Pakistan Army Aviation Corps

Pakistan Army Aviation Corps
Insignia of the Corps of Aviation
Founded	15 August 1947 (as PAF's No.1 Air OP Flight) 1958;67 years ago (1958) (as Pakistan Army's Aviation Corps)
Country	Pakistan
Branch	Pakistan Army
Type	Army aviation, Combined and Combat support service
Role	Administrative and staffing oversight.
Headquarters	Qasim Army Aviation Base in Dhamial, Rawalpindi
Nickname(s)	AVN
Colors identification	Purple, White, Yellow
Anniversaries	1958
Engagements	Military history of Pakistan
Commanders
Director-General	Maj-Gen. Nadeem Yousaf
Notable commanders	Brigadier Zakaullah Bhangoo
Insignia
War Flag
Patch
Aircraft flown
Attack helicopter	Bell AH-1 Cobra Mil Mi-24/35 CAIC Z-10 Eurocopter Fennec
Multirole helicopter	AW139 Bell 412
Trainer helicopter	Bell 206 Enstrom F-28 Schweizer S300 Bell UH-1 Huey
Utility helicopter	Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma Aérospatiale Alouette III Aérospatiale Lama
Reconnaissance	Beechcraft Super King Air
Transport	Beechcraft Super King Air Harbin Y-12 Turbo Commander 690C Cessna 206 Cessna 208 Caravan Cessna Citation V Cessna Citation II Gulfstream G450

The Pakistan Army Corps of Aviation is a military administrative and combined arms service branch of the Pakistan Army. ^[1] The Aviation Corps is tasked with configuration of all army aviation aircraft and provides principle close aerial combat support and aerial logistics for the Pakistan Army. ^[1]

Overview

The earliest use of aircraft by the army can be traced to the air observation posts (Air OP), where aeroplanes were used during the World War I to help artillery spotters (Forward Observation Officers) to locate and direct artillery fire to targets on the ground. This role was improved upon and further refined in the World War II. The Army Aviation wing of the Royal Air Force was established in India at in 1942. No. 656 Air OP Squadron (RAF), the first Air OP unit reached the Indian subcontinent in 1943 to assist the operations in the Burma campaign. Following the war, 659 Squadron of the Royal Air Force, which had played an important role as an air observation post unit and worked closely with Army units in artillery spotting and liaison was despatched to India on October 1945. ^[2] On 14 August 1947, No.659 (Air OP) Squadron was disbanded at Lahore (which was deployed there in support of the Punjab Boundary Commission) and partitioned between India and Pakistan. ^[3] On the next day the Air OP Squadron became part of the Pakistan Air Force as "No.1 Air Observation Post Flight". No. 1 Air Observation Post Flight was converted into a squadron, and on 20th June 1956, No. 1 Air OP Squadron was officially raised. It was commissioned in the Pakistan Army after its personnel were trained and certified in the United States in 1958.^{: 32  [4] [5]} The Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering started to maintain the aircraft and helicopters given by the U.S. Army's Aviation Branch, opening its own aviation school on 1 January 1959. ^[6]

Since the 1960s, the corps expanded in momentum, manpower, and its operational scope has widened. ^[6] The Aviation Corps became a combat support branch when it inducted its first attack helicopters from Iran in 1970. ^[6] Although it came into existence in 1947, the corps was given a full commission on 2 March 1978. The Aviation Corps is commanded by an active-duty two star major-general, who serves as its director-general and functions directly under the Chief of the General Staff at the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi, Punjab. ^[7]

Aircraft inventory

The Pakistan Army Aviation currently operates (393) helicopters along with (268) fixed-wing aircraft.

Aircraft/System	Photo	Origin	Role	Variant	Quantity	Note	Service period
Helicopter’s (393)
CAIC Z-10		China	Attack	Z-10ME	4-8	60 planned in total.	2025–present
Bell AH-1 Cobra		United States	Attack	AH-1F	55		1985–present
Mil Mi-35		Russia	Attack	Mi-35M3	4 [8]		2018–present
Eurocopter Fennec		France	Armed / Scout	H125M	37 [8] [9]		2009–present
Mil Mi-17		Russia	Transport Utility	Mi-171	60 [8]		1996–present
Aérospatiale/IAR SA 330 Puma		France   Romania	SAR Utility	330L	45 [8]		1977–present
AgustaWestland AW139		Italy	SAR Utility	AW139M	21 [8] [10]		2017–present
Bell 412		United States	MEDEVAC Utility	412EPI	52 [8]		2004–present
Bell UH-1 Iroquois		United States	Utility	UH-1H	6 [8]	6 gifted by the US.	1974–present
Aérospatiale Alouette III		France	Light Utility	SA 316B	13 [8]	The first utility helicopter of Pak Army. Inducted in 3 Squadron on 18 October 1967. [11]	1967–present
Aérospatiale Lama		France	Light Utility	SA 315B	17 [8]		1986–present
Schweizer 300		United States	Trainer	300C	25 [8]		1993–present
Bell 206 JetRanger		United States	Trainer	206B	20 [8]		1975–present
Enstrom F-28		United States	Trainer	280FX	20 [8]		2018–present
Fixed Wing (268)
PAC MFI-17 Mushshak		Pakistan   Sweden	Trainer		233 [8]		1978-present
Beechcraft Super King Air		United States	Reconnaissance	350i	3 [8]	for SIGINT & ISR
		United States	Utility	350ER	6 [8]
Harbin Y-12		China	Utility	Y-12(II)/F	4 [8]
Turbo Commander		United States	Utility	690C	2 [8]
Cessna 208 Caravan		United States	MEDEVAC	208B	13 [8]
Cessna 206 Stationair		United States	MEDEVAC	T206H	4 [12]
Cessna Citation II		United States	VIP Transport	Citation Bravo	1 [8]
Cessna Citation V		United States	VIP Transport	Citation Ultra	1 [13]
Gulfstream IV		United States	VIP Transport	G450	1 [14]

