Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is headed by the Chief of Air Staff with a rank of Air Chief Marshal. Currently there are around 65,000 active and 8,000 reserve personnel in the PAF. There are three air defense districts from which the PAF operates. Its major air bases are at Sargodha, Malir (Karachi), Masroor (Karachi) , Mauripur (Karachi), Gilgit, Lahore, Peshawar, Risalpur, Quetta, and Mianwali. PAF headquarters is based in Rawalpindi. It consists of directorates for operations, administration, electronics, and maintenance. The PAF is responsible for defending the country against air attacks, and for providing support to Pakistan Army, Navy and paramilitary security forces. A secondry mission for the Pakistan Air Force is to provide air transport to ground troops when needed, provide coordination of civil and military aviation activities, and the conduct of technical training and education for civil aviation personnel. The PAF is organized into eighteen squadrons, with a total of 430 combat aircraft. The mainstay of the PAF is the United States made F-16 fighter. Right now, some 34 F-16's are in service. They are divided among 3 squadrons. Pakistan Air Force had placed an order of 71 F-16's in 1990, but they had been suspended by the United States since 1990. Now that in year 2003, the ties between Pakistan and the United States have become very strong, perhaps to include the release of 71 F-16's to the Pakistan Air Force. The PAF also has 8 Interceptor squadrons of F-7s. The total number of F-7s are 160. There are 70 F-6s Fighter-Ground Attack Aircraft. Also in the Fighter-Ground Attack Aircraft series are 18 Mirage IIIs, 60 Q/A5s, and 58 Mirage Vs. There is also 1 Recce squadron of 12 Mirage IIPRs. PAF transport fleet consists of 2 squadrons of 16 C-130 Hercules, 1 F-27, 1 Falcon, 1 Lockheed L-100. The PAF training fleet consists of 80 MFI-17Bs, 25 FT-5s, T-37, 15 FT-7Ps, 11 F-16Bs, 2 Mirage IIDPs, and 20 K-8s. The Helicopters which PAF operates are the Alouette's and Puma's. The Air-to-Air missile weaponry include the Sparrow, Sidewinder, and Exocet missiles. The PAF RANK STRUCTURE MARSHAL OF THE AIR FORCE AIR CHIEF MARSHAL AIR MARSHAL AIR VICE MARSHAL AIR COMMODORE GROUP CAPTAIN WING COMMANDER SQUADRON LEADER FLIGHT LIEUTENANT FLYING OFFICER PILOT OFFICER AIRFORCE EDUCATIONAL COLLEGES AIR FORCE COLLEGE AT RISALPUR AIR FORCE STAFF COLLEGE AT KARACHI AIR FORCE COLLEGE AT PESHAWAR AIR FORCE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING AT KARACHI The PAF is an organization which is run like a democracy. It is a matter of pride to join the PAF, and is an elite service. Many want to join the PAF, but only a few are chosen. During mission briefings even the most junior pilot is consulted. All are held equal and every man is a leader in the PAF. Those who are chosen go through a rigorous training for almost 6 years. Through this long training period, the PAF is determined to maintain its status as the Air Force which, pilot for pilot, has some of the most experienced and therefore some of the most skillful and daring pilots in the world. By its record and its performance, in both peacetime and war, the PAF has earned the respect, admiration, and acknowledgement from air force men around the world. In all Pakistan-India wars, the Pakistan Air Force has always defeated its numerically superior enemy, the Indian Air Force. Today, the PAF maintains constant vigilance of Pakistan's Air Space, with the same devotion and energy that it has from the birth of Pakistan to the present. Bibliography Pakistan Armed Forces Data Book, Services Club, 2000. Back to Table of Contents -- Pakistan At War Newsletter 5 Back to Pakistan At War Newsletter List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2003 by Shahram Khan. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com