PAF Air bases - What adversary knows

[Pakistani Fighter]

At times of panic, Reshuffling F-16s to points vulnerable where already Thunders are roaring, Now again I wish I am wrong, But what image does it portray ?

Although, Maybe, There could be a different reason, Maybe PAF made a strategy overnight where F-16s were needed hence sent to north, In that case, No problem.

I just want Thunders to become frontline fighters and score as many kills as possible in future...

F16s MLU/52s are technological superior to Block 2s of Thunders

 

[airomerix]

Use a remote control car with your phone on cam on, on top

I dont wish to share a cell with Jhadev.

PAF has all the F-16s in the centre and south. no F-16s in the north. till 26th feb 2019 the F-16s were carrying out CAPs in south and in centre while JFTs were in the north. it was admitted by the father of abhi none done that the plan of the IAF on 26 feb was to engage the F-16s in south and centre and launch attack in the north where JFT were on CAPs. they succeeded in diverting the attention of F-16s and managed to enter into pakistani air space in north. after 27the feb there were news that PAF has deployed F-16s in the north as well. this shows that indians are mainly afraid of F-16s and they would have been in CAPs in the north along with thunders indians wouldn't have dared to carry out so called surgical strike. the hottest zone between india and pak is LOC and in my opinion PAF should have a squadron of F-16s at kamra. or may be they are anticipating even a bigger threat in the south and that's why 3 F-16 squadrons are there in sindh.

I don’t know the authenticity of this but these statements suggest that PAF doesn’t trust or hold Thunders reliable for The time being due to reasons unknown.

I wish I am wrong...

Not even close to reality. If you didn't notice, JF-17s are guarding the north and the south which itself are very important zones. JF-17s impressive range, weapon lethality, small RCS and lack of intel on true capability always baffles Indians. They are in for a surprise when they'll be engaging with Thunders in the near future. Just 10 years ago, they didnt have to worry about BVR engagement from PAF at all. Today, they stand with 2 BVR losses and face some 200+ fighters equipped with BVR missiles that exceed 100 or so km in range. This is called conventional deterrence.

The reason F-16s are not permanently deployed in the north is that we don't want Americans at Minhas again, where alot is happening in terms of weapons system development. F-16s may very well be our last American weapons system and having their personnel on two bases is more than enough.

As for Swift retort. None of the F-16s were stationed in the north. In fact, JF-17s were deployed at several northern bases. The formation of swift retort took off from Sargodha and was joined by Kamra based JF-17s and other assets. Military operations are mission specific. Logistical barriers such as different geographies are always minimized to fill in the requirements are achieve desired results.

Having said that, PAF is more than satisfied with JF-17s. Imagine us not investing in JF-17s, we'd probably end up with 60 odd Gripen's.

 

[litman]

Sargodha is center?

map main to sargodha center main he hay. that's why it is in central air command.

 

[Imran Khan]

its outdated info BTW where is bholari nuclear base


he copy paste this from wiki ??????
It is a military base operated by the PAF and also has a civilian airport.?

civilian flights stopped to shahbaz since years now .

 

[khanasifm]

Non-Flying Bases

The PAF Base Lahore is one of the oldest air force bases in Pakistan. It comes under Central Air Command. An air defence modernization school, now renamed Air Defence System School (ADSS) was established at the PAF Base Lahore in 1978, with a primary aim of imparting aviation training to PAF technicians, operators, engineers and controllers, which included training courses on high powered radars. The school was later shifted to nearby Walton airport in 1987 and then to PAF Base Mushaf, where it presently continues to function. The base currently has an operations wing which provides air defence cover. The Lahore air base is frequently used for receiving foreign air force dignitaries.

Air Force Day Celebrations at Lahore airbase. Picture Credit: historyofpia.com
PAF Airmen Academy is at Korangi Creek, Karachi. It comes under Southern Air Command. Earlier Korangi was a technical training base for officers and airmen of the PAF. In 2019, it was converted into an Academy for training of all trades. The airmen training model is now at power with PAF Academy Asghar Khan, which is a premier training institution of officers’ cadre. The base is implicitly used for the development of the Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

Cadets passing out. PAF Korangi Creek. APP photo by Jahangir Khan. Picture Though korangi-town.blogspot.com
PAF Malir, Karachi comes under Southern Command. The station is located not too far from the Karachi International Airport. PAF Base Chhota Malir has an abandoned WW-II airstrip, which was used as a staging area by the allies during the second world war. Malir was declared a cantonment by the British as POW Camp in October 1941. Army Cantonment has evolved into one of the coveted posh localities of Karachi.

PAF Malir. Picture Credit: Facebook
Chandhar Air Force Base, is near Chandhar a town in Punjab. It has a 9,000 ft runway, 75 ft narrow asphalt runway.

