PAF Inducts First Batch Of F-16 Fighters From Jordon

Pakistan received on Sunday its first batch of F-16 fighter jets delivered from Jordan according to some newspapers of the country. Sources of these newspapers said that the Pakistan had signed a contract with Jordan for the supply of 13 F16 Multi Role fighter jets out of which five were delivered at the Mushaf Mir Airbase in Sargodha and inducted in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fleet of fighter jets. Pakistan Air force has now increased its numbers of modern F-16 fighter air crafts to 76. Collectively Pakistan Air Force (PAF) operates and maintains more than 350 air crafts of various kinds including fighter air crafts, bomber air crafts, Early Warning systems air crafts, mid air refueling air crafts, transport air crafts and other air crafts for various purposes.  

Pakistan Air Force (PAF) F-16 Multirole Fighter Jets

The F-16A/B was the first production version of the Fighting Falcon, the A being the single-seat version and the B being the two-seat version. Aside from the second seat, the A and B versions are essentially identical and have the same performance envelope and armament fit.

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Faisal Masjid In Islamabad

Faisal Masjid In Islamabad | Photograph In Day Light

The Faisal Mosque is the largest mosque in Pakistan, located in the national capital city of Islamabad. Completed in 1986, it was designed by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay to be shaped like a desert Bedouin's tent. It is situated at the north end of Faisal Avenue, putting it at the northernmost end of the city and at the foot of Margalla Hills, the westernmost foothills of the Himalayas. It is located on an elevated area of land against a picturesque backdrop of the Margalla Hills. This enviable location represents the mosque's great importance and allows it to be seen from miles around day and night. The Faisal Mosque is conceived as the National Mosque of Pakistan and named after the late King Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia, who supported and financed the project. The largest mosque in South Asia, the Faisal Mosque was the largest mosque in the world from 1986 until 1993, when it was overtaken in size by the newly completed Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. Subsequent expansions of the Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) of Mecca and the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Prophet's Mosque) in Medina, Saudi Arabia, during the 1990s relegated Faisal Mosque to fourth place in terms of size.

History :-

The impetus for the mosque began in 1966 when the late King Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz supported the initiative of the Pakistani Government to build a national mosque in Islamabad during an official visit to Pakistan. In 1969, an international competition was held in which architects from 17 countries submitted 43 proposals.

Faisal Masjid In Islamabad | Photograph At Night

The mosque was designed by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay. Construction of the mosque began in 1976 by National Construction of Pakistan, led by Azim Khan and was funded by the government of Saudi Arabia, at a cost of over 130 million Saudi riyals (approximately 120 million USD today). King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz was instrumental in the funding, and both the mosque and the road leading to it were named after him after his assassination in 1975. The mosque was completed in 1986, and used to house the International Islamic University. Many conservative Muslims criticised the design at first for its unconventional design and lack of a traditional dome structure, but most criticism ended when the completed mosque's scale, form, and setting against the Margalla Hills became evident.

Design :-

The Faisal Mosque is the work of Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay, who won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for the project. The mosque's architecture is modern and unique, lacking both the traditional domes and arches of most other mosques around the world. The mosque's unusual design is a departure from the long history of South Asian Islamic architecture, fusing contemporary lines with the more traditional look of an Arab Bedouin's tent, with its large triangular prayer hall and four minarets. However, unlike traditional masjid design, it lacks a dome. The minarets borrow their design from Turkish tradition and are thin and pencil like. The shape of the Faisal Mosque is an eight-sided concrete shell inspired by a desert Beduoin's tent and the cubic Kaaba in Mecca, flanked by four unusual minarets inspired by Turkish architecture. The architect later explained his thinking to design school students:

I tried to capture the spirit, proportion and geometry of Kaaba in a purely abstract manner. Imagine the apex of each of the four minaret as a scaled explosion of four highest corners of Kaaba – thus an unseen Kaaba form is bounded by the minarets at the four corners in a proportion of height to base. Shah Faisal Mosque akin to Kaaba. Now, if you join the apex of each minaret to the base of the minaret diagonally opposite to it correspondingly, a four-sided pyramid shall be bound by these lines at the base side within that invisible cube. That lower level pyramid is treated as a solid body while four minarets with their apex complete the imaginary cube of Kaaba.

