Pakistani, French air and naval forces to hold joint drills
(DPA)

8 April 2006

ISLAMABAD – The French naval forces are to hold joint drills with Pakistani armed forces in the Arabian Sea to further reinforce cooperation in the areas of military tactics counter-terrorism.

“The French carrier group with the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle will first carry out drills with the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) from April 11 followed by exercises with Pakistan Navy (PN) next month,” said a statement issued by French embassy in Islamabad on Saturday.

French Rafale and Super Etendard aircraft and French-origin Mirage aircraft of the PAF will take part in the drills beginning April 11.

“The jets of the two forces will carry out attack and defence missions on sea and over land in the vicinity of the port city of Karachi,” said the statement.

“The French carrier group is present in the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Gulf to perform a mission in support of the operation Enduring Freedom.”

It added the drills would provide an “excellent” opportunity with armed forces of Pakistan, which is a “frontline” state in the war against terrorism.

Pakistan and France are members of the Coalition Maritime Campaign Plan (CMCP) – a maritime component of Operation Enduring Freedom, the US-led international anti-terror coalition launched in Afghanistan in 2001 against the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

Pakistan, the United States, France, Britain, Australia, Italy, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain are members of the CMCP, which operates in the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea and waters off the Horn of Africa to deter terrorists, and arms and human smuggling.

After holding exercises with the PAF, the French carrier group will carry out drills with the PN involving submarines and surface vessels in May.

French, Pakistan Air Force to hold exercise on April 11

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani and French Air Force would hold Air exercises on April 11 (Tuesday). The French Carrier Group with the nuclear powered aircraft carrier “Charles de Gaulle” will hold a series of exercises centred on air defence with the Pakistan Air Force.

Yhese exercises will oppose the PAF aircraft to the Rafale and Super Etendard embarked on the carrier. They will carry out attack and defence missions on the sea and over the land in the vicinity of Karachi. A VIP trip organized on the 10th of April will enable Pakistani Service officials to discover the “Charles de Gaulle” in action and provide the setting for various last minute briefings.

This exercise is the first of a series that will enable French and Pakistani forces, which have always shared excellent defence relations, to train together. After the dedicated exercise with the PAF, the French Carrier Group will carry out exercises with the Pakistan Navy involving submarines and surface vessels next May.

The presence of the Carrier Group is a rare opportunity to train with the neighbouring states of the area. It has thus conducted an exercise with Saudi Arabia and India, and will do so with Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, in addition to various interactions with Qatar and Yemen.

The Carrier Group is present in the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Gulf to perform a mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Pakistan being a frontline state in the same struggle against terrorism, it is an excellent opportunity to carry out exercises with the Pakistani services, a big first with the PAF, which is the air force -apart from France- that flies the largest number of French aircraft in the world, and with the PN building on 40 years of cooperation. It is worth mentioning that in May and June 2005, a task group from the PN held various exercises with French Navy in the Red Sea, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean.

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French, Pakistani air exercise on 11th

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=200648story_8-4-2006_pg7_7

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and the French Air Force are scheduled to hold air exercises on April 11.

The French Carrier Group, which includes the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, will hold a series of exercises centred on air defence with the PAF. Online

I seriously doubt russia would supply anything other than choppers. The J-10 purchase is due to US scroning pakistan and paucity of funds to buy F-16 currently. Russian, F-16 , J-10 and JF-17..four different planes for the cash starved PAF?? lets be serious.

PAF is not that cash starved as you might think now. It is actively investing in the JF-17 project, purchasing european infrastructure to manufacture the plane in house. An order for 28 more K-8’s has been placed. An order for 7 Erieyes has been placed already. Radar on one already mounted. :diablo:

With the American financial assistance due to the war on terror and with the economy picking up after being sanctioned for long, they have enough funds to make these big ticket purchases.

JF-17 is a local product, is looking very good from the latest cockpit pics and all…and from the recent reports seems all set to fly with a full avionics suite in April. J-10 will come to Pakistan again at a low-price and maintainance is not an issue at all due to their excellent ties with the home country and manufacturer, China and CAC respectively.

F-16’s will be there for sure. When?? …. only God knows.

As for Russian aircraft, I have to agree with you on this one. There is no way PAF will fly Russian Fighters. And if they ever…ever decide to purchase a Russian platform, it will be the Su-27 family…reason –> China already maintains the infrastructure for it, maintaince overhaul, spare parts wont be a problem at all.

Yes it does look like a win-win situation for PAF if these steps are taken. But as we all know, PAF likes to play the waiting game.

Heh heh unless the gal got jacked by a Mirage2005 coz she was flying another chinese junk or a 50 year old plane.

Precisely why i would hate to see these girls fly PAF’s 60 year old aircrafts. I would say train them for something more refined…maybe some PA AH-1’s or maybe those new Orions. 😀

Pakistan air force inducts first female pilots at grand parade RISALPUR, Pakistan, March 30 (AP) _ With ceremonial pomp and aerial acrobatics, Pakistan on Thursday welcomed the first four female pilots into its air force at a grand passing-out parade. Saba Khanm, Nadia Gul, Mariam Khalil and Saira Batool were among 36 aviation cadets who received their wings after 3 1/2 years of intensive training, breaking into an all-male bastion of Pakistan’s armed forces. Gen. Ahsan Saleem Hyat, vice chief of army staff, hailed the women officers as a tribute to the air force’s elite training academy in Risalpur. The four had “shown the spirit and courage to rise above the ordinary and break new ground for others to emulate.”“If Pakistan is to rise to the height that it deserves … both men and women of our beloved land must find equal space and opportunity,” he said. Carrying rifles and dressed in the same blue uniform as their male colleagues_ except for a kameez (tunic) flapping over their navy blue trousers_ they paraded before hundreds of family members and diplomats, and took the military oath. Two other women who dropped out of the same training course because of air sickness and slow progress now work in ground branches of the air force. The four women trained in MFI-17 Super Mushfhak and T-37 jets, and depending on their abilities and the needs of the air force could go on to fly fighter jets. About 5 percent of Pakistan’s air force officers are women, mostly serving in areas like engineering, medicine, air traffic control and administration.

http://dawn.com/2006/03/30/welcome.htm

🙂

I would hate to see these ladies fly ancient Mirages and F-7’s.

What a gentleman i am. :diablo:

DATE:28/03/06
SOURCE:Flight International
Chinese purchase still stands

Pakistan is moving forward with its purchase of Chengdu Aircraft (CAC) JF-17/FC-1/Super-7 light fighters, despite a delay to the Sino-Pakistani development programme.

Industry sources say the first prototype of the newly modified FC-1 is now scheduled to begin flight testing in April. CAC, which flew the initial prototype in 2003, redesigned the fighter last year to incorporate improved air intakes and wing leading-edge strakes (Flight International, 27 September–3 October 2005). The redesign has forced CAC to delay delivery of the first production aircraft to launch customer Pakistan until 2007.

Pakistan has ordered 16 FC-1s, eight of which are to be assembled by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC). Pakistani sources say PAC’s schedule to begin FC-1 production later this year has not been affected by the delays in the development programme, with the company now preparing for FC-1 production by building a new factory and establishing additional infrastructure.

Later, PAC expects to also produce subassemblies and components for a second batch of at least 100 FC-1s, which Pakistan plans to acquire following a successful completion to the development programme.