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Posted by admin in Defence Technology, Defense, Our Heroes, Pakistan Air Force Special Services Group, Pakistan Fights Terrorism on February 23rd, 2013
Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman, the recently retired PAF’s Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), cast his mind back to December 2007 to highlight the problem the army faced. As the newly-appointed Deputy Chief of Air Staff (Ops) at the time, he was involved with ongoing operations in South Waziristan: “I remember getting a call from the army’s DGMO (Director General Military Ops), General Pasha, at around 4am telling me that Fort Laddha was under intense attack by a large lashkar [group of militants]. The fort was surrounded and partly occupied; it was a desperate time.
“We didn’t have a night capability, so we waited for daylight. However, I asked the general where the people were located, how they got there, vehicle locations — all the detail I needed.”
Over the phone the general described the fort and the enemy’s location. ACM Suleman gave the precise details to the F-16 case commander with one important proviso — no fratricide or collateral damage at any cost.
In the morning Suleman and Pasha both checked out Google Earth so they could discuss over the phone the layout of the terrain and the enemy positions. No up-to- date mapping of the region was to hand so Google Earth provided the best detail available. Once the enemy positions near Fort Laddha had been clarified, F-16s departed their base and headed to the area. Around five minutes later the pilots flew their jets at low altitude over the fort to identify the vehicles and the main body of the lashkar before dropping their bombs. The startled militia rushed from the fort and were attacked. This marked the first co-ordinated air strike by the PAF and showed that procedures could work but would need further development. The army and PAF set about honing their inter-service relationship at the Joint Services Headquarters (JSHQ) at Rawalpindi.
Prior to ACM Qamar Suleman taking over as CAS in March 2009, he had served as DCAS (Ops) for two years. Having worked closely with the army, he knew his priority as CAS should be to foster closer working links – until then the two services’ relationship was merely cordial. Another task was to train the RAE in joint operations with its sister service. Finally, ACM Suleman sought to modernise the standard operating procedures (SOPs) with the army in case of any strike from a neighbouring country.
Putting Plans to the Test
On August 6, 2008, JSHQ had the opportunity to test the joint capabilities and the new SOPs when the army encountered problems in Bajour in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Troops were surrounded by militants, and were on the verge of being overrun, when the PAF was called in to provide close air support — dropping bombs wherever required and creating non-kinetic effects too, such as low-level sonic booms. The exhausted troops emerged from their positions to continue the fight. However, the same old problems caused by a lack of reconnaissance, or recce capability, continued to occur in the Bajour campaign, which effectively lasted until October 2008. Google Earth was a regular source of intelligence.
As ACM Suleman explained to the author: “We had recce- configured Mirages but it was the old equipment, which included the LORAP [long-range aerial photography] pod and would often take 24 hours to prepare one sheet of imagery. It wasn’t acceptable in a war that moved as quickly as this.”
So the US Government decided to expedite the pace of delivery of Goodrich DB-110 reconnaissance systems already ordered by the PAF, which eventually arrived in January 2009. The air force was then able to escalate operations in its fight against the militants.
For six months after the Bajour campaign, the PAF provided support to the army in many of the tribal ‘agencies’ (regions), but had left Swat alone. Peace talks had started at Mingora, the largest town in the Swat valley, between the Pakistan Government and the Taliban in early February 2009. By the end of the month a shaky peace agreement known as the Malakand Accord was agreed but the Pakistan Government had not signed up to the imposition of sharia law in the region. Once the agreement had been made, the Taliban agreed it would cease all violence but the deal was criticised by many, including the United States and other Western allies, because it would in effect provide a safe haven for terrorists.
All the time the talks were continuing, the Taliban were pushing into regions closer to Islamabad. Local and international media headlines spread alarm as they declared the Taliban were 60-70 miles (100-113km) from Pakistan’s capital. However, reports omitted to say “as the crow flies” — with such inhospitable terrain between the two locations it would take the Taliban forces at least ten hours to get there.
The Malakand Accord covered Buner, Chitral, Dir, Kohistan, Malakand, Shangla and Swat. The man heading the negotiations, Sufi Mohammed, was the leader of the radical pro-Taliban Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e¬Shariat-e-Mohammed (TNSM, or movement for the enforcement of Mohammed’s law). He is said to have led more than 10,000 fighters into Pakistan from Afghanistan when the US air strikes started in 2001. Sufi is the father-in-law of Mullah Fazlullah, the Swat Taliban leader, held responsible by the Pakistan Government for the murder of many policemen, civilians and military personnel as well as the exodus of more than 500,000 of the 1.5 million residents of Swat since 2007.