Faisal Masjid Decorated On Eid

Entrance is from the east, where the prayer hall is fronted by a courtyard with porticoes. The International Islamic University was housed under the main courtyard, but recently relocated to a new campus. The mosque still houses a library, lecture hall, museum and cafe. The interior of the main tent-shaped hall is covered in white marble and decorated with mosaics and calligraphy by the famous Pakistani artist Sadequain, and a spectacular Turkish-style chandelier. The mosaic pattern adorns the west wall, and has the kalimah written in early Kufic script, repeated in mirror image pattern. Nekka Phullai is the adjacent hill to the mosque in Margalla Hills.

Capacity :-

The Faisal Mosque has covered area of 5,000 m2 (54,000 sq ft). It can accommodate 10,000 worshipers in its main prayer hall, 24,000 in its porticoes, 40,000 in its courtyard, and another 200,000 in its adjoining grounds.  Although its covered main prayer hall is smaller than that of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca (the world's third largest mosque), Faisal Mosque has the third largest capacity of accommodating worshipers in its adjoining grounds after the Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) of Mecca, the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Prophet's Mosque) in Medina. Each of the Mosque's four minarets are 80 m (260 ft) high (the tallest minarets in South Asia) and measure 10 x 10 m in circumference.

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Badshahi Masjid In Lahore Pakistan

The Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, commissioned by the sixth Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1671 and completed in 1673, is the second largest mosque in Pakistan and South Asia and the fifth largest mosque in the world. Epitomising the beauty, passion and grandeur of the Mughal era, it is Lahore's most famous landmark and a major tourist attraction. 

Badshahi Masjid In Lahore Pakistan

Capable of accommodating 55,000 worshipers in its main prayer hall and a further 95,000 in its courtyard and porticoes, it remained the largest mosque in the world from 1673 to 1986 (a period of 313 years), when overtaken in size by the completion of the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad. Today, it remains the second largest mosque in Pakistan and South Asia and the fifth largest mosque in the world after the Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) of Mecca, the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Prophet's Mosque) in Medina, the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca and the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad.

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Pakistan Secretary Of Defense Sent Petition To PEMRA

Pakistan Secretary Of Defense Has Officially Asked PEMRA To Take Legal Actions Against A Private Media Group Working In Pakistan, Against The Wishes Of Pakistani People And Spreading False Information About Defenders Of This Motherland Pakistan, The Pakistan Armed Forces And Their Supreme Intelligence Agency, The ISI ( Inter Services Intelligence ) And Its Director General.

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Pakistan Air Force Introduction

In 1933, British colonial government of India established the subcontinent’s first Air Force station near Drigh Road, now called PAF Base Faisal. In 1934, this element of the Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) was extended to the north for operations in NWFP. The RIAF had also contributed to the defeat of Japanese invasion during World War II.

In 1947, the British left sub-continent after dividing it into two sovereign states of India and Pakistan. Pakistan Air Force (PAF) was born immediately afterwards. Distribution of military assets between the new states was to follow. However, India with an inherent resentment towards the creation of Pakistan tried to subvert our capabilities by crippling Pakistan militarily. It denied the then Royal Pakistan Air Force (RPAF) even the officially agreed small portions of weapons, equipment and aircraft allocated by departing British as its legitimate share. Much of what was eventually received from India was inoperable. Crates of equipment contained nothing but scrap and waste. The RPAF got 16 fighter aircraft as its foundation. It started off with one squadron of eight Tempest aircraft and a small remnant of No 1 Squadron Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) which was subsequently utilized to raise No 5 Squadron.

