF jets weren't shot down despite very clear orders from our PM.

@araz @Air Wolf

So it was lack of decision and planing, why we could not shoot down the Indians in the first attempt ?

 

[PanzerKiel]

So it was lack of decision and planing, why we could not shoot down the Indians in the first attempt ?

Specifically no.....there was no lack of planning....planning for all contingencies was and is already there.....there was no lack of decision either....since a decision was taken and the intruding IAF jets managed to get away....you just need to identify who took that decision...and such decisions have to be taken in real time so ofcourse PM was not sitting in PAF Tac Command Post or AOC .....Post Pulwama, PM had very clearly ordered to all services chiefs that any Indian intrusion (land, sea or air) must be repulsed there and then....

 

[PakShaheen79]

By virtue of his appointment... It might seem that way.... However, I would disagree here.

DCAS Ops is roughly equivalent to army's DG MO and CGS.... But the policy always comes from the top, meaning COAS and CAS..... These under command appointments then implement that policy....

It's just like.... For a military defeat, we exonerate COAS or CAS, and punish DCAS, DG MO or CGS.....

.... In order words, whatever PAF or AM HP did, or didnt manage to do on 26 Feb, wasn't against CAS orders... It can't happen that you do something which is against the given policy of CAS.....

... And believe me, in the time between post IAF and pre PAF strike, the bone of contention was exactly this same thing.... That why the intruding IAF jets weren't shot down despite very clear orders from our PM.

@araz @Air Wolf

What you are telling us here was to be happened and couldn't happen, was it even feasible to happen from pure technical PoV i.e considering the v limited time, IAF was inside Pak airspace?

Most importantly, please shed some light why out of 3 remaining, HP was chosen as VCAS?