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73-804: An airbase typically has some facilities similar to a civilian airport ; for example, air traffic control and firefighting . Some military aerodromes have passenger facilities; for example, RAF Brize Norton in England has a terminal used by passengers for the Royal Air Force 's passenger transport flights. A number of military airbases may also have a civil enclave for commercial passenger flights, e.g. Beijing Nanyuan Airport (China), Chandigarh Airport (India), Ibaraki Airport (Japan), Burlington International Airport (USA), Sheikh Ul-Alam International Airport Srinagar (India), Taipei Songshan Airport (Taiwan), Eindhoven airport (The Netherlands). Likewise,

146-595: A Sukhoi Su-30 MKI , a claim rejected by Indian authorities. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman , who was piloting the MiG-21 Bison, was captured and arrested by the Pakistani military upon being shot down. He was held for two days before being released at the Wagah - Attari border crossing on 1 March. Initially, Pakistani military officials claimed to have had two pilots in custody, one of whom died while undergoing treatment,

219-505: A photo reconnaissance mission. Two PAF F-86F Sabres ( Flt. Lt. M. N. Butt (leader) and Flt. Lt. M. Yunis) of No. 15 Squadron on Air Defence Alert (ADA) were scrambled from PAF Base Peshawar to intercept the IAF aircraft. Butt attempted to bring down the Canberra by firing his Sabre's machine guns, but the Canberra was flying at an altitude of more than 50,000 feet—beyond the operational ceiling of

292-571: A "qualitative advantage". This statement has been refuted by some officials in Pakistan, who say that the IAF's MiG-21 , Hawker Hunter and Folland Gnat aircraft had better performance than the PAF's F-86 fighters, without accounting for the obvious quantitative advantage that the IAF possessed. According to retired PAF Air Commodore Sajad Haider , the F-86 Sabre was inferior in terms of both power and speed to

365-399: A 7% rise over one year. The passenger numbers are distinctively more volatile than general economic indicators. Global political, economic or health crises have an amplifying effect. Pakistan Air Force The Pakistan Air Force ( PAF ) ( Urdu : پاک فِضائیہ , romanized :  Pāk Fìzāʾiyah ; pronounced [pɑːk fɪzɑːɪjəɦ] ) is the aerial warfare branch of

438-680: A base and that they had support from within the Taliban. These airstrikes mark the second instance of attack by Pakistan on the sovereign soil of Afghanistan in a period less than two years. The first similar Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan soil came in 2022. The PAF has 27 airbases of which 19 are flying bases and 8 are non-flying bases. Flying bases are operational bases from which aircraft operate during both peacetime and wartime; whereas non-flying bases conduct either training, administration, maintenance, air defence operations, or mission support. The Pakistan Air Force's Special Services Wing (SSW)

511-479: A claim that has widely been accepted by most international sources as "a stretch". The IAF ran a larger offensive air campaign by devoting 40% of its air effort to offensive air support alone. The two countries have made contradictory claims of combat losses during the war and few neutral sources have verified the claims of either country, as is the case with most India-Pakistan conflicts. The PAF claims that it shot down 104 IAF aircraft and lost 19 of its own, while

584-569: A claim which was later changed to having only Abhinandan in custody. This was taken to be evidence of a Pakistani pilot being shot down by some Indian sources. US count of PAF's F-16 fleet and various international military observers, refused to buy Indian claim of shooting down PAF's F-16. At least 47 people were killed and 22 injured in two airstrikes by Pakistani forces along the border with Afghanistan on 16 April 2022. The Taliban summoned Pakistan's ambassador in Kabul and registered their protest against

657-480: A high-value target (HVT) commander. Another commander, Abdullah Mehsud, was claimed to have been killed, but later released a video refuting the claim. It was also reported that Mehsud's house was targeted in which his wife and a minor son was killed. Pakistan went on to blame the Pakistani Taliban and its splinter militias for the deaths of hundreds of Pakistani civilians, and claimed that they used Afghanistan as

730-710: A nation can move about at will", which allows greater flexibility in diplomacy as well as military affairs. Aircraft carriers may also used in disaster relief . Civil aviation Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation , both private and commercial. Most countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and work together to establish common Standards and Recommended Practices for civil aviation through that agency. Civil aviation includes three major categories: Although scheduled air transport

