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Pakistan Eyes Boost in Transport, Lift
By USMAN ANSARI
Published: 3 November 2008 Print | Email
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has sought to improve its air mobility capability as international commitments and domestic operations have grown. To date, this has mainly consisted of ex-Australian C-130E Hercules transports. However, beginning next year, programs to renew and expand current abilities should begin to come to fruition.
The most high-profile aspect of Pakistan's air mobility modernization is the Pakistan Air Force Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) program. Four Il-78 Midas aircraft from the Ukraine, equipped with a three-point drogue refueling system, will introduce this capability.
Though an Air Force spokesman could not verify the exact variant on order, he did confirm it was the tanker/transport and not the pure tanker version of the Midas.
Its 22,000-kilogram cargo capacity will bring considerable airlift capabilities, akin to the highly versatile Il-76 Candid, on which the Midas is based. The first aircraft is due to arrive early next year, he said.
The Air Force also is exploring the acquisition of tanker/transport aircraft from other sources. One reason is that the Il-78 is not equipped with a boom refueling facility, and therefore is unable to refuel the Air Force's most potent combat aircraft, the F-16. To rectify this, the Air Force is exploring the possibility of acquiring surplus U.S. KC-135 Stratotankers.
During an appearance before the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs subcommittee on South Asia on Sept. 16, Donald Camp, principal deputy assistant secretary for South Asian affairs, stated that the United States is "finalizing a comprehensive training plan" to help Pakistan with its F-16 operations, including aerial refueling.
No clarification from American military sources, however, was forthcoming on whether this would also include surplus Stratotankers.
According to defense analyst Haris Khan of the Web-based think tank Pakistan Military Consortium, Pakistan has also examined alternatives to the KC-135. European defense group EADS "has been talking to [the Air Force] to supply Airbus A330 MRTTs. However, the [Air Force] has been insisting on an MRTT capability built on an A310, which is no longer in production."
The reason for insistence on the A310 is Pakistan International Airline's long experience with the A310-300, he said. There may therefore be a more attractive long-term option to the KC-135.
Improvements in air mobility are not restricted to MRTTs. Pakistan is also establishing an airborne division. The Army has long sought to improve its air mobility, which has traditionally been a weak spot. The Army needs to support operations in the Siachen Glacier and Kashmir theaters of operations, in the ongoing standoff with archrival India; against al-Qaida and the Taliban on the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier; and right down to the coastal areas.
The commitment on "the Frontier" in itself has pushed the Army to invest heavily in helicopters due to the difficult terrain. Recent acquisitions have included 24 Bell-412EPs, 10 AS 550 Fennecs, 35-plus Mi-17 Hips and several UH-1 Huey transport and utility helicopters.
As Khan stated, however, the Army is still looking to buy more Mi-17s, plus Mi-35 Hinds, CH-47 Chinooks and one dedicated version of a gunship helicopter, to establish an airborne division.
In connection with this, Pakistan is seeking further transport/utility types from America. According to Col. Robin Fontes, chief of the Security Assistance Office, Office of the Defense Representative at the American Embassy here, the U.S. military will shortly confer with the Pakistan Army to determine its "current and future aviation requirements. Once those requirements are defined, we will be able to recommend the most appropriate model(s) of transport/utility helicopters that meet the needs of the Pakistan Army."
The question of acquiring Chinooks is another long, drawn-out saga, as Pakistan had initially hoped to establish a heavy-lift capability through their acquisition in 1989. U.S. military sanctions in 1990, however, ended these efforts. Not only do these serve as vital force multipliers when it comes to air mobility, but also in disaster relief.
The absence of a heavy-lift capability was sorely felt in the relief operations following the earthquake that rocked the country in October 2005. U.S. Navy CH-53E Super Stallions and U.S. and British Chinooks instead did a sterling job in providing heavy-lift assistance under the wistful gaze of Pakistan's own rotary aviators.
