Pakistan Air Force | News & Discussions.

[Fieldmarshal]

Airy Tales!!!


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From:
Date: Tue, Nov 6, 2012 at 1:11 AM
Subject: [PAF Club] To: PAF Club <pafclub@groups.facebook.com>


A British pilot is writing a book on Hunter pilots and other pilots who have, during their carreer, come accross special events/incidents to relate so they can be shared with others. Here is one that you all may wish to read. If you like it, you may wish to place it on any forum so others can enjoy it. I have a few others but first lets see the reaction, if any, to this one.

-----Original Message-----
From:
To:
Sent: Sun, Nov 4, 2012 10:12 am



After my return from a two year secondment with 92 Sqdn RAF where I was a member of the sixteen Hunter a/c &#8220;Blue Diamond&#8221; formation aerobatics team, I was posted as an instructor at the Fighter Leader School PAF base Mauripur near Karachi.

One day, leading a four ship F86 Sabre formation en-route to the air to air firing range, I was contacted by GCI to intercept an unidentified a/c inbound from India.

I asked my number 3 and 4 to continue with the mission while I and my number 2 went for the interception. After a series of left and right turns, I came in visual contact with the bogey about eight to ten miles away and informed GCI accordingly.

The GCI controller ordered me to shoot it down. I informed the controller that I would get closer to the bogey and identify what type of a/c it was. The controller answered that I was cleared to shoot it down.

As I got closer, I identified the a/c to be a Boeing 707 heading towards Karachi International airport. I informed the controller of the type of a/c but the controller without any hesitation ordered me to shoot it down.

By now, I was in close formation with the 707 and thoughts flashed through my mind, how could I shoot this a/c when I was trained in the USA, I am flying an a/c made in the USA, that this 707 is made in the USA and it is flying an American flag.

So I decided not to shoot it down and to follow it instead. I figured that the 707 could not out run me. This decision for me was agonizing, duty on one side and humanity on the other.

The 707 landed at the airport, I circled the airfield to make sure this a/c went to a gate and did not turn around and take off again.

Even though, intercept pilots are required to strictly follow all commands by a controller, in this instance common sense prevailed and thank God it did, saving many innocent lives and an International incident unlike the shooting down of a Korean 747 by Russian pilots over Kamchatka Island some years back with the loss of many innocent lives.

It turned out that the crew of this 707 filed a flight plan with the Indian civil aviation authorities which the Indians intentionally did not pass it on to the Pakistani civil aviation authorities.

I still wonder if the passengers on the 707 knew how close they came to a tragic end.

who was the pilot and when did this incident happen.

 

[fatman17]

who was the pilot and when did this incident happen.

has to be in the late 50's, early 60's. the names have been deleted.

 

[fatman17]

following the visit of the MoD to Serbia to negotiate a defence collaboration agreement, a new light attack version of the Lasta (Utva Lasta) V-54 was unveiled for demonstration.

one of the goals for the project is to find export customers rather than to produce for the Serbian AF.

it will have a turboprop engine with wing tip tanks, enabling a top speed of 312mph (500km/h). it will be fitted with a glass cockpit, ejection seats, navigation and targeting systems and four under-wing hard points plus one on the centerline. it is expected to be capable of carrying a variety of ordnance, including gun and cannon pods, bombs and unguided rocket launchers as well as guided weapons. first flight is expected by the end of 2013.

 

[Windjammer]

PAF Cadets being put through some mild punishment.

 

[Jango]

PAF Cadets being put through some mild punishment.

 

[Windjammer]

Pakistan wins coveted award prior to start of Zhuhai Air show

BEIJING, NOV 12 (APP): Pakistan and China have jointly won a coveted Award in Zhuhai for the close cooperation in the promotion of Aviation Industry, a day before start of the bi-annual International Air show. The “Airspace Laureate 2012 Awards” was jointly received by Chief Project Director of JF-17 Programme Air Vice-Marshal Javed Ahmed, who is in Zhuhai with Pakistan Air Force contingent taking part in the international air show and from Chinese side Mr.Li Pei, Chief Project Director of China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC) in the presence of a large number of guests.

The CATIC is a large scale state-owned conglomerate with aviation products and technology import and export as its core business.
Headquartered in Beijing, the CATIC has seven specialized companies and 10 regional subsidiaries in China and 56 overseas branches worldwide. With its total assets of up to RMB 24 billion and accumulated import and export volume of US $24 billion thus far, the CATIC ranks among the first 20 of China’s top 500 enterprises for import and export.
The renowned China Aviation News organized the Laureate Awards ceremony on Monday evening that also got wide coverage from both domestic and international media.
“This is a big achievement and acknowledgement for Pakistan and China for cooperation in their joint effort for the promotion of aviation industry”, remarked Group Captain Tariq Mahmod, Director Media, Pakistan Air Force while talking to APP.
The Pakistan Air Force contingent also attended the award ceremony.

Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan's Premier NEWS Agency ) - Pakistan wins coveted award prior to start of Zhuhai Air show

 

[fatman17]

China&#8217;s AVIC Unveils Future Plans at Zhuhai

Nov. 13, 2012

By Wendell Minnick


ZHUHAI, China &#8212; The ninth biennial China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition was full of surprises on its first day, unveiling a variety of new weapon systems and international arms deals.

The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) revealed plans to fill the first international order for 12 Hongdu-built supersonic L-15 &#8220;Hunting Eagle&#8221; advanced jet trainers. AVIC did not reveal the identity of the country, but potential customers include Pakistan, Africa and Latin America.

AVIC&#8217;s Hongdu Aviation Industry Group and China Aero-Technology Import and Export Corp. signed an agreement during a ceremony on Nov. 13 to begin building the L-15. .

AVIC also announced plans to replace the L-15&#8217;s two Ukrainian-built Ivchenko Progress AI-222K-25F engines that power the prototypes with the &#8220;Minshan,&#8221; a new, indigenous-built twin-spool turbofan engine. AVIC officials claim the engine is an &#8220;all-Chinese&#8221; engine, but a defense industry source indicates it is based on the Czech DV-2 engine built originally for the L-59 trainer during the Cold War. The L-59 never entered production, but the DV-2 blueprints were obtained by China.

AVIC also revealed plans to develop the L-15 into a target drone. The &#8220;Blue Fox&#8221; will serve as a high-performance target for air combat weapon tests, ground-to-air defense training.

AVIC&#8217;s Guizhou Aircraft Co. has modified its FTC-2000 light multipurpose jet trainer. The FTC-2000G has more hard points, increasing its weapon and sensor pod payload from five to nine. This has increased the weight of the aircraft from a maximum takeoff weight of 9,800 kilograms to 11,000 kilograms. Maximum endurance has been reduced from three hours to two on internal fuel. The length of the aircraft has increased from 14.5 meters to 15.4 meters (exclusive of pilot tube).

Guizhou also displayed a new model of the Harrier III UAV. The medium-to-high altitude UAV is equipped with twin rear propeller engines capable of a cruising speed of 260-320 kilometers per hour for 24 hours. Maximum takeoff weight is 2,000 kilograms, including a payload of between 300 and 700 kilograms. Operational radius of the Harrier III is 200 kilometers.

DN

 

[Windjammer]

You were the best, CCS made you better.

 

[fatman17]

Pakistan participates in defence exercise in Qatar


Monday, 19 November 2012 17:36 Posted by Shoaib-ur-Rehman Siddiqui


ISLAMABAD: Minister for Defence Syed Naveed Qamar is representing Pakistan along with a number of regional and extra-regional countries in Ferocious Falcon, a Multinational Crisis Management Exercise currently being held in Qatar.



The exercise covers crisis management aspects the scope of which includes terrorist incidents, hijackings, natural disasters, threat/damage to vital installations and services etc, said a press release issued here on Monday.



The exercise is of immense importance to Pakistan keeping in view the current situation. It is a great opportunity for Pakistan to be at a forum being participated by 23 countries.



Chief of Staff (COS) Qatar Armed Forces Maj General Hamad Bin Ali Al-Attiyah extended the invitation to the Defence Minister Syed Naveed Qamar to participate in senior leaders' seminar at the end of the Ferocious Falcon exercise.



In 2008 and 2010, Pakistan participated as an observer, however in the current exercise Pakistan Navy Ship (PNS Khaibar) is participating with an embarked helicopter.



Khurshid Shah said that this was not only a significant leap for Pakistan but spoke volume of the all expanding Defence Industry.



Pakistan is proud to be a part of the exercise and hopes to expand cooperation in areas of defence in future, the minister said.




Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2012

 

[fatman17]

2nd AVIC-PAF Officer Development Program Completes Successfully

2012-08-01

On July 29th, the closing ceremony of 2nd AVIC-PAF Officer Development Program (APOD) was held at AVIC University. Mr. Tan Ruisong, President of AVIC and Mr. Gao Jianshe, Vice President of AVIC attended the closing ceremony, together with Mr. Ma Zhiping, President of CATIC. Mr. Masood Khan, Pakistani Ambassador to China was also present.

On the ceremony, Mr. Tan Ruisong presented certificate to officers from PAF. Mr. Ma Zhiping spoke highly of 2nd APOD Program and wished that all trained officers would make greater contribution to the cooperation and friendship between AVIC and PAF.