803-538: A new high-tech combat aircraft, between late 1990 and 1993 the PAF evaluated the European Panavia Tornado MRCA (multi-role combat aircraft), and ultimately rejected it. France's Dassault Mirage 2000E and an offer from Poland for the supply of MiG-29s and Su-27s were also considered, but no deal materialized. In 1992, the PAF once again looked towards the French Mirage 2000, reviving a proposal from

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876-858: A preliminary all-time high in 2015 of 3.44 billion passengers. Likewise, the number of registered carrier departures worldwide has reached a peak in 2015 with almost 33 million takeoffs. In the U.S. alone, the passenger miles "computed by summing the products of the aircraft-miles flown on each inter airport segment multiplied by the number of passengers carried on that segment" have reached 607,772 million miles (978,114 × 10 ^  km) in 2014 (as compared to highway car traffic with 4,371,706 million miles (7,035,579 × 10 ^  km)). The global seasonally adjusted revenue passenger kilometers per month peaked at more than 550 billion kilometres (3,700 AU) (~ 6.6 trillion per year, corresponding to roughly 2000 km per passenger) in January 2016,

949-689: A regulatory distinction based on whether aircraft are flown for hire, like: All scheduled air transport is commercial, but general aviation can be either commercial or private. Normally, the pilot, aircraft, and operator must all be authorized to perform commercial operations through separate commercial licensing, registration, and operation certificates. Non-civil aviation is referred to as state aviation. This includes military aviation , state VIP transports, and police /customs aircraft. After World War II , commercial aviation grew rapidly, using mostly ex-military pilots to transport people and cargo. Factories that had produced bombers were quickly adapted to

1022-659: A retaliatory attack on India's nuclear research facilities in Trombay in the event of an Indian attack on Kahuta. It was decided the most suitable aircraft would be the F-16 Fighting Falcon , which the United States eventually agreed to supply after the PAF refused to purchase the F-5 . In 1983, when the first batch of F-16s reached Pakistan, ACM Shamim informed Zia of the PAF's increasing capability to effectively respond to an attack on

1095-721: A rifle factory in Gurwek with the material support provided by the government of Afghanistan . In 1953–1954, the PAF's No. 14 Squadron led an operation from Miranshah airbase and heavily bombarded the Faqir of Ipi 's compound in Gurwek which ultimately forced Faqir to detach from an armed campaign against Pakistan. On 10 April 1959, on the occasion of the Eid ul-Fitr festival holiday in Pakistan , an Indian Air Force (IAF) English Electric Canberra B(I)58 of No. 106 Squadron entered Pakistani airspace on

1168-400: A similar Iranian missile strike inside Pakistani territory . According to Iran, nine foreign nationals were killed in the attack. Baloch Liberation Army , one of the group targeted in the strikes, said that the strikes had targeted and killed its people. It was first strike on Iranian soil by any foreign power since the time of end of Iran–Iraq War in 1988. On 18 March 2024, in response to

1241-455: A standoff between India and Pakistan had begun, Pakistan claimed to have struck six targets near Indian military installations inside Indian Controlled Kashmir, which hit open spaces through a codenamed "Operation Swift Retort". Indian Air Force jets were scrambled to intercept the PAF jets inside Jammu and Kashmir. Following the interception, a fierce dogfight ensued and Pakistani aircraft shot down an Indian MiG-21 . Ten minutes before

1314-464: Is an airfield that is used for the purpose of dispersing air units in the event of conflict, so to minimise the vulnerability of aircraft and its supporting units whilst on the ground. Dispersal airbases are not necessarily ordinarily operational in peace time, and may only be activated when needed. Airfields used as dispersal bases can either be auxiliary military airfields, civilian airports, or highway strips . Examples of uses of dispersal bases are

1387-764: Is the branch's elite special operations fighting force. Originally coming into existence following the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 , the SSW is heavily modelled off of the United States Air Force 's Special Tactics Squadrons with some elements inspired by the United States Army Rangers . The unit remained active but saw little prioritization by the Pakistani military until after the Kargil War . In late 1999,

