PAF Falcons Forums

PAF News: 2008

http://www.paffalcons.com/news/2008/index.php

Minister’s chopper escapes accident
Sunday, May 11, 2008

ISLAMABAD: A helicopter carrying a federal minister and high-ranking government officials narrowly escaped a major accident on Saturday.

Water and Power Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, Water and Power Secretary Ismail Qureshi and WAPDA Chairman Shakil Durrani had left Islamabad for Basha Dam by helicopter, when one of the two helicopter engines developed a fault. Helicopter pilot Col Asad Ali flew to Rawalpindi Dahmiyal Camp, where a successful emergency landing was made without any injuries. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Pakistan dispatches relief goods to Myanmar
Sunday, May 11, 2008

ISLAMABAD (APP): Pakistan on Sunday dispatched two C-130 aircraft carrying relief goods including tents, plastic sheets, thousands of mosquito nets, adequate medicines and water purification tablets for the cyclone affectees of Myanmar.

These relief flights also carried other urgently needed supplies for survivors of last week’s devastating cyclone.

Ambassador of Myanmar to Pakistan Mr. Tin Oo, Additional Secretary Cabinet Division Atta Muhammad Raja, Director General Relief Cell Sohaila Mushtaq,Director General Ministry of Foreign Affairs Abdul Mateen Khan, Desk Office South East Asia Qasim Mohi Uddin and Deputy Director National Disaster Management Authority Ch. Muhammad Irfan were present in relief goods dispatching ceremony.

Additional Secretary Cabinet Division Atta Muhammad Raja said the people of Pakistan are deeply shocked and saddened after devastating cyclone which hit Myanmar last week resulting the loss of thousands of precious lives and valuable property.

He said that Prime Minister of Pakistan Syed Muhammad Yousaf Raza Gilani ordered the dispatch of relief goods in this critical time for Myanmar.

Mr. Atta said that Pakistan is ready to set up fully equipped mobile hospital in the cyclone hit area of Myanmar after receiving the green signal from the authorities.

Ambassador of Myanmar to Pakistan thanked the Pakistani authorities and people of Pakistan for assistance in this crucial time and said that Myanmar greatly regards this gesture of good will.

Pakistan seeks spy planes from Australia
Monday, May 12, 2008

Brendan Nicholson, Islamabad

PAKISTANI officials are expected in Australia soon seeking to buy equipment including unmanned surveillance aircraft to help patrol Pakistan's mountainous and porous border with Afghanistan.

The equipment request was made during a visit to Islamabad by Australian Defence Force chief Angus Houston, who was also asked to provide Pakistani personnel with training in sophisticated counter-terrorism techniques and a range of security equipment used by the ADF, police and immigration officials.

Pakistan shares a 2400- kilometre border with Afghanistan and is increasingly seen as a key to success in the war being waged by NATO forces against insurgents from the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

The colonial border cuts through the traditional mountain lands of the Pashtun people, who have had thousands of years' experience fighting foreign invaders.

After talks with members of Pakistan's armed forces, Air Chief Marshal Houston confirmed to The Age that the Pakistani officers were particularly keen to obtain the Scan Eagle pilotless reconnaissance aircraft Boeing builds in Australia.

The tiny aircraft is fitted with cameras that can be used by night or day and has proven successful when used by Australian troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"It provides a very effective way to see what's on the other side of the hill without getting your head shot off," a veteran soldier told The Age.

Air Chief Marshal Houston said that because Afghanistan was landlocked, Australia relied heavily on sea, air and land access through Pakistan for its troops and equipment.

"For a long time, they've been a very important partner in our endeavours in Afghanistan," he said.

The defence chief said Pakistani authorities had to try to control a long border in rugged country with crossing points used constantly since colonial times. They had five army divisions along the border and had suffered heavy casualties fighting extremists there.

He said there could well be great benefit in having Pakistan engaged with Australia's defence industries.

"We think engagement with Pakistan is a vital part of getting the right outcomes in Afghanistan."

Pakistani military officers in Islamabad were clearly frustrated by assumptions among many Western commentators that they could easily defeat the Taliban.

