Pakistan Air Force | News & Discussions

PAF chief awarded Indonesian Air Force’s highest honour​

  • The Air Chief meets President Subianto; highlights shared values and longstanding brotherhood between Pakistan and Indonesia
BR Web Desk
February 13, 2026

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Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), called on Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto during his official visit to Indonesia, as both sides explored avenues for expanding bilateral defence cooperation.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Air Chief highlighted the shared values and longstanding brotherhood between Pakistan and Indonesia, underscoring the importance of deepening collaboration in the aerospace and defence sectors.

President Prabowo expressed keen interest in leveraging PAF’s state-of-the-art training ecosystem and aerospace development infrastructure to enhance Indonesia’s defence capabilities.

During his visit, the Air Chief also held separate high-level meetings with Indonesian Defence Minister Lieutenant General (Retd) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, the Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, and the Indonesian Air Chief. He was accorded a Guard of Honour at all official venues.

In discussions with the Indonesian Air Chief, both sides agreed to enhance Air Force-to-Air Force cooperation, including joint training programmes ranging from basic to advanced levels, professional exchanges, and collaboration in emerging aerospace domains.

The Indonesian Air Chief sought PAF’s support in advancing operational and flying training, acknowledging the force’s rich combat experience and operational expertise.

In recognition of his efforts to strengthen bilateral air power cooperation, the Air Chief was conferred the Medal of Honour — the highest award of the Indonesian Air Force.

The Indonesian leadership also appreciated PAF’s professionalism and ongoing modernization drive, while lauding the advanced technological infrastructure of the National Aerospace Science & Technology Park.

The visit is seen as part of broader efforts to reinforce defence ties between the two brotherly nations amid evolving regional security dynamics.
 
AeronautIR said:
There are many here who insulted me for drinking kool-aid of PAF achievements, because it was all a lie unless satellite imagery is shown to them. There was some ranting about paying taxes and how military should tell them everything under freedom of information etc. Our likings/dislikings make the opinions biased, whether we didn’t tell the public enough or we told too much. 🤷‍♂️
I don't think we can reach a consensus about it here but personally, I am quite satisfied with PAF decisions.
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Hi,

There was no reason to show the satelite imagery and how the PAF neutered the opponent---.

Information is the issue---. Public does not need to know all the tactical details of the operation---.

It saw that there were no 5 times larger enemy aircraft in the air---and that is all it needed to see.

The nations who needed to know what happened would have gotten to know how it happened in due time---.

At the end of the day---the truth would have come afloat---.

I wish that the PAF had shot down 20-30 aircraft and acted stupid and blamed it on pilot error or sent wrong message to the piltos kind of excuse and hidden their tactical skills.

And rather than bragging about the 200 KM rage of the PL15---should have stuck to the 150KM range and made the enemy look even worse---and kep their mouths shut about the true capabilities of their weaponry---.
 
MastanKhan said:
Hi,

There was no reason to show the satelite imagery and how the PAF neutered the opponent---.

Information is the issue---. Public does not need to know all the tactical details of the operation---.

It saw that there were no 5 times larger enemy aircraft in the air---and that is all it needed to see.

The nations who needed to know what happened would have gotten to know how it happened in due time---.

At the end of the day---the truth would have come afloat---.

I wish that the PAF had shot down 20-30 aircraft and acted stupid and blamed it on pilot error or sent wrong message to the piltos kind of excuse and hidden their tactical skills.

And rather than bragging about the 200 KM rage of the PL15---should have stuck to the 150KM range and made the enemy look even worse---and kep their mouths shut about the true capabilities of their weaponry---.

But---saldy the PAF could not contain itself and had to strut ad prance around---. So sad---.
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I was referring to some mudslinging here a month back on this topic of imagery. Your opinion is totally opposite to them. They called PAF a liar and you are calling PAF vain. I personally stick to debates about weapons/tactics and leave the policymaking to those who have the complete visibility at grand strategic level.
 
Fatman17 said:
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If they are investing so much in this fighter to keep it running till 2030 or beyond then why couldn't they reverse engineer and develop the aircraft themselves? That would have been a better option for a competent airforce to keep fighter-bombers in its fleet.
 
Haven’t seen a discussion on the subject of replacing Mirage III/ Vs and F7s in PAF inventory.

Mirages are really old and must be difficult to maintain. F7s also don’t have much relevance in current scenario.

Can’t any of these be replaced by JF-17s? The current Block III capacity at PAC isn’t being utilised fully and can be used to either shore up or replace few older variants/types.

It is a genuine query and I request a positive discussion on this. Please don’t bring IAF into this.
 
Vkdindian1 said:
Haven’t seen a discussion on the subject of replacing Mirage III/ Vs and F7s in PAF inventory.

Mirages are really old and must be difficult to maintain. F7s also don’t have much relevance in current scenario.

Can’t any of these be replaced by JF-17s? The current Block III capacity at PAC isn’t being utilised fully and can be used to either shore up or replace few older variants/types.

It is a genuine query and I request a positive discussion on this. Please don’t bring IAF into this.
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They are being replaced by JF-17 squadrons
 
Samurai said:
If they are investing so much in this fighter to keep it running till 2030 or beyond then why couldn't they reverse engineer and develop the aircraft themselves? That would have been a better option for a competent airforce to keep fighter-bombers in its fleet.
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It's cheaper to buy new chinese aircraft
 
Vkdindian1 said:
Haven’t seen a discussion on the subject of replacing Mirage III/ Vs and F7s in PAF inventory.

Mirages are really old and must be difficult to maintain. F7s also don’t have much relevance in current scenario.

Can’t any of these be replaced by JF-17s? The current Block III capacity at PAC isn’t being utilised fully and can be used to either shore up or replace few older variants/types.

It is a genuine query and I request a positive discussion on this. Please don’t bring IAF into this.
Click to expand...

Paf has a large stockpile of trained pilots and parts for both mirage and f-7 fleets to keep them operational. If needed they can be kept in service for another decade but both platforms will likely be retired from combat roles pre 2030. Mirages are still valuble assets for hauling a lot of even mordern munitions as seen with meanwhile f-7s are actually not that old as the pg models currently in service were only delivered in early 2000s but despite wvr limitations they are still very useful for LIFT and backline air defence roles. It is not entirely feasible for PAF to fully replace nearly 5 squadrons of legacy aircaft with new build B3 in a short timeframe on simply a cost basis. And the fact is the jf-17 production line is being primarily catered to export customers first. Once these orders further materialise i believe PAC will slowly ramp up production further to meet these needs as currently there is not enough consistent demand/capital. We also dont know what pfx alpha contains and if the paf is waiting for that to develop further before investing further. Another big reason is paf may be looking to invest into more f-16,j10 and j35 to replace the fleet partially rather than go all in on more jft
 
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