1460-443: Is the larger operation in terms of passenger numbers, GA is larger in the number of flights (and flight hours, in the U.S. ) In the U.S., GA carries 166 million passengers each year, more than any individual airline, though less than all the airlines combined. Since 2004, the U.S. airlines combined have carried over 600 million passengers each year, and in 2014, they carried a combined 662,819,232 passengers. Some countries also make

1533-656: The 2008 Mumbai attacks , the Pakistan Air Force was put on high alert in anticipation of any potential Indian accusations and offensives. It deployed to all its wartime locations and started routine combat air patrols. The speed and intensity of the deployment and PAF's readiness took the Indian Army High Command by surprise and later reports suggest that was the main factor to influence the Indians' decision of not going for cross border raids inside Pakistan. The PAF

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1606-603: The Abbottabad area until early morning and later returned to their air bases. However, the fact that so many non-stealth aircraft had entered Pakistani airspace, stayed for three hours to carry out a major operation, and that PAF jets only arrived at the location 24 minutes after the American helicopters had left made a senior PAF official term it "one of the most embarrassing incidents in Pakistan's history". The Pakistan Army faced several problems during its 2009 offensive against

1679-532: The Bangladesh Liberation War between West Pakistan and East Pakistan (later joined by India). On 22 November 1971, 10 days before the start of a full-scale war, four PAF F-86 Sabre jets attacked Indian and Mukti Bahini positions at Garibpur , near the international border. Two of the four PAF Sabres were shot down and one damaged by the IAF's Gnats. On 3 December, India formally declared war against Pakistan following massive preemptive strikes by

1752-477: The Czech Republic . In the case of Finnish road airbases, the space needed for landing aircraft is reduced by means of an arrestor wire , similar to that used on some aircraft carriers ( Finnish Air Force uses F/A-18s , which were originally designed to land on aircraft carriers). An aircraft carrier is a type of naval ship which serves as a seaborne airbase, the development of which has greatly enhanced

1825-591: 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 Pakistan Navy when required, and a tertiary role of providing strategic airlift capability to Pakistan. As of 2024 , as per the International Institute for Strategic Studies , the PAF has more than 35,000 active-duty personnel. PAF stands as

1898-473: The Pressler amendment was passed, the United States placed sanctions and an arms embargo on Pakistan starting on 6 October 1990 due to the continuance of the country's nuclear weapons research programme. All eleven Peace Gate III F-16s, along with seven F-16A and ten F-16B of the 60 Peace Gate IV F-16s, which had been built by the end of 1994 were embargoed and put into storage on U.S. soil. Desperate for

1971-714: The Pulwama attack in Jammu and Kashmir , India accused involvement of Pakistani hands in this incident. In response, India carried out airstrikes in the vicinity of the town of Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, several miles inside the province's boundary with Pakistan-administered Kashmir . Pakistan's military claimed that the Indian planes dropped their payload in an uninhabited wooded hilltop area near Balakot after being intercepted by PAF fighter jets. On 27 February 2019, when

2044-631: The Soviet Air Force in support of the Afghan Air Force during the course of the conflict; one of which belonged to Alexander Rutskoy . A letter of agreement for up to 28 F-16A and 12 F-16B was signed in December 1981. The contracts, Peace Gate I and Peace Gate II were for 6 and 34 Block 15 models respectively, which would be powered by the F100-PW-200 engine. The first Peace Gate I aircraft

2117-568: The Swedish Bas 60 and Bas 90 systems, the British V-Bomber dispersal bases , and NATO's Dispersed Operating Bases in France . Road airbases are highways constructed to double as auxiliary airbases in the event of war. Countries known to utilise this strategy are India , Sweden , Finland , Germany (formerly), Singapore , Switzerland , South Korea , Turkey , Poland , Pakistan , and

2190-531: The Vayu Sena gallantry medal. India stated that it had only lost a single aircraft (a MiG-21) while claiming to have shot down a Pakistani F-16. Pakistan rejected India's statement, stating that no F-16s were deployed. India also accepted loss of its Mi-17 helicopter in a friendly fire terming it as "a big mistake". Pakistan would later go on to accept that F-16s had been used, but maintained that none of them were shot down. Pakistan also claimed to have shot down