They told The Age that NATO and its allies must negotiate with moderate members of the Taliban if there was to be any hope of peace. The officers said they were convinced there could not be a military solution in Afghanistan.

"There has to be a mix of solutions and a lot of work has to be done on the political system and on economic development," one said. If more people had jobs, fewer would be willing to fight for the Taliban, he said.

The Pakistani officers scoffed at suggestions their country was encouraging the Taliban and said 12,000 Pakistani soldiers had been killed fighting terrorists and another 14,000 seriously wounded in the past two years.

F-16s for India
Wednesday, May 7, 2008

S.M. Hali

India's quest for an additional 126 fighter aircraft, besides the existing Indian Air Force (IAF) inventory of 30 squadrons, comprising 680 combat aircraft, as against Pakistan's 20 based on 415 aircraft, has prompted aircraft manufacturers all over the world to compete for the multi-billion dollars deal. The major bidders are Lockheed Martin, with its F-16s, Boeing, which is offering F-18 Superhornets, has submitted its 7,000-page bid last week; the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) with its Eurofighter Typhoon, Russian Aircraft Corporation offering MiG-35, French company Dassault with its Rafale, and Swedish firm SAAB vending its Gripen JAS-39. The Request for Proposal (RFP) submitted by India spells out that 18 of the selected jet fighters would be bought off the shelf and the remaining 108 would be delivered through the government's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under licensed production i.e. Transfer of Technology (ToT) to the Indian industry.

Reportedly, Lockheed Martin has offered India more sophisticated F-16 combat jets than the ones supplied to Pakistan. Lockheed Martin and US Embassy visited the Indian Defence Ministry's office on April 28, 2008 to submit bids. According to Indian media, Lockheed Martin President Ralph D Heath, said that the company had offered the F-16IN aircraft to India, which is "much beyond Indian expectations". Replying to a question about advanced technology being given to Pakistan as well, he said the F-16IN version of the jet would have "a multitude of cutting-edge technologies" not offered anywhere else. The new technologies incorporated in F-16IN include APG-80 Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar, GE's F110-132A engine for powerful thrust, a large weapon inventory, advanced electronic warfare suite and fuel tanks to extend the range of the combat jet. Asked whether Lockheed Martin would be jointly developing the fifth-generation fighter aircraft with India, the company's president said: "We advocate the path of [India's] logical transition from F-16s to the F-35s, beyond the MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) requirements". Lockheed has been offering sweeteners to woo India to wrap up the deal as the $ 10 billion would help Lockheed Martin, which has already sold more than 4,000 planes to 24 countries, and raked in billions of dollars in profit.

Chief of the Air Staff PAF, Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmad, when asked by this scribe, about the offer by Lockheed Martin regarding more sophisticated F-16s to India, commented that, "Pakistan should not lose sleep over this, it will make little difference!" These are brave words, but I would tend to agree with the Air Chief, since if the Indian RFP has asked for 108 aircraft to be produced by HAL, going by the track record of Indian "indigenous" production, it is likely to mess it up. With its bureaucratic set up and disdainful attitude towards IAF, HAL would probably create more problems than solutions. As regards the fifth generation fighter acquisition by India, the only two fifth-generation aircraft in different stages of development in the world today-F-22s and F-35s-are the products of Lockheed Martin. United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Turkey, Australia, Norway and Denmark are contributors toward the development costs of the F-35 Lightning II program. If India opts for it, they would have to be in the queue for it and it would be nearly a decade before it gets delivery after the nine participants named earlier.

Looking at the other bids, India would probably not opt for the Swedish Saab Gripen, since it does not meet IAF's requirements. EADS has invited India to become a partner in the Eurofighter Typhoon program, but it may find the terms of the RFP challenging. Dassault's Rafale has made no foreign sales yet. Russian MiG-35, should also not be cause for much concern to Pakistan since the lack of ergonomics in Russian aircraft do not make them user-friendly for fighter pilots and will be easier to deal with in combat. Washington's offer to New Delhi that it was willing to sell not just F-16s but also a bigger, multi-role warplane, the F-18, which the US hasn't sold even to its NATO allies, makes the deal lucrative.