Retired Aircraft

Aircraft/System	Acquired	Retired	Note
Auster 5	1947	1957
Auster AOP.6	1947	1957
Cessna O-1 Bird Dog	1957	1990
Beechcraft U-8F Seminole	1963	1983
Bell OH-13 Sioux	1964	1990	The first helicopters operated by Pakistan Army. They were inducted and first flown on 24 September 1964.
Bell Model 47	1964	1990
Mil Mi-8	1969	1998	Acquired on 21 January 1969.

Notable accidents and incidents

• 2022 Pakistan Army helicopter incident– On 1st August a Pakistan Army Aviation helicopter, which was on flood relief operations in Lasbela area of Balochistan, lost contact with Air Traffic Control. ^{[15] [16] [17] [18]}

The six military personnel, including Commander XII Corps Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali died in the crash. ^[19]

Reports from Pakistani authorities on their early investigations attributed the crash to poor weather conditions, with fog being the main culprit, due to which the Helicopter crashed into a mountain. ^[19]

• 29 March 2022 – Eight UN peacekeepers, six Pakistanis, a Russian and a Serb, part of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were killed in a crash of a Puma helicopter operated by the Pakistan Army Aviation Corps while on a reconnaissance mission in the troubled eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Cause of the crash is yet to be ascertained. ^{[20] [21] [22] [23]}
• 2019 Pakistan Army military plane crash
• 2015 Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 crash
• 2009 Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 crash

The Mil Mi-17 (with Pakistani military markings) participating in combat support operations in coordination with Russian forces, 2017

See also

• Pakistan Air Force
• List of active Pakistan Air Force aircraft
• List of aircraft of the Pakistan Naval Air Arm
• Equipment of the Pakistan Army

References

1. PA, Pakistan Army. "Army Aviation-Pakistan Army". Pakistan Army. Pakistan Army Aviation Corps. Archived from the original on 17 November 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
2. Jefford 2001 , p. 104. harvnb error: no target: CITEREFJefford2001 (help)
3. Pakistan. Army. Army Aviation Directorate. Historical Section (2008). History of Pakistan Army Aviation, 1947-2007. Islamabad, Pakistan: Army Aviation Directorate. p. 3. ISBN   978-969-9246-00-5.
4. Karim, Afsir (1996). Indo-Pak Relations: Viewpoints, 1989-1996. Lancer Publishers. ISBN   978-1-897829-23-3 . Retrieved 15 December 2023.
5. Global Security. "Army Aviation Corps". Global Security inc. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
6. The United States Government (CIA Fact Book) (2011). Pakistan Intelligence and Security Activities Army Aviation Corps. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government. p. 259. ISBN   978-0-7397-1194-1. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
7. Alam, Dr Shah (1 July 2012). Pakistan Army: Modernisation, Arms Procurement and Capacity Building. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. ISBN   978-93-81411-79-7 . Retrieved 15 December 2023.
8. "World Air Forces directory 2022". Flightglobal Insight. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
9. "2023 World Air Forces directory". Flight Global. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
10. "List of AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters in Pakistan". Helis.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
11. Pakistan. Army. Army Aviation Directorate. Historical Section (2008). History of Pakistan Army Aviation, 1947-2007. Islamabad, Pakistan: Army Aviation Directorate. p. 98. ISBN   978-969-9246-00-5.
12. Siddiqui, Naveed (31 March 2017). "Pakistan Army receives six Cessna aircraft from US". dawn.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
13. "Cessna 560 Citation V – Pakistan – Army". airliners.net. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
14. "Gulfstream G450". jetphotos.com. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
15. "Pakistan Army Helicopter Carrying Senior General, 5 Others, Missing". VOA. August 2022.
16. "Pakistan Army aviation helicopter goes missing". www.thenews.com.pk.
17. "Army copter on flood relief operation goes missing near Lasbela". The Express Tribune. 1 August 2022.
18. Yousafzai, Gul (1 August 2022). "Pakistan helicopter goes missing with high-ranking army officers on board". Reuters– via www.reuters.com.
19. Siddiqui, Naveed (2 August 2022). "Wreckage of missing Pakistan Army helicopter found, 6 officers, soldiers aboard martyred: ISPR". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
20. "Eight killed as UN helicopter crashes in eastern DRC". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
21. "Six Pakistan Army officers, soldiers martyred in UN copter crash". The Express Tribune. 29 March 2022. Archived from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
22. Siddiqui, Naveed (29 March 2022). "Six Pakistani officers, soldiers martyred in helicopter crash in Congo: ISPR". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
23. "Eight UN peacekeepers killed in helicopter crash in DRC". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 29 March 2022. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.

External links

• ISPR (5 April 2007). "History of Pakistan Army Aviation". YouTube . Retrieved 21 December 2011.