No 1 Squadron

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1 Squadron​

The No. 1 Fighter Conversion Unit at Mianwali is the first stop for students fresh from the PAF Academy at Risalpur and it is here, on the Shenyang FT-5, that they begin the process of learning how to become a fighter pilot. In theory, the FT-5 can be called upon to participate in combat - it has a 23 mm gun plus a simple radar -ranging gunsight and can carry two AIM-9 Sidewinder infra-red homing air-to-air missiles - but one is inclined to think that there wouldn't be too much enthusiasm about the prospect of going to war in it.
After the introduction of chinese fighters in the PAF, there was a growing need to have a lead-in jet trainer to give the newly graduated pilots from the academy an introduction to chinese systems before they flew the F-6s. accordingly, the FT-5 aircraft was inducted to fulfill this requirement, and No1 FCU was established on 28th April 75 to train pilots for the F-6 - and later the A-5 - weapons systems. the FT-5s gradually took over most of the tasks of No2 FCU's T-33's which were reassigned target towing and other duties.
The unit started functioning at PAF Base Masroor, under the command of SL Ethisham Akram; in November it was shifted to PAF Base Mianwali. The conversion from American to Chinese training stream created its own demands; moreover, all the literature pertaining to the new aircraft was in chinese and the operating procedures had to be developed from scratch. This task was accomplished by the unit in an efficient manner, the Dash One being written by Flt/Lt's Sikandar, Rizwan and Zakaullah Khan; the check-list was compiled by Flt/Lt. Shams Noor-ul-Hasan.
The duration of a fighter conversion course was set at six months and initially 6 FT-5s were allocated to No1 FCU; this number was progressively increased to 25. Admin & Logistic support was provided by PAF Base Mianwali.

The unit had conducted a total of more than 22 courses upto 31 December 1987, starting with 59th GD(P) Course. to date, nearly 500 pilots have completed their training at No 1 FCU successfully, with four fatalities. in addition the unit has been regularly taking part in major command level excercises such as Jetstream, Lightening and Highmark.

The most important peacetime activity of a fighting force is training for war, but this aspect has a unique significance for the PAF. The mission of service compels the PAF to train for combat with adversaries whose numerical strength and resources, it cannot match. Accordingly, the PAF has traditionally organized its training program with a view to achieve maximum utilization of men and material. Its training programs aim at making up in quality what it lacks in quantity. These programs draw heavily on the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the personnel who are entrusted to shoulder this honor as responsibility and who see to it that they prove equal to the task. The PAF always strives to employ the most scientific and advanced techniques for training its manpower. It trains to outwit, outfight and outshoot the enemy.
The candidates who are able to meet the standards of general service training, flying and academic are commissioned as Flying Officers in GD (P) Branch of the PAF. The graduation parade, a memorable experience for the Aviation Cadets, marks the end of their training at the Academy. They are now ready to join fighter conversion units where they further develop their flying skills on more demanding and advance jet aircrafts. After successfully completing this conversion, the budding pilots are taken a step further; through Fighter Conversion Unit (FCU) and Operational Conversion Unit (OCU), where they learn to master the frontline combat aircraft of the PAF. In these units the pilots are subjected to most critical and formative stages of training. Here, for the first time, they are taught skills without which they cannot survive, an eagle-eyed ability to search the sky for the enemy, "dog fights" with simulated "enemy" aircraft, and the skill to shoot accurately.
After achieving the desired standards of proficiency in the fighter and operational conversion phases, the officers are now qualified to join the frontline combat squadrons of the Air Force as young operational pilots. It is in these squadrons that they truly grow into air warriors, a closely knit combat team, getting airborne in their highly lethal supersonic machines to practice air combat maneuvering, weapons delivery, tactical air support to land forces and many other types of wartime flying. In these squadrons they continue to strive day and night towards higher level of professional skill so that they may remain ready to follow in the glorious footsteps of their predecessors.