After the deal was signed the Taliban shut down or destroyed all girls’ schools and women were forbidden to appear in public without their husbands or male relatives. However, the broadcasting of a video of a woman being flogged by black-turbaned Taliban in Swat, allegedly because she ventured out without a male relative sent shockwaves throughout Pakistan. It was a major setback for the Taliban in the propaganda war and the peace deal broke down.
After the peace treaty was called off in late April 2009, a high-level meeting took place at GHQ between the chiefs of Pakistan’s army and air force which supported the resumption of military action, backed by the government. Fortunately, PAF F-16s had already mapped the whole of the Swat and FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) regions using the new DB-110 recce system during the two months of peace. And new Falco UAVs, which had been delivered the previous year, were also monitoring the situation on the ground.
It was agreed the PAF would ‘soften up the ground’ in Swat for an advance by the army. On May 7, 2009 the PAF launched Operation Burk (Arabic for lightning) against ammunition dumps, hideouts, training areas, communication equipment and exit routes to prevent the Taliban forces from escaping. Hundreds of Taliban were believed to be using large hotels in Malam Jabba, a major ski-resort for Pakistanis and a huge tourist attraction. They had forced local residents and workers to occupy the facilities.
On the first day of the PAF’s air campaign, the PTDC and adjacent Afridi hotels and the 11 Corp Rest House were all targeted along with four other large buildings.
F-16s equipped with the French-built ATLIS (automatic tracking and laser integration system) employed laser-guided bombs on the targets which, according to PAF estimates, killed around 1,000 militants. Two helicopter landing zones (HLZs) had also been selected in the Peochar Valley, where helicopters offloaded 1,500 troops.
For two days PAF bombs targeted the militants in a bid to ‘soften them up’ before troops moved in to reclaim the territory. Before the helicopters could fly into the HLZs, the area was again photographed by PAF DB-110-equipped F-16s. From the imagery, several isolated structures were identified that could have housed militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades. These were destroyed before the helicopters were cleared into the HLZs. ACM Suleman clarified: “These buildings didn’t just collapse, they exploded — proof enough there were weapons caches and ammunition inside.”
The helicopters went in on May 9, marking the beginning of the army’s Rah-e-Raast (‘Righteous Path’) operation, landing in difficult terrain around 8,000ft (2,438m) above sea level. Everything was cleared within the range of the militants’ RPGs, around 3,000ft (900m) from the HLZ, while PAF F-16s provided combat air patrol (CAP) overhead. On the ground embedded with the army were PAF JTACS (joint terminal air controllers) in case more F-16s strikes were called for.
Opposition was so ferocious it took army commandos three days to move out, but once they advanced it was a swift and successful campaign; the militants simply could not counter the overwhelming effect of the PAF airpower.
During the bombing, collateral damage was uppermost in everyone’s minds. The only sorties involving strikes in a built-up area were at Sultan Waas, another large militant stronghold. The Frontier Corps led by Major General Tariq (now commander of an elite corps) requested assistance in clearing the area. Once assurances were given by five different organisations — GHQ, 11 Corps (their area of the control), military intelligence, the Area District Civil Officer (DCO) and Area District Police Officer (DPO) — that there were no civilians in the locality, in came the bombs. Over 100 were dropped on approximately 20 targets, destroying the entire terrorist set-up in an operation completed within two hours. By the end of July 2009, the PAF air campaign in Swat had come to an end with army losses kept to a minimum.
In the centre of Mingora, the town’s Green Square had become known as ‘Bloody Square’ (‘Khooni Square’) where people murdered by the Taliban had been left to hang. The army was tasked to clear the site. The army’s General Kayani and the air force’s CAS visited the town. “I found it very eerie… there were still clothes on the line, stuff laying around, but no people and no birds, cats or stray dogs… All the shops were locked,” said ACM Suleman.
In the aftermath of the strikes, the PAF built two water filtration plants at Mingora and set up two relief camps at Mardan. Nine hundred families moved into the relief camps, looked after by PAF personnel from the academy at Risalpur.
Lightning 2 (Burk 2)
From August until October 2009 the PAF focused its bombing campaign in other agencies like Lower Dir, but at the same time it was preparing for an operation supporting the army in South Waziristan Agency (SWA). The increasing number of bomb attacks on Pakistan’s cities was by now reaching crisis point and required action. Intelligence showed that most of the attacks were being planned from South Waziristan, so the military objective was to shut the militant networks down.
On October 11, 2009 the army pinpointed 110 targets, eventually rising to 150, as part of its Operation Rah-e-Nijat (‘Path to Salvation’) which would commence on October 17. The South Waziristan operation would be tricky as there were thousands of militants occupying strategic locations. It was those concentrations that would be targeted.