Within three weeks of independence, Indian hegemonic designs sparked off the first war between Pakistan and India. Pakistan’s young air arm was called upon to fly supply missions with one of the two war weary Dakotas. Contending with the unpredictable weather, the difficult terrain, and the enemy fighters was an uphill task. The strength was replenished with two more Dakotas only as the skirmishes resumed the following winters. In the narrow valleys of Kashmir, the stirring tale of Flying Officer Mukhtar Dogar defiantly scissoring his lumbering Dakota with pursuing RIAF Tempests taking pot-shots at him defined the fighting doctrine of the PAF, defend Pakistan and learn to fight outnumbered. Within the span of a year this young air force had completed 437 mercy drops, delivering more than 500 tons of supplies and food.

Whilst these brave pioneers were documenting the historic beginning of PAF, the force was faced with the enigma of finding aircraft to fly. However, despite the lack of funds and market places, PAF entered the jet age in August, 1951 with the induction of British built Attackers. Until mid-1950s PAF’s fighter force comprised nearly 100 Hawker Furies and a dwindling number of Tempests. Then, the first air defence radar was installed and the PAF was rapidly setting up its own advanced flying and technical training institutions. F-86 Sabers and T-33 jet trainers were inducted in PAF as a result of the United States (US) aid.

From 1955 to1965, the Air Force armed its squadrons with the most modern jet fighters and bombers, Sabers and F-104 Starfighters as fighters, B-57s as bombers and the ubiquitous C-130s as transport fleet. The seven years of rigorous training with realistic threat perception, planning and preparation had enabled PAF to inflict a humiliating defeat on the enemy in 1965 when the mutual hostility of the rival neighbours escalated into a war. PAF struck hard its rival and kept it reeling under tactics of shock and unpredictability. Many victories came to PAF pilots who exacted an even retribution on the enemy, leaving it in total disarray. At the end of the war, India had lost 110 aircraft with 19 damaged, not including those destroyed on the ground at night, against a loss of 16 PAF planes. Thus the outnumbered PAF emerged triumphant over a four times larger force, its air defence controllers, engineers, logisticians and hands just as much the heroes as its pilots.

Pakistan Air Force

The third war between the South Asian foes began when, in December 1971, the Indian Army crossed into East Pakistan and from the encircling air Bases ten squadrons of the IAF challenged the PAF’s only squadron, No 14, located at Dhaka. The Tail Choppers of 1965 rose heroically to meet the aggressors, and before their squadron was grounded by a bombed out runway, they and their ack ack gunners had destroyed 23 IAF aircraft. The PAF’s Mirages, B-57s, Sabers, F-6s and a few F-104s spearheaded Pakistan’s retaliation from the west. At war’s end IAF had lost 130 aircraft in all. The three-to-one kill ratio that Pakistan scored, however, could not prevent the tragic fall of Dhaka. The trauma of separation of East Pakistan and a preventable military catastrophe affected all Pakistanis deeply and lingered long afterwards. However a stoic recovery was brisk. PAF soon reorganised and reequipped assimilating the new threat environment on the sub-continent.

During the Afghan war in the eighties, PAF had to keep a constant vigil on its western border. Despite the fact that PAF was not allowed hot pursuit into Afghanistan, the pilots and the ground controllers together managed to shoot down eight Soviet/Afghan aircraft without a single own loss.

The post-Afghan war period witnessed a resource constraint with the drying up of traditional sources. The immediate need for induction of a hi-tech aircraft was one part of the crises; the sheer sustenance of the fleet was another. Due to economic constraints, PAF went for cost effective purchases like A-5 aircraft and such upgrades as the ROSE, which gave the old Mirages very good nav-attack, weapon delivery, and other capabilities. With this, self-reliance picked up pace and PAF worked on Griffo radar, Mistral and Anza missiles simultaneously. To keep the ageing weapon systems & aircraft from becoming obsolete, chaff and flares dispensers, radar warning receivers, and laser automation for better weapon delivery were added to the old aircrafts.