2263-477: The international border . Although the Royal Afghan Air Force had seven MiG-17 squadrons and another MiG-21 squadron being operationalized, no known dogfight has been recorded between the two sides. The PAF fleet at the time consisted of 12 F-104 Starfighters , some 120 F-86 Sabres and around 20 B-57 Canberra bombers . The PAF claims to have had complete air superiority over the battle area from

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2336-483: The 'cook house'), accommodation (single living accommodation for junior ranks , Sergeants' and Officers' Mess for senior non-commissioned officers and commissioned officers), recreational facilities (club house for socialising), shopping facilities ( NAAFI shops, base exchange, commissary), and sports facilities (gymnasium, swimming pool, sports pitches). An airbase may be defended by anti-aircraft weapons and force protection troops. A dispersal (or dispersed) airbase

2409-410: The 27 February airstrikes, an IAF Mi-17 helicopter was shot down by an Indian Spyder missile , having been mistaken for a PAF drone. This resulted in total loss of the aircraft and death of all on board: two pilots (squadron leaders Siddarth Vashista and Ninad Mandavgane), flight engineer Vishal Kumar Pandey, sergeant Vikrant Sehrawat, and corporals Deepak Pandey and Pankaj Kumars, and one civilian on

2482-588: The Comet into scheduled service. While it was a technical achievement, the airplane suffered a series of highly public failures, as the shape of the windows led to cracks due to metal fatigue . By the time the problems were overcome, other jet airliner designs such as the Boeing 707 had already entered service. The Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation was originally established in 1944; it states that signatories should collectively work to harmonize and standardize

2555-676: The F-86F. When Yunis took over from his leader, the Canberra suddenly lost height while executing a turn over Rawalpindi . Yunis fired a burst that struck the Canberra at an altitude of 47,500 feet and brought it down over Rawat , marking the first direct aerial victory of the PAF. Both crew members of the IAF Canberra ejected and were captured by Pakistani authorities. They were subsequently released after remaining in detention for some time. Between 1960 and 1961, Royal Afghan Army troops along with thousands of Pashtun tribesmen from Afghanistan crossed

2628-716: The Faqir's rebellion, Pakistan Air Force in June 1949 inadvertently bombed the Afghan village of Mughalgai on the Waziristan border with Afghanistan while chasing the Pashtunistan separatists who attacked Pakistani border posts from Afghanistan, this attack came to known as Mughalgai raid which left 23 separatists dead and further fuelled Afghan support for Pashtunistan. Faqir established Gurwek as headquarters for his activities. Faqir also established

2701-443: The IAF claimed it shot down 73 PAF aircraft while losing 60 of its own. According to most independent and neutral sources, the PAF lost some 20 aircraft while the IAF lost somewhere between 60 and 75. Despite the intense fighting throughout the course of the war, the conflict was effectively a stalemate and inconclusive in its result. By late 1971, the intensification of the independence movement in erstwhile East Pakistan led to

2774-487: The IAF's Hawker Hunter . Air Commodore Sajad Haider , who flew with No. 19 squadron also stated that the F-104 Starfighter did not deserve its reputation as "the pride of the PAF" because it "was unsuited to the tactical environment of the region. It was a high-level interceptor designed to neutralise Soviet strategic bombers in altitudes above 40,000 feet." Nevertheless, the IAF is believed to have feared facing

2847-687: The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and later helped establish the Combat Commanders School (CCS). Wing Commander Melvin Leslie Middlecoat was the Commanding Officer of No. 9 Squadron during the 1965 war, he and Squadron Leader Peter Christy fought and were KIA in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 . Patrick Desmond Callaghan was another Christian officer who rose to the rank of Air Vice Marshal. Wing Commander Ronald Felix has been

2920-474: The PAF against IAF installations in Srinagar , Ambala , Sirsa , Halwara and Jodhpur . However, the IAF did not suffer any significant losses because the leadership had anticipated such a move and consequently, precautions were taken. The IAF was quick to respond to Pakistani airstrikes, following which the PAF carried out mostly defensive sorties. Hostilities officially ended at 14:30 GMT on 17 December, after