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No. 2 Squadron​

During the last decade, this squadron began to work up on the type at PAF Masroor near Karachi and was assigned to perform a variety of tasks, viz. the training of pilots, the arranging of ground controlled interceptions to train air defence controllers, and aerial target towing for all three services. Due to constitutional problems limiting the number of numbered squadrons the PAF could operate, the F-7Ps were assigned to the very under-strength squadron, which was then operating half a dozen T-33A/RT-33A aircraft. The squadron had for some time operated T-33 and B-57s until the latter's retirement in late 1986. After the induction of F-7P aircraft in August 1990, the squadron's role was expanded to include air defence. At that time the squadron was also split into two seperate flights, designated as 'A Flight' and 'B Flight' for F-7P and T-33/RT-33 aircraft, respectively. On 7 July 1993, the T-33/RT-33 aircraft was phased out, and the squadron's role was confined to air defence only. In October 1993, the squadron was renamed the No. 2 Air Superiority Squadron.
Apart from the essentail quaterly exercises, the squadron participated in many operational and air defence exercises. They included all the Saffron Bandit exercises, the Armament Competition-96, Inspired Alert exercises with the US Navy, Exercise High Mark-95 and Air-to Air Missile Firing-98. The squadron participated in several inter-service exercises at Kotri in 1991. The squadron won the Non-AI Air Superiority ACES trophy during 1997.

 

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JF-17 formally handed over to the PAF’s No. 2 squadron​

DAILY NEWS by Bilal Khan April 11, 2016

11 April 2016
By Bilal Khan
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif formally handed over the JF-17 Thunder to the No. 2 (“Minhas”) fighter squadron at Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Base Masroor. The squadron’s previous fighter was the Chengdu F-7P, which is a Chinese-built variant of the Russian MiG-21.
Although No. 2 had switched over to the JF-17 in September, the formal ceremony offers an opportunity to engage in a quick overview of the capability jump the JF-17 offers over the legacy F-7P. For detailed insights, be sure to review our background article on the JF-17 Thunder (here and here).
Including Combat Commanders School, the PAF now has four operational JF-17 squadrons (using a total of 66 aircraft). The induction of the JF-17 Thunder is a significant qualitative boost for Masroor Air Base and Southern Air Command.
First, the JF-17 is a markedly superior air defence fighter compared to the F-7P, particularly through its inclusion of the SD-10, an active radar-guided BVRAAM. This makes the JF-17 capable of engaging targets from a greater distance. Its close quarters element is fulfilled with the PL-5EII, a third-generation all-aspect WVRAAM.
Second, Masroor now benefits from a second anti-ship capable fighter platform. Until now, the task had been taken up by a sole Mirage 5PA squadron (No. 8) armed with French Exocet anti-ship missiles (AShM). No. 2’s JF-17s are capable of carrying Chinese C-802 AShM.
Third, the incorporation of the Link-17 tactical data-link as well as introduction of the Karakoram Eagle (KE) airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft gives Southern Air Command a good networked package.
The JF-17 can utilize the KE AEW&C’s extended range air surveillance capabilities to enhance its situational awareness of the air, affording it additional time and space to react to new threats. The Mirage ROSE-I unit at Masroor is also benefitting from Link-17.
At least some of No. 2’s JF-17s were from among Block-I production units (though it is not known if they have been upgraded to Block-II). Although not among the units equipped with in-flight refuelling (IFR) probes (which is to commence mid-way through the production of the Block-II), it is likely that Masroor will be equipped with IFR-capable JF-17s in the near future.
The utility of air-to-air refuelling (via the PAF’s IL-78s) would be the most useful over the vast maritime theatre of the region. Whether this occurs via the No. 2 squadron or by replacing another unit at the air base, that remains to be seen.
During the ceremony, Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Sohail Aman expressed his hopes to ramp-up the annual production-rate of the JF-17 to 24 aircraft in 2016. It will be interesting to see what squadrons are lined up to receive the JF-17 next.