Now, according to Khan, six stored CH-47Cs have recently been released for sale to Pakistan by Italy. It is uncertain if they will be purchased, but they currently represent Pakistan's best option of acquiring a heavy-lift capability
By USMAN ANSARI
Published: 3 November 2008 Print | Email
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has sought to improve its air mobility capability as international commitments and domestic operations have grown. To date, this has mainly consisted of ex-Australian C-130E Hercules transports. However, beginning next year, programs to renew and expand current abilities should begin to come to fruition.
The most high-profile aspect of Pakistan's air mobility modernization is the Pakistan Air Force Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) program. Four Il-78 Midas aircraft from the Ukraine, equipped with a three-point drogue refueling system, will introduce this capability.
Though an Air Force spokesman could not verify the exact variant on order, he did confirm it was the tanker/transport and not the pure tanker version of the Midas.
Its 22,000-kilogram cargo capacity will bring considerable airlift capabilities, akin to the highly versatile Il-76 Candid, on which the Midas is based. The first aircraft is due to arrive early next year, he said.
The Air Force also is exploring the acquisition of tanker/transport aircraft from other sources. One reason is that the Il-78 is not equipped with a boom refueling facility, and therefore is unable to refuel the Air Force's most potent combat aircraft, the F-16. To rectify this, the Air Force is exploring the possibility of acquiring surplus U.S. KC-135 Stratotankers.
During an appearance before the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs subcommittee on South Asia on Sept. 16, Donald Camp, principal deputy assistant secretary for South Asian affairs, stated that the United States is "finalizing a comprehensive training plan" to help Pakistan with its F-16 operations, including aerial refueling.
No clarification from American military sources, however, was forthcoming on whether this would also include surplus Stratotankers.
According to defense analyst Haris Khan of the Web-based think tank Pakistan Military Consortium, Pakistan has also examined alternatives to the KC-135. European defense group EADS "has been talking to [the Air Force] to supply Airbus A330 MRTTs. However, the [Air Force] has been insisting on an MRTT capability built on an A310, which is no longer in production."
The reason for insistence on the A310 is Pakistan International Airline's long experience with the A310-300, he said. There may therefore be a more attractive long-term option to the KC-135.
Improvements in air mobility are not restricted to MRTTs. Pakistan is also establishing an airborne division. The Army has long sought to improve its air mobility, which has traditionally been a weak spot. The Army needs to support operations in the Siachen Glacier and Kashmir theaters of operations, in the ongoing standoff with archrival India; against al-Qaida and the Taliban on the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier; and right down to the coastal areas.
The commitment on "the Frontier" in itself has pushed the Army to invest heavily in helicopters due to the difficult terrain. Recent acquisitions have included 24 Bell-412EPs, 10 AS 550 Fennecs, 35-plus Mi-17 Hips and several UH-1 Huey transport and utility helicopters.
As Khan stated, however, the Army is still looking to buy more Mi-17s, plus Mi-35 Hinds, CH-47 Chinooks and one dedicated version of a gunship helicopter, to establish an airborne division.
In connection with this, Pakistan is seeking further transport/utility types from America. According to Col. Robin Fontes, chief of the Security Assistance Office, Office of the Defense Representative at the American Embassy here, the U.S. military will shortly confer with the Pakistan Army to determine its "current and future aviation requirements. Once those requirements are defined, we will be able to recommend the most appropriate model(s) of transport/utility helicopters that meet the needs of the Pakistan Army."
The question of acquiring Chinooks is another long, drawn-out saga, as Pakistan had initially hoped to establish a heavy-lift capability through their acquisition in 1989. U.S. military sanctions in 1990, however, ended these efforts. Not only do these serve as vital force multipliers when it comes to air mobility, but also in disaster relief.
The absence of a heavy-lift capability was sorely felt in the relief operations following the earthquake that rocked the country in October 2005. U.S. Navy CH-53E Super Stallions and U.S. and British Chinooks instead did a sterling job in providing heavy-lift assistance under the wistful gaze of Pakistan's own rotary aviators.
Now, according to Khan, six stored CH-47Cs have recently been released for sale to Pakistan by Italy. It is uncertain if they will be purchased, but they currently represent Pakistan's best option of acquiring a heavy-lift capability