2993-441: The PAF's current state, "Indian aircraft could reach the area in three minutes whereas the PAF would take eight minutes, allowing the Indians to attack the facility and return before the PAF could defend or retaliate". Because Kahuta was close to the Indian border, a consensus was reached acknowledging that the best way to deter a possible Indian attack would be to procure new advanced fighters and weaponry. These could be used to mount

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3066-446: The PAF's joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. A C-130 transport aircraft was indigenously modified for day/night ISR operations. Use of laser-guided bombs was increased to 80% of munitions used, as compared to 40% in the previous 1960s Bajaur campaign . A small corps of ground spotters were trained and used by the PAF, in addition to Pakistan Army spotters, to identify high-value targets. Prior to

3139-508: The Pakistan Army's offensive into South Waziristan , the PAF attacked militant infrastructure with 500 lb and 2000 lb bombs. A number of civilian casualties occurred during PAF airstrikes on 10 April 2010 in the FATA tribal region . According to sources from the Pakistani military, the first bombing was targeted at a gathering of militants in a compound. Locals who had quickly moved onto

3212-542: The SSW was largely revived and restructured for active service and is currently fielding around 1,200 troops. Since its inception, religious minorities have been free to pursue careers within the Pakistan Armed Forces, with the exception of Hindus until 2001. Following its involvement in the global U.S. -led War on Terror , Pakistan released the Hindu minority in the country from the discriminatory law and granted them

3285-594: The Starfighter in combat despite its lack of effectiveness in comparison to the IAF's fleet of Folland Gnats . According to Indian sources, the F-86F performed reasonably well against the IAF's Hunters but not as well against the Gnat, which was nicknamed the Sabre Slayer by the IAF. Per India , most of the aircraft losses of the IAF were allegedly on the ground while the PAF suffered most of their losses in aerial combat,

3358-471: The Taliban in North-West Pakistan . Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis vacated the area when the offensive was announced and, eventually, over two million had to be accommodated in refugee camps . The offensive was to be completed as quickly as possible to allow the refugees to return to their homes but the army's fleet attack helicopters were insufficient to provide adequate support to infantry on

3431-473: The area tasked with finding the exact number of civilian casualties reported that 61 civilians were killed and 21 were wounded. This was not confirmed by government figures but Pakistan's then-Chief of the Army Staff, General Ashfaq Kayani , gave a public apology on 17 April. It is reported that BBC News and several other media correspondences were not allowed to take interviews from the injured. Following

3504-588: The attack from Afghanistan, Pakistan Air Force carried out two intelligence based airstrikes on Afghanistan's eastern border provinces of Khost and Paktika . The Afghan government claim that Pakistan killed five women and three children. Pakistan denies this, claiming that it killed terrorists instead while targeting the Hafiz Gul Bahadur militant group, a splinter organization of the Pakistani Taliban , and that it had successfully killed Sehra alias Janan,

3577-609: The capabilities of modern air forces and naval aviation . In many countries, they are now a key part of the military, allowing for their military aircraft to be staged much nearer the area of conflict. Aircraft carriers were vital to the United States during World War II , Korea and the Vietnam War , and to the United Kingdom in the 1982 Falklands War . They retain modern roles as well as "several acres of sovereign territory

3650-527: The early 1980s to procure around 20–40 aircraft, but a sale did not occur because France did not want to sell a fully capable version due to pressure from the United States. In August 1994, the PAF was offered the Saab JAS-39 Gripen by Sweden , but the sale did not occur because 20% of the Gripen's components were sourced from the U.S., which was still maintaining sanctions on Pakistan. In mid-1992, Pakistan

3723-453: The eight largest Air Force in the world. PAF is the largest Air Force of the Muslim world in terms of aircraft fleet. 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

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3796-567: The extremely porous Pakistan–Afghanistan border and entered the semi-autonomous Bajaur Agency of Pakistan in an effort to annex the region. The Pakistan Air Force sent F-86 Sabre jets in order to support the Pakistani Forces and local Pashtun tribesmen of Pakistan who were fighting the Afghan infiltrators. The F-86 Sabre jets also executed bombing runs on Royal Afghan Army positions in Kunar , Afghanistan, thus leading Afghan forces to fall back to