 

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Pakistan Air Force No. 3 "Angels" Squadron Saab 2000 ERIEYE Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C).

33 (Tactical) Wing

3(AEW)sq No.3 Airborne Early Warning Squadron

Saab 2000 Saab 2000AEW

Angels

 

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Defense News​

Pakistan Re-equips No. 4 Squadron With AEW&C Planes​

By Usman Ansari
Mar 1, 2015


ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's Air Force (PAF) Thursday stood up its unit of Chinese Karakorum Eagle AEW&C aircraft in a ceremony attended by the head of the PAF, Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafiq Butt.
Though the exact location of the ceremony was not given, it is believed to have been held at PAF Base Masroor in Karachi.
Brian Cloughley, an analyst and former Australian defense attache to Islamabad, said AEW&C "is very good news for the PAF – and for Pakistan" because it "will dramatically improve early warning capabilities which up until now have been comparatively rudimentary."
The ZDK-03 Karakorum Eagle is a dish-based AEW&C system mounted on a Shaanxi Y-8F600 aircraft. Though never confirmed, it has been speculated that the dish houses an AESA antenna.
Four were ordered in 2008 with the first delivered in 2010.

Air Commodore Syed Muhammad Ali, a spokesman for the Air Force, confirmed all Karakorum Eagle aircraft on order have now been delivered, but could not say if more would be ordered from China.
The aircraft join No.4 Squadron, which was first established in 1959 with Bristol Freighter transports and Grumman HU-16 Albatross amphibians. The amphibians were used for maritime reconnaissance, search and rescue, and casualty evacuation alongside Sikorsky H-19D helicopters. The HU-16s were retired in 1968 and the H-19Ds in 1969.
The unit was then "number-plated" until officially re-equipped with the Karakorum Eagle.
The four Karakorum Eagle AEW&C aircraft join the surviving three Saab Erieye AEW&C aircraft ordered in 2005 and delivered from 2009. One of the four Erieye aircraft was destroyed in a terrorist attack on Kamra Air Base in August 2012.
That the Air Force operates two types of AEW&C aircraft for the same mission has been much commented on.

Analyst Usman Shabbir of the Pakistan Military Consortium think tank says the Karakorum Eagle's mission is "asically the same job as Erieye but based in southern sector.
"To cover all the length of Pakistan we needed additional AEW&C aircraft and ZDK-03 was the answer due to political and financial considerations," he said.
Former Air Commodore Kaiser Tufail says the PAF was not keen on their purchase.
"The [Karakorum] Eagle was purchased rather reluctantly, under pressure of [then President] Gen. Musharraf, as a political expedient [Chinese appeasement], and not because of any reasons of technical superiority," he said. "It would have been more cost effective to manage a single type than these two vastly different ones."
Though he now believes attitudes have changed.
"Having said that, the performance of the Eagle has turned out to be surprisingly good, which takes some sting out of the initial criticism," he said.
Tufail says an absence of news of the fourth aircraft being delivered may mean it is undergoing installation of Link 16 datalink equipment to enable it to communicate with all of the PAF's aircraft, particularly its F-16s, and not just the JF-17 Thunders.
To date the Erieye AEW&C aircraft have been able to communicate with the Western aircraft in service such as the F-16, and the Karakorum Eagle with the Chinese aircraft such as the Sino-Pak JF-17, and perhaps the F-7PG.
Cloughley does not think this has changed.
"It's unlikely that the systems will complement those of the US, but cooperation with China is more important for Pakistan," he said.
PAF officials have previously told Defense News that this was impractical and would change.
Though perhaps not as technologically advanced as the Swedish Erieye, according to Haris Khan of the Pakistan Military Consortium think tank, the two types of AEW&C aircraft have worked very well together with the installation of Link 16 compatible equipment throughout the PAF's aircraft fleet.
Combined, they have effectively covered the country and much of Pakistan's maritime area of interest.
Email: [email protected].
About Usman Ansari
Usman Ansari is the Pakistan correspondent for Defense News.