Chandhar Air Force Base. Image Credit: imgur.com
PAF College Lower Topa, Murree, under Northern Air Command,is an all-boys military boarding school situated at PAF Base, Lower Topa which is located near Patriata in the Murree region of the Rawalpindi District. Institution is located on a hill top. It is considered as elite boarding institution of Pakistan providing quality education and training. The public school is serving as a nursery for the future leadership of the PAF. Clearly military in Pakistan commands the best real estate.

Lower Topa. Picture Credit: Pinterest
PAF Base Sakesar. Sakesar is the highest mountain in the Salt Range in Pothohar in Pakistan. Its height is 1,522m. The mountain used to be the summer headquarters for the deputy commissioners of three districts, Campbellpur (now Attock), Mianwali, and Sargodha. In view of Sakesar’s ideal location and height, the PAF selected it in the late 1950s as the site for a high-powered radar which would provide air defence cover for the northeastern part of the western wing. The base has a sector operations center SOCand a ground controlled interception element under Central Air Command.

Sakesar. Picture Credit: Twitter
Kohat Airbase is under Northern Air Command at Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, approximately 150 kilometers west of the Islamabad. It is a satellite airbase and has a 7,500 ft long runway, and is used for activation and exercises. Otherwise, it is basically a training base for airmen. Historically it has also been used as a major royal operational base in the pre-partition era. On February 20, 2003, Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir and 16 others were killed when their Fokker F27 crashed into the hills near the airbase. The aircraft was inbound to Kohat from Chaklala airbase. On August 6, 2007, two personnel of the PAF and a child accompanying them were injured when a bomb exploded near their vehicle near the PAF Airbase.

Kohat . Picture Credit: Flickr
PAF Base Kala Bagh Nathia Gali, is located on the Indus river in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, just north of Mianwali, and comes under Northern Air Command. It appears more of a Rest and Recuperation center and is a known tourist spot.

Kalabagh. Picture Credit: pakwheels.com
The PAF Base Kallar Kahar, Northern Air Command, houses the Special Service Wing (SSW), or Maroon berets. It is a special operations aerospace unit of the PAF. The SS Wing or Maroon Berets are an elite, special operations force based on the U.S. Air Force’s Special Tactics Squadrons and the U.S. Army Rangers. The SSW is a new military division of the Special Forces Command of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The division has recently been revived and is fielding between 800 and 1,200 troops. It is akin to IAF ‘Garud’.

PAF Special Service Wing. Picture Credit: Wikipedia
Shamsi Airfield, also known as Bhandari Airstrip, is an airfield situated about 320 km southwest of Quetta and about 400 km northwest of Gwadar in Balochistan. The airfield is located in Washuk District and nestled in a barren desert valley between two ridges. Shrouded in secrecy, Shamsi was leased by Pakistan to the UAE in 1992 for game hunting purposes and, between 20 October 2001 and 11 December 2011, it was leased to the United States for use as a base for joint CIA and USAF surveillance and drone operations, including Predator drones, against militants in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

Shamsi Airfield. Picture Credit: pakwheels.com
The United States was asked to vacate the airfield by the Pakistani Government on 26 November 2011 after the Salala incident in which US-led NATO forces attacked two Pakistani border check-posts in FATA killing 24 Pakistan Army Soldiers. The United States vacated the airfield on 11 December 2011. Following the Abbottabad incident of 2 May 2011, the PAF Air Chief confirmed to a joint sitting of the Pakistani Parliament, that Shamsi was not under the control of the PAF, but under UAE control. Soldiers of the Pakistan Army, the Frontier Constabulary and officials of Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority took control of the airfield.

Shamsi airfiled. Image Credit: publicintelligence.net
Tarbela Ghazi Airbase is under Central Air Command. It is near Tarbela Dam north west of Islamabad. It is a dual use airfield for civil and military.

Tarbela. Image Credit: publicintelligence.net
Skardu Airport

Skardu is a domestic civil airport in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. It also serves as a forward operating base of PAF. Skardu Airport has an asphalt runways, 11,944 ft (3,641 m) long. The airport operates from dawn to dusk.

Skardu. Picture Credit: reddit.com
Summary

Image Credit: defence.pk
With 70,000 active personnel, PAF is a sizeable force. They have large number of main and satellite airbases covering the entire country. Nearly half of its total land border is with India. Pakistan has a serious issue of depth. Straight line distance between Lahore and Kabul is just 584 km. Balochistan which considers itself as an independent entity composes 48% of the total land area of Pakistan.

