Pakistan Air Force Transport

[SQ8]

Didn't all C-130 cockpits were upgraded to glass cockpits?

Not the early examples.. the ex RAAF examples where the ones upgraded.

 

[hassan1]

 

[krash]

I Don't know if this ones been shared before so:

The boys dropping supplies for the quake victims.

and they say that fighter pilots are mad!

 

[umair86pk]

They are PAF pilots second to none they can do that.

 

[Jango]

I Don't know if this ones been shared before so:

The boys dropping supplies for the quake victims.

and they say that fighter pilots are mad!

Meters above the ground!!!

There is also a video which shows this airdrop, and the close nature of this drop truly shows then.

BTW, the supplies are seen being dropped from the side door, wouldn't it be better to drop them from pallets through the cargo door? Or simply by pushing them off from the rear ramp? Does PAF have pallets for such purpose?

And secondly, another SOP is for the aircraft to do a touch and go at some speed, and the pallet is offloaded while the aircraft is touching the ground.

 

[Jango]

I was searching for the video of this airdrop, couldn't find that, but here is another one of a Hercules making a low pass quite similar to that one.

In this video, note from 2:05 to 2:10, the rear door, a airman, probably load-master is standing right by the door. The Muzaffarabad airdrop might have been similar to this one, load-master throwing out sacks from the door.

The C-130 almost moves like a helicopter. Nose down, but still moving straight and level. Great skills of the pilot.

 

[Last Hope]

 

[Javed786]

i heard from somewhere, can't remember where that PAF can modify their C-130's to drop bombs and use it as a bomber?

 

[hassan1]

i heard from somewhere, can't remember where that PAF can modify their C-130's to drop bombs and use it as a bomber?

 

[fatman17]

FLIR Herks
Strangler 12

with tough terrain of the tribal areas, army personnel were being slaughtered as they attempted to eliminate militants who had lived in the region for years. they knew the high ground and ridges, which allowed them to look down on the troops as they approached - the soldiers were 'sitting ducks'.

to counter this threat the PAF required a platform capable of loitering overhead the area of operation for long periods to pinpoint enemy locations.

in early 2009, the PAF set about modernising a C-130B with FLIR Systems Star Safire III imaging system to pinpoint areas of interest on the ground and then zoom-in, from around 18,000ft (5,486m) the operator can recognise an individuals features - it is an impressive tool.

within six months the PAF was also installing a Brite-Star designator to allow the C-130 to laser bombs onto targets for strike aircraft.

during Operation Lightening II (which commenced on Oct, 11, 2009) PAF FLIR-equipped transport aircraft were airborne almost 24 hours a day supporting army ops. in the rear of these aircraft are two large flat screens, one showing a moving map as photographed by the DB-110 and the other showing FLIR imagery being worked by the navigator/FLIR operator in the cockpit.

army personnel can watch the areas of interest and describe via radio to troops on the ground what they are looking at from thousands of feet above the battlefield. through their headsets, those in the rear can also direct the FLIR operator where to look.

it became a very useful tool - essentially the army had its own eyes in the sky.

there are plans to data-link the imagery down to a ground station; but while telemetry trials have proved it can be done, the system will need upgrading.

"we fly the FLIR C-130's at 10,000-15,000ft (3,048-4,572m) and we can track a single person. its a safe height but if we need to go lower we have to gain clearence" explained one of the aircrew.

"once the army has the intelligence, it provides us the rough co-ordinates so we can have a closer look. we fly to the area and scan the targets, enabling us to provide the intel guys with exact co-ordinates. the bad guys usually move at night, so we tend to fly at medium level over the area of their compound, scan their movements, take co-ordinates and pass them to the army. knowing what the place looks like helps the army should they decide to attack" he added.

GPS is integrated into the FLIR, so it can focus with rough co-ordinates on the area of interest in the vicinity of the Hercules'position. the FLIR can then be zoomed-in allowing the operator to illuminate the exact target to pick precise co-ordinates that can then be relayed to various intelligence agencies.

the PAF's FLIR equipped C-130's are known to fly along the afghan border, checking for hostiles moving in and out of Pakistan.

AIR International

 

[Donatello]

Two questions:

Is this System removable or permanently installed on C130s and How many did PAF acquire?

Thanks.

 

[fatman17]

Two questions:

Is this System removable or permanently installed on C130s and How many did PAF acquire?

Thanks.

the systems were installed locally by PAF engineers as the supplier fees was US10m and a lead-time of 9 months. the system is removable and the number of FLIR Herks in service is classified. the article just states that 'several'.

 

[TaimiKhan]

FLIR Herks
Strangler 12

with tough terrain of the tribal areas, army personnel were being slaughtered as they attempted to eliminate militants who had lived in the region for years. they knew the high ground and ridges, which allowed them to look down on the troops as they approached - the soldiers were 'sitting ducks'.

to counter this threat the PAF required a platform capable of loitering overhead the area of operation for long periods to pinpoint enemy locations.

in early 2009, the PAF set about modernising a C-130B with FLIR Systems Star Safire III imaging system to pinpoint areas of interest on the ground and then zoom-in, from around 18,000ft (5,486m) the operator can recognise an individuals features - it is an impressive tool.

within six months the PAF was also installing a Brite-Star designator to allow the C-130 to laser bombs onto targets for strike aircraft.

during Operation Lightening II (which commenced on Oct, 11, 2009) PAF FLIR-equipped transport aircraft were airborne almost 24 hours a day supporting army ops. in the rear of these aircraft are two large flat screens, one showing a moving map as photographed by the DB-110 and the other showing FLIR imagery being worked by the navigator/FLIR operator in the cockpit.

army personnel can watch the areas of interest and describe via radio to troops on the ground what they are looking at from thousands of feet above the battlefield. through their headsets, those in the rear can also direct the FLIR operator where to look.

it became a very useful tool - essentially the army had its own eyes in the sky.

there are plans to data-link the imagery down to a ground station; but while telemetry trials have proved it can be done, the system will need upgrading.

"we fly the FLIR C-130's at 10,000-15,000ft (3,048-4,572m) and we can track a single person. its a safe height but if we need to go lower we have to gain clearence" explained one of the aircrew.

"once the army has the intelligence, it provides us the rough co-ordinates so we can have a closer look. we fly to the area and scan the targets, enabling us to provide the intel guys with exact co-ordinates. the bad guys usually move at night, so we tend to fly at medium level over the area of their compound, scan their movements, take co-ordinates and pass them to the army. knowing what the place looks like helps the army should they decide to attack" he added.

GPS is integrated into the FLIR, so it can focus with rough co-ordinates on the area of interest in the vicinity of the Hercules'position. the FLIR can then be zoomed-in allowing the operator to illuminate the exact target to pick precise co-ordinates that can then be relayed to various intelligence agencies.

the PAF's FLIR equipped C-130's are known to fly along the afghan border, checking for hostiles moving in and out of Pakistan.

AIR International

After Kamra, the system was very well used in the Peshawar Base attack and flew for more then 4 hours and helped the ground troops.

 

[Donatello]

After Kamra, the system was very well used in the Peshawar Base attack and flew for more then 4 hours and helped the ground troops.

Well, that seems a good use of it, but think about it. Launching a huge plane like C130 just for patrolling and recon makes little sense. I mean, we should have drones for that purpose. Much cheaper to operate and purchase.

 

[fatman17]

Well, that seems a good use of it, but think about it. Launching a huge plane like C130 just for patrolling and recon makes little sense. I mean, we should have drones for that purpose. Much cheaper to operate and purchase.

all in due time - the herks can loiter for 8-10 hours. small price to pay for victory.