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4(EW)sq No.4 Electronic Warfare squadron	KE-03	Karakoram Eagles

 

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5th squadron ( PAF)​ " Falcons"​

F-16 Units main menu | Pakistan Air Force units overview

	5 sqn " Falcons" ( PAF)
Status:	Active
Version:	F-16C/D block 52
Role:	Multirole
Tailband:	N/A
Motto:	N/A
Badge:	A diving falcon with a bomb in its claws.

Sideways profile for 5 sqn in 2023.

F-16 History​

In 2010 deliveries of the brand-new block 52 F-16s to the Pakistani Air Force started. As part of the Peace Drive program a total of 18 airframes was delivered. The squadron was moved to the newly constructed Shahbaz AB and started training on the new type immediately. The squadron was equipped with the venerable Mirage aircraft of which a number of different types were flown including some single seat fighter, fighter-bombers and also dedicated reconnaissance aircraft. With the introduction of the F-16 the squadron becomes fully multirole.
Although the PAF has experience operating the F-16 (block 15 versions have been flown by the force since 1983), the introduction of these block 52 airframes means a serious change in performance and possibilities. Most probably these airframes will be equipped to perform a wide variety of tasks since it's the most modern aircraft type in service with the PAF. It will rely heavily on the type to cope with the 'Indian' thread.

PAF F-16C block 52 #10901 returns to base after a test flight on December 1st, 2010. [Photo by Keith Robinson]

Aircraft Markings History​

2010 - present
A full colored (or sometimes toned-down) Pakistani flag adorned the tail in the center with the serial number on the tail base. In front of the flag is the unit's diving falcon with a gray tailband with 'Falcons' titles included.

Unit History​

• 1947: Activation of the squadron in Peshawar
• 1947: Hawker ‘Tempest’ Mk. II (Miranshah AB)
• 1951: Hawker ‘Fury’ FB-60
• 1957: F-86E/F ‘Sabre’
• 1967: Mirage IIIE/RP (Rafiqui AB)
• 2010: F-16C/D ‘Fighting Falcon’ (Shahbaz AB)

F-16 Airframe Inventory​

• All 5 sqn F-16s in our F-16 Aircraft Database (past and current aircraft)
• Current 5 sqn F-16s in our F-16 Aircraft Database

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Photos​

Sources​

http://paffalcons.com/squadrons/index.php

 

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Saturday, March 12, 2011​

No 5 Squadron of PAF Re-Equipped with F-16 C/D Block 52+ Fighter Jets​

Chief of the Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani was the chief guest of the re-equipment ceremony of No 5 Squadron of PAF. This ceremony was held at the Pakistan Air Force Base, Shahbaz (Jacobabad) this Thursday.


No 5 Squadron is one of the oldest squadrons of the Pakistan Air Force and in the past no 5 Squadron was using French Mirage fighter jets. Now no 5 Squadron of PAF has been re-equipped with recently purchased high tech F-16 C/D Block 52+ fighter jets.



General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani prasied the role of Pakistan Air Force in war against terrorists and said that both Pakistan army and air force are fighting against terrorists and are closely cooperating with each other in such operations.”


Pakistan Air Force’s Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman said that Pakistan Air Force is transforming itself into a modern air force which can not only face external challenges but also the internal threats.


He said that introduction of advance weapons and support systems like F-16 Block 52+, Airborne Early Warning & Control aircrafts, Aerial Tankers capable of refueling fighter jets in air and Surface based air defense missile systems; Pakistan Air Force can efficiently respond to the threats faced by the Pakistan


He added that Pakistan air force will use all of its assets including the newly acquired F-16 Block 52+ fighter jets to protect the freedom of Pakistan against any aggressor, be it external or internal.The delivery of the 18 high tech F-16 C/D Block 52+ fighter jets to the Pakistan Air Force was completed in December 2010.

