Pakistani
April 29, 2002 at 9:03 am

Pak producing own IFF!

Pakistan has expertise for producing Identification Friend or Foe system: CAS
Pakistan has expertise for producing Identification Friend or Foe system: Chief of the Air Staff
ISLAMABAD (April 26 2002) : Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir has said that Pakistan has achieved expertise in indigenously producing Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system.

The system is widely used all over the world to identify the aircraft entering the country’s air space and Pakistan has started full-fledged production of the system, he said while talking to APP here on Thursday.

The system, which basically is a transponder, helps the ground staff to seek identification of an aircraft entering country’s air space and its local production will help the country to save huge foreign exchange.

Referring to another project of local production – Griffo-7 radars – the air chief said that serial production of high-tech airborne fighter radar Griffo-7 at the Kamra Avionics and Radar Factory (KARF) has been initiated. The production of the lot of around 100 radars would be completed by end next year, he added.

On the re-strengthening of his air fleet, Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir said China would soon he supplying another batch of 11 combat aircraft of F-7PG family to Pakistan.

“We have placed a supply order to our friendly country and the lot is expected to reach Pakistan by end of the current year”, he said.

This lot will be in addition to 46 aircraft of the same family which include six trainer jets FT-7PGs (these are also expected to reach Pakistan by June 2002).

Giving the break-up of supplied aircraft, he said a lot of 20 F-7PGs have been inducted in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) during the last month making replacement to F-6 fighter family. The lot of another 20 aircraft is in the process of assembly locally and would be inducted in the force within the next couple of months, he said.

Carrying much better weapon capabilities, including AIM-9L missiles, good Italian radar-Griffo-7PG, the F-7PG is a medium-tech multi-role aircraft.

Earlier, talking to media men after inaugurating a seminar on “Aerospace Power in South Asia,” he said the possibility of purchase of Mirage-2000-5 from France is there. Although, he said France had always been very forthcoming in supplying aircraft and spares to Pakistan, yet they are facing some political compulsions.

The things might start moving in the right direction as soon as the process of election in France is over, he said.

To a question, Mir said the delivery of F-16s, presently lying in storage in the US, will be in our best interest if we have long-term economic and political stabilisation with the US.

Pakistan had paid 658 million dollars to America for the purchase of 28 multi-role F-16 aircraft, which were neither supplied nor was the money reimbursed for 8 years following imposition of Pressler sanctions on Islamabad. The issue, however, was resolved when the US reimbursed the money both in cash and kind in December 1998.

The air chief expressed the hope that Pakistan may raise the issue of the delivery of these F-16s and other spares under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) agreement t the forthcoming meeting of the Pak-US Consultative Group, for which the date is yet to be announced.

“We have informed the US that we need better surveillance system to man our borders with Afghanistan, the coastal line and Kashmir,” he said, adding, although India would get latest fire finder radar system from the US but there was no need to be worried about it as Pakistan already had the earlier version of the system, which was also quite capable of delivering the goods.

To another question, he said we have not lowered our guards since the situation on international horizons had worsened and later it was further intensified when our foe put threat to us by putting her troops along our borders.

They might be mightier than us “but we also have the force to meet any eventuality”, he said.-APP

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