How to improve Military Mobility , and bring it to International Standard?

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Pakistan , being a prominent Muslim / Islamic republic hold a prominent position in Asia and Islamic world. However with the great responsibility comes great need to have tremendous mobility capabilities.

From Numerical perspective and Man power perspective Pakistan commands a wonderful figure of Half a Million Soldiers ~ to 1 Million Soldiers. However the large figure of soldiers also mean that at time of need , the Military needs to fully utilize various modes of Transportation for these soldiers. Here are some possible needs from a Military prespective


a) Close Proximity Transportation ( <100 km ) , would not call it superb but ok
b) Mid range Troops & Goods movement ( < 250 km )
c) Inter Province Level Troop Movement (500 km - 1,500 km)
d) Deployment Across to Friendly Nations (3,000 km - 5,000 km range)

The inner city Transport & Goods for Troops is generally ok , even with older vehicles Pakistani Military is able to supply necessary Ammo , food and water. Also can satisfactorily transport number of troops across.

However the problem which is quite visible is in the Transportation of Numbers across larger distances and even to neighboring friendly nations such as Turkey/Middle East / Jordan/ Saudia , the handful of C130 perhaps do not adhere to the requirements for international mission

There is certain lack of Tactical capability beyond the borders of Pakistan and only a limited number of Soldiers can be transported across to friendly nations in case of help or support
The handful of C130 also it seems are always overwhelmed with duties for regional supply of goods and troops in case of a real war we would have difficulty


Of course countries which are financially capable are able to have 30-40 Large Size transport units which can move goods and soldiers quickly in matter of 2-3 hours to hot zones

Considering Pakistan can't invest heavily in Super Size platforms does not necessarily mean we should not develop our Mid Size platforms at least be able to move Ammo / Troops and some Mechanized units across to any near by Friendly Country location


The Turkish platform on Airbus platform appears a great option for Mid Size capabilities of
Emerging nation like Pakistan's Military need for Transport, addition of 10-15 Units would be a benefit for Pakistan's Modernization drive in Transport segment so that a Military of Million soldiers ca be well supplied with Water /Ammo and supplies

The on going war in SYRIA has shown one aspect that if you can provide a weapon supply and food supply a war can be waged for long periods of time and Tactical Airdrops are need of the day

The Mid size , Chinese Shaanxi Y9 transport aircraft
Would also compliment Military capabilities for Pakistan Armed forces
With a need for 20 crafts to help military transport needs

The tactical drop off of supplies is perhaps one area I have not seen Pakistani Military show case their capabilities and perhaps someone can share if our C130 fleet is even able to drop off supplies on the fly


Plus you can always drop off soldiers into a hot zone either inside Pakistan or Troublesome neighbour where there is a need to protect Pakistani Interest

Chinese Y-20 is a front runner in the Heavy Supply and Heavy Transport needs for Large items

The Anatov (An-178) Can also be a great platform at least for Internal Pakistan transportation

At least with in Pakistan's own borders we can enhance the transport needs with this small /Mid size transport platform

If Money was not factor
a) Purchase of more C130 Used
b) New Chinese Heavy Transport or Air Bus transport units
c) Anatov-148 orders

Would certainly help transport needs for Military



The weakness is surfacing in global conflicts and also the disturbance across our Western frontier with Afghanistan if had a 40-50 Transport Craft fleet we would have ran massive swift Military operations cross border in Afghanistan if needed

If we had enough Transport planes we should have been able to launch a swift military operation across Afghanistan with transport of 10,000 Troops

 

[GriffinsRule]

Pakistan cant afford any of these platforms. Best bet is to stick with used C-130s and new CN-235/295, both of which are already in service and more than enough for our needs

 

[mudas777]

Do we really need those platforms? We are heavily in crippling debt, keep on knocking at the doors of IMF to bail us out, to live and survive. People don't want to pay taxes and government is run on the empty promises which they can't afford to deliver. Country is run by the politicians who are not even Pakistanis a bit of trouble and we will see how many of them will run out of the country on the first available helicopter. In my opinion Pakistan must fence off all the country boundaries and put a sign on those fences, please don't cross those fences we are peace loving country, however we have got a uncontrollable NASAR missile if you touch those fences it goes mad. Spend the saved money to fix the economy and education sector. Once economy is sorted then we can all dream of having F-35, Eurofighter or C130J or globe master. Pakistan needs a 15-20 year Chinese style export driven industrialization model to work on. We all have got dreams but till then dreams they are.

 

[YeBeWarned]

We should have Joined Anatov with Ukraine ..

 

[Imran Khan]

WE are defensive country and our current fleet of C-130 il-76 and cn-235 serve us well . in future we need replacement of these birds only

 

[denel]

Here is my question with respect to 500-1500km range. Do you not produce military trucks for transport?

In our case we faced over 2200km logistics to Namibian northern borders; we have local SAMIL series of trucks - multiple versions and support derivatives.

 

[Hu Yao]

In my opinion, you guys should build more railway and express way.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Railways have been neglected for at least 50 years in Pakistan the Express ways exist but the traffic for trucks causes damages on the highways which require constant repairs.

The Troop movements on highway might not be as efficient and fast as compared to a Airlift / Transport mechanism

 

[Hu Yao]

Upgrade your roads will not only benefits your military mobility, but also benefits your economy. So does the railways.

How many pakistan people travel with C-130?

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Also railways would fall into civilian budget , and not in military planning or budget
However railways need revival in Pakistan and not with current trains but faster modern trains

Pakistani trains only run at around 80km / hr or 100km per hour but realistically they might run around 55km per hour

These trains cannot be compared with modern trains which run 300-400km / hr or more in Japan or China

 

[Hu Yao]

Railways have been neglected for at least 50 years in Pakistan the Express ways exist but the traffic for trucks causes damages on the highways which require constant repairs.

The Troop movements on highway might not be as efficient and fast as compared to a Airlift / Transport mechanism

This is Chinese Express way always looks like in traffic jam. Will yours more easily broken?

If trucks destoryed your express way, somehow it is a good thing. It means you have a lot of bussiness activities there, just build more better roads!

 

[denel]

Railways have been neglected for at least 50 years in Pakistan the Express ways exist but the traffic for trucks causes damages on the highways which require constant repairs.

The Troop movements on highway might not be as efficient and fast as compared to a Airlift / Transport mechanism

It is not cost effective.

 

[Hu Yao]

Also railways would fall into civilian budget , and not in military planning or budget
However railways need revival in Pakistan and not with current trains but faster modern trains

Pakistani trains only run at around 80km / hr or 100km per hour but realistically they might run around 55km per hour

These trains cannot be compared with modern trains which run 300-400km / hr or more in Japan or China

Well, dude you should remeber those national defence highways, and department of railways based on orignal railway troopers.

Railways are slow but sure. You can't airlift AK tanks in air, but railways can do that.

 

[Aamir Hussain]

Heavy transport movement of troops and equipment is done by Pakistan Railways. For this, there is dedicated rolling stock that include troop transport railway cars, flatbed carriages for Armored vehicles, and Cargo wagons.

I believe some of our defense budget is spent on upkeep of railway sidings, and special rail spurs into cantonments. Furthermore, some money is also spent upon upkeep of rolling stock too.

There is a definitive lack of heavy duty railway engines. This is where we should be spending money and on overhaul of track and strengthening of railway and secondary road bridges. This one element alone precludes us to buy heavier Tanks!

 

[Zarvan]

For that too happen we have to improve our Railways it capacity to carry lot of weight and cargo and soldiers with as much as speed as possible