The 2nd APOD Program which was greatly supported by leaders of AVIC and CATIC was developed from 1st APOD Program in 2011. During the training, All PAF officers were invited to visit CATIC and AVIC&#8217;s design and manufacture institutions. PAF officers were impressed by the advanced products, services and management of AVIC and touched by CATIC&#8217;s responsibility, hospitality and professionalism.

 

[Windjammer]

A Classic image from bygone era....
How many faces can you recognise.

 

[fatman17]

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Thoughts from Zhuhai Air Show



As we get to another year&#8217;s thanksgiving holiday, there are many interesting things in Chinese military development to be thankful for. The one thing that I look at from this month is the Zhuhai Air Show. Every two years, we get to see the best that China has to offer in the export market for civilian aircraft, fighter jet, UAVs, missiles, air defence weapons and engines. In the 2010 air show, we saw an expansion of UAVs. In the 2008 air show, we saw a whole new display of PGMs and ground attack weapons. In this year&#8217;s air show, I think the helicopters (especially Z-10 and Z-19) stole the show.

Prior to the air show, we had just found out about the existence of a second Z-10 and a second Z-19 regiment. It appears both helicopters had achieved operational clearance with PLA aviation. We saw a whole host of up close pictures of Z-10 and Z-19 (including cockpit of pilots with HMDS) from the air show. TV news officially reported that both of these helicopters have achieved combat capability.




We saw flight display from both Z-10 and Z-19 throughout this past week. From this and other photos, we now see 2 other regiments with Z-10. At the moment, it seems like each of the 4 brigades that have Z-10 have 12 or less Z-10s. That's the size of a dadui in PLA aviation rather a full regiment (which can be over 30 helos). I wonder if the goal is to have at least one dadui in Z-10 before increasing the number of Z-10s in each of the brigdaes. We might see some mixed regiments with Z-10s and Z-19s. These are just my speculations and other speculations from on line. Regardless, it appears that both Z-10 and WZ-9 turboshaft engine have reached a point of mass production. It would not surprise me if the production rate is already in the 30s per year. As more photos come out, we will get more information on their alignment.

At the same time, we are getting more information on other Chinese helicopter projects. According to deputy GM of AVICopter, Sun Qingmin, Z-15 equipped with WZ-16 engine will start trial flight next year and expected to be certified by 2014. Using a co-developed engine will allow Z-15 to join the army and the navy. The long delayed 10 ton helicopter project appears to be moving forward to. The picture below shows two proposals for this project. The first flight is set to be in 2014 and production to start by 2017. These two proposals look like Chinese versions of black hawk and NH-90. The engine is expected to either be WZ-10 turboshaft or WZ-16 from the Z-15 project.


There is also another conceptual project XQ-01 displayed in the air show as shown below that seems to be a high speed helicopter like Eurocopter X3 or Sikorsky X2.


They also displayed a whole range of air defence weaponry that are quite impressive. Along side models that we already know about like LD-2000 (land version of Type 730), FD-2000 (export version of HQ-9), LY-80 (export version of HQ-16) and FL-3000 (export version of HQ-10), we also saw the following new models:

DK-10 and DK-9C supposedly originates from the AAMs SD-10 and PL-9C. Although in DK-10's case, it seems to be quite different from SD-10. It also seems to be a prime candidate to be quad-packed in PLAN's new VLS with its active seeker, slim size, and engagement range of up to 50 km.

FK-1000 combines the KS-1000 missile with two dual guns and on board fire control system. It seems very similar to Russia's Pantsir-S1 air defence system.

TD-2000B is another Gun/missile air defence system which may already have been displayed previously.

And finally, we have CS/SA-1 type vehicle carrying Type PG-99 dual35 mm gun.

We saw the usual FT and LS series of PGMs along with a new TG series of LGBs. But there were also interesting new missiles from this show:

The one making the biggest noise is the CM-400AKG missile. It is advertised as a standoff missile for JF-17. It can go Mach 5.5 in terminal phase and has maximum range of 240 km.

They also have two different variants of TL-500 missile which looks like SCALP by MBDA.


We saw a couple of more CM series air to ground missile. The CM-506KG missile looks like the NLOS missile.

Finally, there was an anti-radiation version of SD-10 missile appearing as LD-10.

There were also other interesting things on display such as a model of the J-31 project, a full scale dispaly of Wing Loong UAV and a model of CH-4 UAV. All in all, it was a very interesting air show.

There were also a couple of interesting things we saw in PLAN world. J-15 apparently made its first successful landing on Liaoning this past week. We had an overhead shot of 052C and 052D which showed the two destroyers to be the same length. Although, it seems like 052D is about 0.5 to 1 m wider. Either way, 052D is basically the same size as 052C. The new VLS installations on 052D also look to be a lot smaller than the ones on 052C. And finally, the first 056s have gone on sea trials from both HP and HD shipyard.

Posted by Feng at 4:28 PM

 

[Windjammer]

PAF Academy, Risalpur presents a scenic view.

