The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Navy when required, and a tertiary role of providing strategic airlift capability to Pakistan. As of 2021, as per the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the PAF has more than 70,000 active-duty personnel and operates at least 970 aircraft. Its primary mandate and mission is "to provide, in synergy with other inter-services, the most efficient, assured and cost effective aerial defence of Pakistan." Since its establishment in 1947, the PAF has been involved in various combat operations, providing aerial support to the operations and relief efforts of the Pakistani military. Under Article 243, the Constitution of Pakistan appoints the President of Pakistan as the civilian Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), by statute a four-star air officer, is appointed by the President with the consultation and confirmation needed from the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Risalpur is a city in Nowshera District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on the Nowshera-Mardan Road. It is nearly 45 km from Peshawar and 18 km from Mardan and is located at 34°4'52N 71°58'21E. In a basin some 1014 feet above sea level, it is bounded on the south and west by the Kabul and Kalpani rivers, respectively. The famous Khyber Pass lies 90 kilometers to the north.
Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali MirNI(M), HI(M), SI(M), SBtNI(M), HI(M), SI(M), SBt was an influential statesman and a four-star air force general who served as the Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), appointed on 20 November 2000 until his accidental death in a plane crash on 20 February 2003.
Pakistan Air Force Base Nur Khan is an active Pakistan Air Force airbase located in Chaklala, Rawalpindi, Punjab province, Pakistan. The former Benazir Bhutto International Airport forms part of this airbase. Fazaia Intermediate College, Nur Khan is also located in the base.
PAF Base M.M. Alam is a Pakistan Air Force airbase located at Mianwali, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The base is named after Muhammad Mahmood Alam.
PAF Base Mushaf, IATA: SGI, ICAO: OPSR), is a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) airbase situated at Sargodha in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is designated as a "Major Operational Base" or "MOB" by the PAF.
8-Pass Charlie was the nickname of Najeeb Ahmed Khan, a Pakistani bomber pilot who raided the Adampur Airbase in India a number of times during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, notably starting a series of airstrikes on the base by a solo raid.
Operation Chengiz Khan was the code name assigned to the preemptive strikes carried out by the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) on the forward airbases and radar installations of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on the evening of 3 December 1971, and marked the formal initiation of hostilities of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The operation targeted 11 of India's airfields and also included artillery strikes on Indian positions in Kashmir. The targets were the Indian Airbases of Amritsar, Ambala, Agra, Awantipur, Bikaner, Halwara, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Pathankot, Bhuj, Srinagar and Uttarlai and air defence radars at Amritsar and Faridkot.
Air Chief Marshal Kaleem SaadatNI(M), HI(M), SI(M), TI(M), LoH, is a retired four-star air officer in the Pakistan Air Force who served as the Chief of Air Staff, tenured in this capacity from 18 March 2003 until retiring from his commission on 20 March 2006.
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 saw the Indian and Pakistani Air Forces engaged in large-scale aerial combat against each other for the first time since the Partition of India in 1947. The war took place during the course of September 1965 and saw both air forces conduct defensive and offensive operations over Indian and Pakistani airspace. The aerial war saw both sides conducting thousands of sorties in a single month. Both sides claimed victory in the air war; Pakistan claimed to have destroyed 104 enemy aircraft against its own losses of 19, while India claimed to have destroyed 73 enemy aircraft and lost 35 of its own. Despite the intense fighting, the conflict was effectively a stalemate.
PAF Base Peshawar is an airbase of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the operational site of the PAF's Northern Air Command, located to the east of Bacha Khan International Airport, which is shared by both civil aviation flights and military flights.
Sargodha Cantonment is a cantonment adjacent to the Sargodha Airbase in Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan.
No. 9 Squadron, named the Griffins, is a Pakistan Air Force fighter squadron assigned to the No. 38 Multi-Role Wing of the PAF Central Air Command. The squadron is stationed at PAF Base Mushaf, Sargodha. It was the PAF's first fighter squadron and has been commanded by seven Chiefs of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force. The squadron crest is a red griffin which symbolises strength, aggressiveness, and vigilance. Scrolls around the squadron crest display the battle honours Sargodha 65 and Karachi 71.The Griffins are considered as the PAF's most elite unit as well as its most senior.
The history of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) began when it was established in 1947 following the independence of Pakistan.
The No. 26 Squadron, nicknamed the Black Spiders, is a multi-role squadron of the Pakistan Air Force's Northern Air Command. It is currently based at Peshawar Airbase and operates the PAC JF-17 Thunder multirole fighter jets.
In 2007, 34 terrorist attacks and clashes, including suicide attacks, killings, and assassinations, resulted in 134 casualties and 245 injuries, according to the PIPS security report. The report states that Pakistan faced 20 suicide attacks during 2007, which killed at least 111, besides injuring another 234 people. The PIPS report shows visible increase in suicide attacks after the siege of Lal Masjid.
The 2014 Quetta airbase attack occurred on 15 August 2014, when approximately 13 Tehrik-i-Taliban militants attempted to storm two airbases of the Pakistan Air Force; PAF Base Samungli and Khalid, both located in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. The attack was largely unsuccessful as Pakistani security forces foiled the attempt following a major armed engagement between the two sides which resulted in the deaths of 12 militants, while 12 people were injured, including one attacker and 11 security personnel.
The Combat Commanders' School or CCS is the fighter weapons and advanced air combat tactics development and training school of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) based at PAF Base Mushaf, Sargodha, Pakistan.
The No. 15 Squadron, nicknamed Cobras, is a Tactical Attack squadron of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The Squadron is currently based at Rafiqui Air Base and equipped with Chengdu J-10C multi role fighter jets. The squadron also carries the honour of achieving the first kill for the PAF.
No. 8 Squadron, nicknamed the Haiders, is a tactical attack squadron from the No. 32 TA Wing of the Pakistan Air Force's Southern Air Command. It is currently deployed at Masroor Airbase and operates multiple variants of the Dassault Mirage 5 strike fighter.
Pakistan Air Force 
