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The Pakistan Armed Forces are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are backed by several paramilitary forces such as the National Guard and the Civil Armed Forces. A critical component to the armed forces' structure is the Strategic Plans Division Force, which is responsible for the maintenance and safeguarding of Pakistan's tactical and strategic nuclear weapons stockpile and assets. The President of Pakistan is the Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces and the chain of command is organized under the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) alongside the respective Chiefs of staffs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. All branches are systemically coordinated during joint operations and missions under the Joint Staff Headquarters (JSHQ).
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 the 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.
The Pakistan Air ForceAcademyAsghar Khan is an accredited three-year military academy which provides undergraduate education to officer candidates for the Pakistan Air Force. The eligible and selected candidates from all over Pakistan are sent to PAF Academy Risalpur for flying training. It is located in the town of Risalpur in Nowshera District of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwestern Pakistan, it is a premier cadet training institution of the Pakistan Air Force which offers academic professional degrees. Its role is the training of General Duty Pilots (GDP), Aeronautical and Avionics Engineers and the initial training of other Ground Branch cadets. Cadets of all branches join the academy following a recommendation by the Inter Services Selection Board (ISSB) of Pakistan and the Air Headquarters Special Selection Board for Short Service Commission candidates. Graduates of the Academy's four-year program receive a Bachelor of Science degree, and are commissioned as Flying Officers (Lieutenants) in the Pakistan Air Force.
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.
Pakistan Air Force Museum Faisal is an Air Force museum and park situated near Karsaz Flyover on Shahrah-e-Faisal in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
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 Rafiqui, formerly known as PAF Base Shorkot, is a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) airbase located near Shorkot, Jhang District, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is around 337 km south of Islamabad. The base is served by a single 10,000-foot runway and a parallel taxiway that could be used for emergency landing and recovery of aircraft.
Najeeb Ahmad Khan, commonly known by the title 8-Pass Charlie, was 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 codename assigned to planned Pakistani air and land offensives into India during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971. The plans for the operation were approved in September 1971.
The Malir Cantonment is a cantonment town of the city of Karachi, in Sindh, Pakistan. It serves as a military base and residential establishment.
During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the Indian and Pakistani Air Forces engaged in large-scale aerial combat for the first time. In the air war, which took place in September, both air forces conducted thousands of defensive and offensive sorties over Indian and Pakistani airspace. Both India and Pakistan claimed victory in the air war; Pakistan claimed to have destroyed 104 Indian aircraft and lost 19, and India claimed to have destroyed 73 Pakistani aircraft and lost 35 of its own. The air war ended in a stalemate.
Pakistan Air Force Base Faisal, founded as RAF Drigh Road, now called Shahrah-e-Faisal. This air force base is located at Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. In 1975, it was named after the late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia.
Squadron Leader Peter Christy, SJ, was a PAF bomber pilot and weapon systems officer (WSO). A B-57 Canberra navigator, Squadron Leader Christy was officially declared "missing in action" since December 1971, but widely presumed dead by the Pakistan Armed Forces as of 2004.
Pakistan Air Force Airmen Academy Korangi Creek is "Home of Airmen". It was PAF Base which imparts only technical training to Aero Apprentices and training of non-technical trades was going on another PAF Bases, so PAF needed to train all Airmen at one place. In 2019, It was established as an Academy in which training of all trades is planned. It was a momentous occasion in the history of Pakistan Air Force, as the Air Chief laid the foundation stone of PAF Airmen Academy at PAF Base Korangi Creek Monday.
Air Commodore Muhammad Mahmood AlamSJ & Bar SI(M), popularly known as M. M. Alam, was a Pakistani fighter pilot and war hero, officially credited by the Pakistan Air Force with having downed five Indian fighter aircraft in under a minute and establishing a world record during the 1965 Indo-Pak War.
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.
No. 11 Squadron, named the Arrows, is a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighter squadron assigned to the No. 39 Multi-Role Wing of the PAF Southern Air Command. It operates the Block 15 MLU model of the F-16 Fighting Falcon with a multi-role tasking and is also an Operational Conversion Unit (OCU).
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.
Group Captain Virendera Singh Pathania was an Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter pilot reputed for making the first confirmed aerial dogfight kill of independent India when he shot down a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Sabre Jet with his Folland Gnat on 4 September, 1965. For this action, he was awarded the Vir Chakra.
The No. 14 Squadron, nicknamed Tail Choppers, is an air superiority squadron of the Pakistan Air Force's Central Air Command. It is one of PAF's most decorated squadrons which earned its nickname after a daring strike mission on the Kalaikunda Air Force Station during the 1965 War. Currently, the Squadron is deployed at PAF Base Rafiqui and operates the PAC JF-17 Thunder multirole aircraft.
References
- ↑ "On Base in Malir". airandspace.si.edu. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
- ↑ "PAF Malir". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2021-08-10.