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The Pakistan Air Force received the last of 18 new F-16C/D Block 52 fighters from Lockheed Martin in early February. Accompanying the aircraft on its delivery flight were two PAF F-16A Block 15s that have undergone the mid-life update process in the U.S. A few days later, the PAF also accepted the first of its F-16s to undergo an avionics and structure upgrade in Turkey. Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has been selected to do the work on 41 PAF F-16s, in a program named Peace Drive II. Modification of the first aircraft began in October 2010 and the last should...

Pakistan has confirmed it will buy Chinese missiles and flight systems to equip its 250 JF-17 Thunder jet fighters as it seeks to deepen military cooperation with Beijing, state media said Thursday. Rao Qamar Suleman, air chief marshal of the Pakistan Air Force, told the Global Times newspaper Chinese radar systems and SD-10 mid-range homing missiles would be used on the fighters co-developed by the two nations. “PAF has no plans to install Western devices and weapons on the aircraft for the time being,” the newspaper quoted Suleman as saying. Pakistan may also buy up to four Chinese surface-to-air missiles,...

Pakistan has started the production of avionics and other important gadgets for the JF-17 Thunder fighter jets. The equipments for the combat jets would be produced at the Kamra based Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC). Speaking on the occasion of the launch of the production line for the latest avionics, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) chief Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman described the project as a step forward in making the PAF 'self-reliant.' "A strong air force is essential for the country's survival, therefore, it is important that Pakistan Air Force (PAF) gets self-reliant. Today's ceremony is an important step in...

The armies of India and Pakistan are mobilising for separate large-scale war games on either side of the international border this month to experiment with concepts they will employ in the event of a war with each other. Each side has informed the other — as is normally done in peace time — that it is conducting military exercises near the international boundary and that the movement of troops, tanks, guns and fighter aircraft is not a sign of aggressive intent. Pakistan Air Force combat aircraft landed on and took off from a motorway on Saturday in an exercise named...

Pakistan Air Force formally commenced a country-wide exercise aimed at conducting operations in a "near-realistic tactical environment" and integrating its new acquisitions like the JF-17 Thunder combat aircraft and Saab 2000 AWACS into its fleet. The manoeuvre, codenamed "High Mark 2010" began with Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman disseminating the "air tasking orders" to all PAF units on Monday. The exercise will cover the whole of Pakistan, from Skardu in the north to the Arabian Sea in the south. The PAF’s new inductions, including the JF-17 Thunder combat aircraft, Saab 2000 airborne warning and control aircraft and Il-78 air-to-air...

PARACHINAR, Pakistan – Pakistani fighter jets pounded Taliban hide-outs near the Afghan border Sunday, killing 17 insurgents, local officials said. The hide-outs were in the village of Mero Bak in the Taliban stronghold of the Lower Orakzai tribal region, said Rasheed Khan, an Orakzai official.

As part of efforts to enhance their military-to-military cooperation, Pakistani and US air force personnel participated in a joint aerial refueling information exchange programme at a Pakistani airbase. US Air Force pilots and aircrew from the 22nd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, currently deployed in Kyrgyzstan, arrived at the Chaklala airbase on Wednesday to conduct the information exchange with the Pakistan Air Force. The US invited Pakistani pilots and aircrew aboard their KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft to familiarise them with air refuelling equipment and procedures. Vice Admiral Michael LeFever, senior US Defence Representative to Pakistan, hosted Air Commodore Tahir Ranjha, PAF's Air...