Air Force Strategic Command (Pakistan)
Air Force Strategic Command | |
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ACM Rao Suleman |
The Air Force Strategic Command (
The Air Force Strategic Command provides the combat readiness to conduct aerial-based
History
Since 1970s, the Pakistan Air Force had been training an elite class of fighter pilots at their
The Pakistan Air Force's military leadership established the formation for strategic mission to subvert and mitigate the threats from India to target Pakistan's national laboratories, which it was being planned with Israel based on their previous mission in Iraq.: 212–213 [3] On routine basis, the Pakistan Air Force fighter pilots began their combat air patrol missions while learning and training on targeting India's nuclear sites.: 213–214 [3]
After the F-16 Fighting Falcons were inducted in the Pakistan Air Force in 1983,
The Air Force's strategic command also provided the platform to the PAF's fighter pilots to practiced and later mastered the "toss-bombing"— a method developed by the United States Air Force to deliver nuclear weapons from fighter jets in 1990s.[4] In 1998, the strategic command rotated its nuclear weapons-related mission by flying F-16 on an air patrol to provide cover to the C-130s planes transporting the nuclear devices in knock-down assembly to the nuclear test site in Balochistan.[4]
Employment
The Pakistan Air Forces controls and maintains the operation control of the nuclear weapons including their launch codes, target selections, satellites, interoperability, radars, and military computers.[5][6] In a sharp contrast to the Pakistan Army's and Navy's strategic command, the Pakistan Air Force's strategic command is far more secretive and more mission oriented with very few details of its mission available from outside sources.[5] Even the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of the Pakistani military has acknowledged very little of its achievements, with its commanders routinely assigned new mission parameters.[1]
In past, the No. 11 Squadron (Arrows) were part of the Air Force Strategic Command; the Arrows has F-16s (variant A/B) which are understood to be nuclear weapons delivery capable.[5]
It has been understood that the
References
- ^ Security, Global. "Air Force Strategic Command". globalsecurity.org. Global Security.
- ISBN 978-969-402-540-7.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8047-8480-1. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ a b RAI MUHAMMAD SALEH AZAM. "When Mountains Move – The Story of Chagai". Defence Journal. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000.
- ^ a b c d e writers & others, staff. "Pakistan: Striking Asymmetries". www.carnegieendowment.org/. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ "Pakistan Army Strategic Forces". www.crwflags.com. Retrieved 1 November 2023.