The succeeding years witnessed many significant developments including the milestones achieved by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC), Kamra such as F-7P overhaul, aircraft engines maintenance, the co–production of K-8 and Super Mushshaq aircraft, the quality standards achieved by Kamra Avionics and Radar Factory. Project JF-17 Thunder was conceived to replace the PAF’s ageing, medium-tech fleet of Mirages, F-7, and A-5 aircraft that would progressively retire from service. It is planned to be a multi-role, light-weight day/night all weather fighter. It would be able to attack ground targets and ships, and engage enemy aircraft at considerable ranges. The aircraft will be inducted in PAF by 2006 and will be co-produced at PAC Kamra. This technological edge will secure both better national security environment and economic benefits for the country.

Today, new maintenance concepts and facilities are based on a more direct communication, optimum use of software database and reliable electronic networks. Accompanying the technological developments, education and training are duly accentuated with special emphasis on R & D.

In the wake of war on terrorism and with the reality of living with an implacable opponent, Pakistan Air Force keeps on an all-time vigil. During Ops- Sentinel 2001-2002, when India had amassed its forces on Pak borders, PAF remained ready for dealing a telling blow to the enemy.

Derived from the national military objectives, the PAF leadership has clearly visualised and laid down the operational doctrine for the nation’s air arm. PAF takes its pick of the finest young people in the land. It has now acquired new depths of human skills and initiative. Together, all branches of PAF are delivering unprecedented serviceability rates and efficient management of all resources. Poised on the threshold of tomorrow, PAF remains, as the Quaid said, “Second to None”; fully abreast with the requisite will and mechanism to live by its standards in the coming millennium and beyond.

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Chief Of Army Staff Visiting Army Air Defense Command

Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Raheel Sharif visited Sonmiani Ranges and witnessed Air Defense Firing Exercises. Full range of Air Defense Weapons including Guns and surface to air missiles were used in the exercise. The COAS greatly appreciated the professionalism of participating units and standards achieved in engaging aerial targets. While interacting with the troops, COAS reiterated that the multidimensional security threats faced by the country required a high state of preparedness at all times. Highest standard of training and professionalism must remain our hallmark to accomplish the mission, he emphasized. Earlier, on arrival at the Range, COAS was received by Lieutenant General Muhammad Zahid Latif  Mirza, Commander Army Air Defense Command.

ISPR
Pakistan Armed Forces

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Glock 17 Of Pakistan Army

The Glock pistol, sometimes referred to by the manufacturer as a Glock "Safe Action" Pistol, is a series of polymer-framed, short recoil operated, locked breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Glock Ges.m.b.H., located in Deutsch-Wagram, Austria. It entered Austrian military and police service by 1982.

Operating Mechanism :-

Glock 17 Of Pakistan Army

The Glock 17 is a 9mm short recoil-operated locked breech semi-automatic pistol that uses a modified Browning cam-lock system adapted from the Hi-Power pistol. The firearm's locking mechanism utilizes a linkless, vertically tilting barrel with a rectangular breech that

locks into the ejection port cut-out in the slide. During the recoil stroke, the barrel moves rearward initially locked together with the slide approximately 3 mm (0.12 in) until the bullet leaves the barrel and chamber pressure drops to a safe level. A ramped lug extension at the base of the barrel then interacts with a tapered locking block integrated into the frame, forcing the barrel down and unlocking it from the slide. This camming action terminates the barrel's movement while the slide continues back under recoil, extracting and ejecting the spent cartridge casing. The slide's uninterrupted rearward movement and counter-recoil cycle are characteristic of the Browning system.

Use By Pakistan Army :-

Glock pistols are very popular among Pakistan army and especially special services group of Pakistan army. The reasons are fire rate, accuracy, and light weight and therefore one operative can hold more ammo. There pistols are very reliable and useful in close quarter combat and urban warfare.

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