3869-639: The fall of Dacca on 15 December. The PAF flew about 2,840 sorties and destroyed 71 IAF aircraft while losing 43 of its own. In 1979, the PAF's Chief of the Air Staff , Air Chief Marshal Anwar Shamim , was told by then- President and Chief of the Army Staff General Zia-ul-Haq , that Pakistan had reliable intelligence on Indian plans to attack and destroy Pakistan's nuclear research facilities in Kahuta . ACM Shamim told General Zia-ul-Haq that, in

3942-576: The ground (Kifayat Hussain Gani). In April 2023 IAF court martialled Group Captain Sumon Roy Chaudhry, second in command of Srinagar Air Force Station at the time of the PAF strikes for negligence, and he was to be dismissed, however the dismissal was ruled ultra vires by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana , who set a date of 12 September 2023 for their hearing The pilots were posthumously awarded

4015-646: The ground as they were scattered throughout the British India to be given and collected later on. Of these very few were in flyable condition so that they could be used. Subsequently, it also got eight C-47 Dakota cargo planes which it used to transport supplies to soldiers fighting in the 1947 War in Kashmir against India. First two H.P.57 Halifax bombers were delivered in 1948 and were used during 1947 War for night-time supply drop missions at Skardu and other northern areas of Pakistan. All received against allotted at

4088-449: The ground. The PAF was sent into action against the Taliban to make up for the lack of helicopter gunships. Because the PAF was trained and equipped to fight a conventional war , a new "counter-terrorist doctrine" had to be improvised. The PAF's Saffron Bandit exercise focused on extensive training of combat personnel to undertake COIN operations. New equipment was inducted to improve

4161-554: The military airstrikes inside Afghanistan. These airstrikes mark the first known instance of a foreign country launching attack on Afghan soil since the establishment of Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan. At least 9 people were killed when Pakistan Air Force conducted retaliatory strikes, codenamed as Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar on seven targets within Iranian Sistan-Balochistan province . The attack came two days after

4234-449: The nuclear research facilities at Kahuta. Due to rising tensions with the Soviet Union due to its invasion of Afghanistan , Pakistan's ISI systematically coordinated with the CIA , MI6 and Mossad to secure American resources and armaments for the Afghan mujahideen who were combating the invading Soviet forces . Various reports during this period widely indicated that the PAF had in fact covertly engaged in aerial combat against

4307-445: 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 Royal Pakistan Air Force (RPAF)

4380-1128: The opposite also occurs; large civilian airports may contain a smaller military airbase within their environs, such as Royal Brunei Air Force Base, Rimba (located within Brunei International Airport ). Some airbases have dispersed aircraft parking, revetments , hardened aircraft shelters , or even underground hangars , to protect aircraft from enemy attack. Combat aircraft require secure protected storage of aircraft ordnance and munitions. Other facilities may also include technical buildings for servicing and support of survival equipment (including flying helmets and personal liquid oxygen), flight simulator for synthetic training, servicing facilities for all aircraft systems (airframes, propulsion, avionics, weapons systems) and associated ground support systems (including mechanical transport). All military airbases will have buildings for military administration (station headquarters, squadron briefing and operations), and larger bases will also include medical and dental facilities for military personnel (and sometimes their dependents), along with dining ( mess , informally known as

4453-415: The production of passenger aircraft like the Douglas DC-4 . This growth was accelerated by the establishment of military airports throughout the world, either for combat use or training. These could easily be turned to civil aviation use. The first commercial jet airliner to fly was the British de Havilland DH.106 Comet . By 1952, the British state airline British Overseas Airways Corporation had introduced

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4526-435: The remaining five intruders (two Su-22s, two MiG-23s , and one Su-25 ). Most of these kills were by the AIM-9 Sidewinder , but at least one (a Su-22) was destroyed by cannon fire. Pakistani Flight Lieutenant Khalid Mahmoud is credited with three of these kills. The PAF is believed to have evaluated the French Dassault Mirage 2000 in early 1981 and was planning to evaluate the F-16 Fighting Falcon afterwards. After