 

[SBD-3]

China's first ARM breaks cover
By Robert Hewson
11/29/2012

A new air-launched anti-radiation missile (ARM) is being promoted for export by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). The LD-10 ( Lei Dian = Thunderbolt) is a product of the Luoyang Optoelectro Technology Development Centre (LOEC) - AVIC's primary air weapons specialist - and is closely based on LOEC's SD-10 (PL-12) beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (AAM).

The LD-10 was exhibited in public for the first time at Airshow China 2012, which was held in Zhuhai from 13-18 November. The LD-10 is the first dedicated ARM to be observed in China, and LOEC officials told IHS Jane's the weapon was already in production for an (unnamed) export customer.

AVIC data identify the PAC/AVIC JF-17 Thunder (FC-1) lightweight fighter as a "typical carrier aircraft" for the LD-10. This points directly to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) as the customer for the missile.

At Airshow China, a senior PAF officer noted that the Brazilian-built Mectron MAR-1 ARM was already integrated and operational with the JF-17 but suggested it was preferable to have "options" when it came to future JF-17 exports.
China&#39;s first ARM breaks cover

 

[fatman17]

Flight Instructors Training School (FITS) @ Peshawar Flying Club


Foreword: Flight Instructors Training School (FITS) is one of a kind in the whole world. FITS is located at Peshawar Flying Club, and it trains flight instructors in batches rather then individually.

Selected commercial pilots are trained in batches per year, in a 3-month rigorous training/course. This the only channel in Pakistan for becoming an instructor, while in other countries instructor ratings are given on individual basis, and can be acquired from any flying club, school or even an independent instructor.

The chief pilot of FITS is Capt. Mohammad Asif Khan. He is credited with playing an important role in the establishment of FITS.

Introduction: The recognition and importance of flight instructors cannot be ignored in expanding aviation industry. The process of imparting flying training to the flight instructors is a demanding job. This specialized training is based on accurate flying techniques, vigorous skill, sound background knowledge and extensive flight/ground training. In Pakistan General Aviation an acute scarcity was envisaged in terms of an institution where comprehensive formal training and proper grooming of the potential flight instructors could be bestowed. After deliberate study and various considerations Civil Aviation Authority decided to establish an intuition for conducting such courses. To undertake this demanding task Civil Aviation Authority had placed its confidence in Peshawar Flying Club for the establishment of Flight Instructors' Training School. The training of the first course was commenced on 2nd April 1996. Chief Minister of NWFP Mr. Aftab khan sherpao inaugurated the school. High-ranking officials of CAA, and General Aviation and CFIS of the flying clubs attended the inaugural ceremony. The scope of this institution was extended to standardize the already trained flight instructors.

Chief Pilot FITS: The Civil Aviation Authority selected Capt Muhammad Asif Khan as a first Chief Pilot FITS. Capt Asif in an experienced instructor and has flown more than 5500 hours on verity of aircraft. He has served Pakistan Air force for 18 years up to the rank of Squadron Leader. He was commissioned 1978, in the GD(P) branch of Pakistan Air Force. He is graduate in aero sciences and a qualified Flight Instructor (QFI) from PAF Academy Risalpur. He has served Air Force in various capacities and has qualified a number of professional courses while serving PAF. His last assignment in the PAF was as a deputy director training officers in the Training Directorate at Rear Air Headquarters. As a chief instructor FITS he outlined the syllabus, worked out other modalities and has played an important role in establishment and operation of this distinctive institution.

FITS Achievements: Since its inception, a total 70 instructors, 41 Assistant flight instructors in 5 regular FITS courses and 29 instructors in 5 standardizations courses have been trained by the FITS. In outlining the syllabus for different flying courses FITS has assisted the civil aviation.

FITS Instructors: To serve as a FITS instructor is a great honor as well immense challenging task. Due to imperative and demanding obligations, all FITS instructors are to be evaluated and approved by the CAA. It is worth mentioning that after graduation of the first batch, some of the FITS graduates were inducted as FITS instructors for subsequent imparting training. The following flight and ground instructors have the distinctive honor to serve as instructional staff in various FITS and standardization courses: -

Capt. J.M. Akbar (PAF)
Capt Muhammad Asif (PAF)
Capt Jamshad Akhtar (PAF)
Capt Vaqas Javed (PAF)
Mr.Rehan (FITS)
Mr. Shehryar Bin Aman Mufti (FITS)
Mr. Bilal Khan (FITS)
Mr. Mohammad Sohail (FITS)

FITS is the only flight school in Asia recognized by U.A.E CAA. This is due to the efforts of a FITS graduate Shehryar Mufti. Shehryar Mufti is credited with playing a very important role in the establishment of FITS. Shehryar Mufti is also credited with the designing of FITS Logo.