Formed on August 15, 1947, with only a handful of aircrafts and men, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) now compromises around 330 combat aircrafts and 45,000 uniformed personnel. Under the Chief and Vice Chief of Air Staff., PAF Air HQ has five Deputy Chiefs responsible for operations, engineering, personnel, administration and training respectively. Geographically, the PAF is divided into three regional commands – Northern (HQ at Peshawar), Central (HQ at Sargodha) and Southern (HQ at Masroor, Karachi). These serve as the equivalent of the RAF Fighter Command groups during the Battle of Britain. Within the Commands are four sector operations centres (SOCs) – North (Peshawar), West (Quetta), Centre (Sargodha) and South (Karachi) – with seven subordinate control and reporting centres. As in so many other ways, if you want to see how the British military once did business, you need to look no further than the Indian subcontinent.
The PAF has nine main operating bases that are fully functional in both peace and wartime. These are supplemented by eleven forward bases which become fully operational in time of war, nine forward attack bare bases while the 211-mile (340km) long M-2 motorway has dispersal strips in the Swedish Air Force fashion.
The PAF has some 22 combat squadrons, six squadrons flying Aerospatiale Alouette IIIs on search and rescue/liaison duties and a composite air transport wing. Pakistan Naval Aviation looks after maritime air operations with Lockheed martin P-3C Orions, Breguet Atlantics, Fokker F-27s, Westland Sea King Mk45s, Westland Lynx HAS3 and Alouette IIIs. Pakistan Army Aviation Corps flies a mixture of fixed and rotary wing aircraft in close support of ground operations. Its main firepower is provided by Bell AH-1s Cobras.
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