 

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5 Squadron​

No. 5 RPAF Squadron was formed with 8 Tempest Mk II aircraft on 15 August 1947 at Peshawar under the command of Squadron Leader Zaheer Ahmad; most of its personnel came from No 1 RIAF Squadron. Despite a shortage of technical manpower, the unit ably carried out its assigned task of watch and ward duties from Miranshah during the early period of its history. In December 1947, the squadron took part in operation 'Curzon' during which it provided cover to the army which was being pulled out of Razmak.
The squadron was visited by the Prime Minister of Pakistan Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan in January 1948. He was accompanied by the RPAF C-in-C, Air Vice Marshal Perry-Keene and Air Commodore M K Janjua. On 11 April 1948, the squadron presented a smartly turned out guard of honor to the visiting Governor-General, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah at Peshawar and two days later the squadron pilots participated in a fly past in the honor of the Quaid's visit to Risalpur.
In the early-1950s the squadron was re-equipped with the Hawker Fury, which was the best piston-engine fighter-bomber of its time. In June 1951 the squadron lost Pilot Officer I A Rafiqui in an air crash near Lahore. He was the elder brother of Squadron Leader Sarfraz A Rafiqui, H.J., who joined the same squadron as a pilot officer on 4 November 1953 and later commanded the unit from March 1963 onwards. In November 1951 Squadron Leader F S Hussain took over as squadron commander and a few months later the squadron won the inter-squadron armament trophy which he received from the C-in-C, Air Vice Marshal L W Cannon, on 12 February 1952.
On 01 September 1965, even before full scale war had started, 5 Squadron had the distinction of shooting down 4 IAF Vampires in the very first air engagement of that day. During the 1965 war the squadron flew one hundred and ninety hours in various types of operations. Squadron Leader S A Rafiqui shot down 2 Vampires and 1 Hunter aircraft. He was reported missing at 1800 hours on 6 September 65, and later confirmed as killed in an engagement near an enemy air base. Flight Lieutenant Yunus Hussain, his wingman, also gave his life for the nation in the same action, after having shot down 1 Hunter. Flight Lieutenant Cecil Chaudhry of the same squadron accounted for 2 Hunters and 1 Canberra during the war while Flight Lieutenant A H Malik shot down 1 Mystere.

In 1967 the squadron was reequipped with Mirage-III E aircraft and assigned a tactical attack role in which the squadron had become fully operational before the 1971 war with India. During this war it flew over 200 day and night sorties which included counter air, photo recce and interdiction missions as well as air defence. The squadron participated in the first strikes against the IAF bases at Pathankot and Awantipura. It did not sustain a single loss throughout the war. Flight Lieutenant Naeem Atta shot down 1 Canberra aircraft at night and Flight Lieutenant Riaz Sheikh damaged 1 Su-7 aircraft. Wing Commander Hakimullah and Squadron Leader Farooq Omer were awarded Sitara-e-Jurat.

 

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Falcons’ Golden Jubilee​

On 26th October, No. 5 Squadron celebrated its golden Jubilee at PAF Base Rafiqui. Previous Squadron Commanders and war heroes were invited. The 2-day long event was hosted by Falcons under the command of their Squadron Commander, Khalid P Marwat and was supervised by OC Flying, Gp Capt Shahid Shigri, and Base Commander Air Cdre Iqbal Haider. On the second day all available participants gathered in the lawn of the squadron for this group picture.​

 

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On this day, 01 December, 1942, the oldest squadron of PAF, No 6 ATS Squadron, nicknamed the “Antelopes”, was raised at Trinchinopoloy, as a Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron on Hawker Hurricane MK-II aircraft. The legendary squadron also participated in World War II and

 

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after 14 August, 1947, it became a part of the Royal Pakistan Air Force. The Squadron initially used Spitfire, Dakota and Bristol Freighter aircraft; and later induction of Lockheed C-130B Hercules transports aircraft in 1963, enabled the Sqn to play a formidable role in the