4599-420: The same freedoms that were already present for their Christian , Sikh and other various counterparts . Some notable religious minority figures in the Pakistan Air Force include: Air Vice Marshal Eric Gordon Hall , a Christian who served as the Base Commander of Chaklala Air Base during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Air Commodore Nazir Latif and Group Captain Cecil Chaudhry (both Christians) fought in

4672-400: The scene of the first airstrike to recover the dead and wounded were then killed by a second airstrike. While there is no confirmed death toll, it is widely believed that at least 30 civilian deaths had occurred according to the military approximations, whereas a local official stated that at least 73 locals, including women and children, were killed. A six-member committee of tribal elders from

4745-403: The second day of operations. However, IAF Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh claimed that, despite having been qualitatively inferior to the PAF, the IAF allegedly achieved total air superiority in three days. Many publications have credited the PAF's successes in combat with the IAF to its U.S. -quality equipment, claiming it to be superior to the aircraft operated by the IAF and giving the PAF

4818-478: The time of independence of Pakistan from British India. It started with seven airbases scattered all over the provinces. After the partition of British India , Faqir of Ipi, a pashtun separatist leader rejected the creation of newly created Pakistan. In 1948, the Faqir of Ipi took control of North Waziristan 's Datta Khel area and declared the establishment of an independent Pashtunistan , with support from neighbouring Kingdom of Afghanistan . In response to

4891-405: The use of airspace for safety, efficiency and regularity of air transport. Each signatory country, of which there are at least 193, has a civil aviation authority (such as the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States) to oversee the following areas of civil aviation: The World Bank lists monotonously growing numbers for the number of passengers transported per year worldwide with

4964-652: Was accepted at Fort Worth in October 1982. Two F-16A and four F-16B were subsequently delivered to Pakistan in 1983, with the first F-16 arriving at PAF Base Sargodha (now known as PAF Base Mushaf) on 15 January 1983 flown by Squadron Leader Shahid Javed. The 34 remaining aircraft as part of Peace Gate II were delivered between 1983 and 1987. Between May 1986 and November 1988, the PAF's newly acquired F-16s had shot down at least eight intruding aircraft from Afghanistan . The first three of these (one Su-22 , one probable Su-22, and one An-26 ) were shot down by two pilots from No. 9 Squadron. Pilots of No. 14 Squadron destroyed

5037-461: Was close to signing a contract for the supply of 40 Dassault Mirage 2000s, equipped with Thomson-CSF RDM/7 radars from France, although U.S. sanctions also prevented this deal from finalizing. In mid-1994, it was reported that Russian manufacturers Sukhoi and Mikoyan were offering the Su-27 and MiG-29, but Pakistan was reported to be negotiating for supply of the Mirage 2000–5. French and Russian teams visited Pakistan on 27 November 1994 and it

5110-404: Was established on 15 August 1947 with the independence of Pakistan from British India. The RPAF began with a paper share allotment of 2,332 personnel, a fleet of 24 Tempest II fighter-bombers, 16 Hawker Typhoon fighters, two H.P.57 Halifax bombers, two Auster aircraft, twelve North American Harvard trainers and ten de Havilland Tiger Moth biplanes . Very few were available to the RPAF on

5183-413: Was identified as a US AWACS and the remaining five were recognized as F/A-18 jets of the US. These planes flew near the Pakistani border, but did not cross into the airspace of Pakistan," On the detection of an intrusion, PAF jets on air defence alert were scrambled and the PAF immediately took adequate operational measures as per standard operating procedure. The PAF aircraft continued their presence in

5256-781: Was issued a standing order to launch an immediate counter-attack in case of an air attack from India, after a call from the Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee to the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari (the call later turned out to be a hoax). An initial investigation report revealed that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) reported the movement of some half-a-dozen planes near the Jalalabad border at 23:00 before American helicopters entered Abbottabad to kill Osama bin Laden . "One aircraft

5329-527: Was speculated that the interest in Russian aircraft was to pressure France into reducing the price of the Mirage 2000. The stated requirement was for up to 40 aircraft. The Pakistan Air Force is believed to have had a primary role in the alleged evacuation of Taliban personnel by the Pakistani military from Afghanistan . However, Pakistani and American officials have denied any such airlift taking place. After

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