PAF Still Holds Record For F-16 Induction !

[LeGenD]

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) and the United Arab Emirates Air Force (UAEAF) have also shown much professionalism in the Middle East in recent times. UAEAF pilots are said to be very skilled and professional. I recall a UAEAF pilot who skillfully evaded 6 missiles fired at his jet over Yemen and returned to his homeland. IAF has done a splendid job at maintaining and operating a fleet of F-35 and using these jets to strike at targets deep inside Syria in the face of Russian defenses and other classified missions.

 

[CombatCorner]

Whatever their quality of English maybe but despite keeping it all under wraps, news leaking out of Sargodha on the ongoing PAF/USAF exercise is certainly A-Grade.

 

[Oscar]

Comments by an instructor at Hill

Lt. Col. Pat "Gums" McAdoo (Ret)​

You can read more at F-16.net


“Salute!

I was one of the folks that flew with the 4 or 5 Pakistani pilots when they showed up at Hill. I missed out on the "delivery" flights to their home base, but at least I had a good feeling they would fly the jet as well as anyone.

Their government was being ruled by a general at the time, and civilian rule was still a few years away. After all, the Afghanis had just kicked the USSR folks out after a long conflict. The Taliban fanatics had not yet completely come to power there. Pakistan was seen as a "good" ally in the region.

As a yute, I flew with Pakistani student pilots in pilot training. The ones we had at Hill almost twenty years later seemed to have been trained by the Brits, tho their senior officer was my vintage and could have gone thru USAF UPT. I say this, as they were extremely competent flying instruments, and at least one other air force we flew with from the mid-east did not like flying in weather and balked. Funniest thing is they didn't want to hear about fighting Migs! The Mirage 2000 was of more interest. Hmmmm....”
“
Salute!

I am trying to say that the "apparent" training of the PAF pilots by Brits made them extremely competent flying in poor weather.

Other parties shall remain nameless.

As with the IAF, we were not allowed to fly ACM/ ACT sorties, only BFM. That being said, on my last flight ( and theirs), the other USAF instructor and I let our two pilots "go for it" however they wished. Setup on nose to nose maybe 10 miles and we just sat back and let them rip! Heh heh. Awesome, and they would be fierce adversaries in a knife fight, I guarantee ya.

It took us a bit to realize that they didn't wanna know about Migs. None of us had flown in or against the Mirage 2000, but we had a decent idea of how the Viper could be employed against them, and we let the Pakistani's know what we "thought".”


“
The IAF folks and the Pakistani folks were so close, that except for the uniforms, you couldn't tell who you were hasslin' with.

We should all bear in mind that only the best folks were attending the upgrade courses at Hill back in the early 80's. So we did not get a chance to see the run-of-the-mill pilots from the EPG, IAF or Pakistan. We did get a chance to see the average folks from the USAF Reserve and Guard.”

 

[Pradotlc]

The Pak Block 52+ initial cadre were praised compared to the other Arab and NATO F-16 partners in terms of flying and tactics, the 162nd FW IPs felt more relaxed around them. The Paks were averaging between 500-2000 hours on F-16s with some who had flown the C/D operationally in Turkey. The initial cadre of Pak F-16 A/B were better as instructors, the initial Pak F-16 C/D pilots were better as operational fighter pilots.


A few years later at Nellis AFB, they (USAF and US Army) liked at how the Paks would critique sorties at Green Flag like the Israelis, unlike some of the other visiting countries.

PAF Viper drivers are not Godly great, but neither are they mediocre. Above average according to one of my former eval pilots, but the T-38 (PAF) students they mentioned were subpar.

sound about right... as I recalled a conversation with a USAF officer who was deputed to PAF in the 1980s stated

" they are better than most NATO airforces"

 

[CombatCorner]

With more squadrons converting to JF-17s and adopting air defense duities, it's freeing some F-16 units to concentrate on other roles. Here student pilots kicking in the A/B models to hone their air to ground skills, with their ever sharp Hawk-eyed instructors sitting as GIBS in dual seaters for assessments.