New Delhi wants to maintain its "natural" airpower asymmetry or superiority over Islamabad. Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has lived with a numerical disadvantage, ever since its inception. It offsets it with better maintenance, greater turn-around capability of each fighter aircraft and superior tactics and training. Thus PAF would definitely "lose no sleep" with the Lockheed Martin offer of superior F-16s to India; after all it has compensated the numerical imbalance with sheer professionalism.

SA to fly Erieye?
Friday, May 9, 2008

By Leon Engelbrecht

[ Johannesburg, 9 May 2008 ] - Pakistan has become the fifth country to acquire the software-driven airborne Erieye surveillance system from Saab, the Swedish defence vendor.

This raises hopes at the company that SA may lease three or four of the aircraft for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Pakistan took possession of the most recent iteration of the radar plane, the Saab 2000, late last month and will primarily use the aircraft to patrol and monitor its porous, mountainous border with Afghanistan.

“This is a large and strategically important deal for Saab. It is in line with our business strategy within the area of security and surveillance, and it shows Saab's competence in system integration,â€

PAF War Hero dies
June 5, 2008

ISLAMABAD: Flying officer (retd) Shamshad Hussain, a hero of the Pakistan Air Force, died in the UAE, the PAF announced here.

His body was flown from the UAE to the PAF Base Faisal in Karachi. Shamshad Hussain, who was an ACE pilot, had participated in 1971 war and shot down two fighter jets of the Indian Air Force.He was awarded Sitara-i-Jurrat for his exceptional bravery and act of devotion. He will be buried at the PAF graveyard in Base Korangi Creek with full military honours on Friday.

Chief of the Air Staff Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed termed the death of Shamshad Hussain a great national loss.

Source: Dawn

Combined passing out parade of ATTS, SAF & SOL held
June 7, 2008

KOHAT: A combined passing out parade of Aero Apprentice trainees of Administrative Trades Training School (ATTS), School of Accounts and Finance (SAF) and School of Logistics (SOL) was held at PAF Base, Kohat.

Air Vice Marshal Waseem Ud Din, Deputy Chief of Air Staff (Administration), Pakistan Air Force was the Chief Guest on the occasion.

The Chief Guest reviewed the parade and awarded trophies to aero apprentices for outstanding achievements. The Best All Round Trophies were received by Aero Apprentice Muhammad Adnan at ATTS and Aero Apprentice Muhammad Farhan at SOL.

The Chief Guest, during his address, felicitated graduating Aero Apprentices on successful completion of their training, and commended efforts of the faculty members for imparting professional training in line with high standards of PAF.

He said, “the nation pins high hopes on Pakistan Air Force and it has provided us all requisite resources to defend the country. It is now incumbent upon us to use all our energies in making Pakistan Air Force a lean and efficient Air Force.â€

Pakistan to get Four F-16 Fighter Jets on 28th June 2008
June 19, 2008

By Sajjad Malik

Jets part of consignment of 28 F-16s US agreed to sell in 1990s

ISLAMABAD: The United States is set to hand over to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) four F-16 fighter jets on June 28, defence sources told.

The four jets are part of a larger consignment of 28 F-16 aircraft, which the US agreed to sell Pakistan in the 1990s to strengthen its defences, in recognition of Pakistan’s services in the conflict again the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s. However, the delivery of 28 aircrafts was stopped amidst US allegations that Pakistan was pursuing a clandestine nuclear weapons programme. The US agreed to provide the remaining jets after an agreement in 2005 increasing military co-operation between the two allies in the war on terror. The US had already delivered two F-16 aircrafts to the PAF, sources said.

“With handing over of four more F-16 on June 28, it is hoped that the remaining aircrafts embargoed by the US would also be delivered soon,â€

PAF jet crashes in Malakand | Thursday, July 10, 2008

PESHAWAR: A T-37 jet of Pakistan Air Force(PAF) has been crashed during a training flight in Sakhakot area of Malakand on Thursday. The pilot is managed to eject from the plane, sources said.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=49346