Link / url to article please ?

nothing new everyone knows what exists where during peace time

lastly just because weapon system x is location y does not means anything it’s war time deployment and Tactics which too changes with time

 

[PDF]

Having said that, PAF is more than satisfied with JF-17s. Imagine us not investing in JF-17s, we'd probably end up with 60 odd Gripen's.

PAF is past JF-17s. Project Azm is where everything lies. Its like everyone was talking about F-16s while Raptors and F-35 was the next big thing. Even now, while we look upto those 5 Gen crafts, the work on 6 Gen is the hidden diamond.
I am glad Pakistan won't induct any new US platform but also sad at the same time for not having their marvels of art.

 

[Yasser76]

Nothing in this article on PAF Bases that is not already available on Google, author just collated it all on one article and suddenly it's OSINT.....

 

[airomerix]

Nothing in this article on PAF Bases that is not already available on Google, author just collated it all on one article and suddenly it's OSINT.....

I find your sarcasm quite odd and uninformed, at best.

OSINT is any publically available information that may be used to derive further iterations of assumptions, predictions, and interpretation of this 'public' data.

Agencies use their informed intuition to find out the meaning from rumors, troop movement, ship movement, spine tingle, goose bump. They pay attention to it. If today, some PDF member writes down that hanger X has been moved from location A to B. The library will be updated, or data will be put to verification through different sources. Attention will be paid to it.

So my friend, this data can mean alot of things. You dont find images on google labeled with 'nuclear' or 'ammo depots'. I'm appalled at your sense of direction.

The intelligent thing to do as Pakistani's is to shut up and not debate the specifics. Read my OP for more information.

 

[Psychic]

Today, they stand with 2 BVR losses and face some 200+ fighters equipped with BVR missiles that exceed 100 or so km in range.

Are all of our 16s and 17s BVR capable ?

Because some time ago, someone wrote on pdf about a certain f16 sqn (forgot which one) not being BVR capable.

 

[PanzerKiel]

or may be they are anticipating even a bigger threat in the south and that's why 3 F-16 squadrons are there in sindh.

You are right in this regard.

 

[ali_raza]

I find your sarcasm quite odd and uninformed, at best.

OSINT is any publically available information that may be used to derive further iterations of assumptions, predictions, and interpretation of this 'public' data.

Agencies use their informed intuition to find out the meaning from rumors, troop movement, ship movement, spine tingle, goose bump. They pay attention to it. If today, some PDF member writes down that hanger X has been moved from location A to B. The library will be updated, or data will be put to verification through different sources. Attention will be paid to it.

So my friend, this data can mean alot of things. You dont find images on google labeled with 'nuclear' or 'ammo depots'. I'm appalled at your sense of direction.

The intelligent thing to do as Pakistani's is to shut up and not debate the specifics. Read my OP for more information.

its called reading between the lines i suppose
and fishing for data in layman terms

 

[Syed1.]

Waiting for PAF base Srinagar

 

[notorious_eagle]

I just want Thunders to become frontline fighters and score as many kills as possible in future...

To be honest, till the Block 3 comes online, F16 will continue to serve as our front-line fighter. To put it simple, it is more technologically advanced then the JF17 and PAF pilots are much more proficient with the F16 due to the tenure of the platform. In addition, the AMRAAM is still more superior to the SD10.

That being said, PAF places enormous trust on the JF17's. There is a reason why the JF17's were assigned to escort the Mirage V's during Operation Swift Resort. It was the JF17's that were instructed by Ground Control to intercept the Mirage 2000's that were heading towards the LOC. The JF17's menacingly maneuvered towards the Mirage 2000's and immediately locked on them demonstrating their superiority forcing the Mirage 2000 pilots to disengage and immediately exit the sector claiming issues with their radars.

 

[Yasser76]

I find your sarcasm quite odd and uninformed, at best.

OSINT is any publically available information that may be used to derive further iterations of assumptions, predictions, and interpretation of this 'public' data.

Agencies use their informed intuition to find out the meaning from rumors, troop movement, ship movement, spine tingle, goose bump. They pay attention to it. If today, some PDF member writes down that hanger X has been moved from location A to B. The library will be updated, or data will be put to verification through different sources. Attention will be paid to it.

So my friend, this data can mean alot of things. You dont find images on google labeled with 'nuclear' or 'ammo depots'. I'm appalled at your sense of direction.

The intelligent thing to do as Pakistani's is to shut up and not debate the specifics. Read my OP for more information.

Calm down. Every 14 year old with a Twitter account can sign up as an OSINT "expert" then spread misinformation. It's always better to rely on trusted sources. As for your opinion, frankly I could not care less.

 

[AMRAAM]

Waiting for PAF base Srinagar

Most likely the current base will be renamed and Mig-21s will be replaced F-7PGs.