ACM Suleman explained: “We photographed the entire South Waziristan region; we found militants were waiting for the army.
“They set up pickets and bunkers in the mountain sides in readiness for the troops. We saw all this when we checked the area using DB-110s. It meant that when the army moved in they found little resistance. In previous campaigns the army had launched ops in SWA but suffered high casualties — that didn’t happen this time. In the end we struck 220 targets in the six-day window.”
Under Operation Lightning 2 (Burk 2) the PAF adopted a ‘ridgeline approach’ whereby the high ground overlooking army positions was bombed. This allowed the army to move along the ridgelines without being attacked from above — a common problem that could lead to the loss of many personnel.
The PAF was aware that anti-insurgency operations would have to become part of operational doctrine, so plans were put in place to ensure that all fighter squadrons worked on their air-to-ground skills, culminating in a large anti- insurgency exercise. This led to a series of ‘Saffron Bandit’ exercises in August 2009 in which all fighter units deployed to a designated base.
Generally two units deployed for three weeks at a time over a six-month period until February 2010, by which time every squadron had attended the course. Each squadron worked with the combat commanders school (CCS) on air-to-ground doctrine, using the PAF’s air-to-ground bombing range where a mock ‘terrorist village’ had been built. Pilots would gain the opportunity to experience the intensity of this kind of conflict and the necessary tactics to tackle such scenarios.
At the same time the army started its own rotation of units to the firing range to work with the PAF as both services sought to bolster their close air support training. The US Air Force even sent some its JTACs to provide expertise and input.
Within weeks of Saffron Bandit ending, the PAF took the chance to test everyone’s resolve and commitment by launching Exercise High Mark 2010 on March 15. This two- month ‘mother of all exercises’ wasn’t just to test the counter-insurgency lessons, but also to see how the PAF would react to a threat from a neighbouring state. It tested most bases and all trades— pilots, maintenance personnel, engineers, logistics, administrators, air traffic, etc. During the first ten days the PAF flew as many sorties as it usually does in three months of ops, with everyone working to their limits.
For the PAF, 2010 was remarkable for its large number of exercises: Saffron Bandit; High Mark, which included a motorway landing by two fighter aircraft; Red Flag (at Nellis AFB, Nevada in the United States); Bright Star (Egypt); Anatolian Eagle (Turkey); and the Advanced Tactical Leadership Course (at Al Dhafra AB, UAE). Unbelievably, in a year when the PAF flew more than 90,000 hours (around 10% more than usual), there were no accidents.
FL1R Herks
In early 2009, ACM Suleman had come up with an idea to install a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) system on one of the PAF’s C-130B Hercules transport aircraft which could remain
airborne for up to eight hours.
He recalls: “My engineers told me we could put it on the side door, but I said it would only record from one side of the aircraft if we did! I suggested we put it under the chin, which meant the bulkhead would have to be cut.
“We discussed it with the aircraft manufacturer but were quoted around $10 million and it would take eight to nine months. We could not afford to send a transport aircraft away for that long, and where would we get the money from?”
Instead PAF engineers did the work and within a couple of months there was a system on board with two large flat screens in the passenger area, so personnel could seethe live video. One screen displays a map of the area that the aircraft was flying over and the other shows the FLIR video, watched by army intelligence officers. When the Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, saw the system working during a sortie in August 2009 he was impressed, and by October 2009, at the start of Operation Rah-e-Nijat, the FLIR Hercules was operational.
The success of the Pakistan Army in defeating the militants was by now moving at a faster pace, largely due to the PAF’s bombing campaign. Combined ops followed a familiar routine – strike aircraft softened up the enemy and attack helicopters engaged any remaining targetsbefore the troops moved in.
F-16s would normally operate at 10,000-18,000ft (3,048- 5,486m) and dive-bomb in; sometimes if they got clearance they would get down to 8,000ft (2,438m). Mirages, when used, would go down lower. By December 2009, the bombing campaigns had all but ended.
Today, the PAF continues to support army personnel whenever required as it attempts to rid Pakistan of the people who co-ordinate bomb attacks on innocent civilians in the country. With recent deliveries of new equipment, joint operations can now be undertaken 24 hours a day. This represents another huge leap in capability as the PAF continues to revolutionise its 0 war-fighting procedures.
1. Introduction of the DB-110 sensor into PAF service has meant the reconnaissance variant of the Mirage is all but redundant.
STRANGER 12
With tough terrain of the tribal areas, army personnel were being slaughtered as they attempted to eliminate militants who had lived in the region for years. They knew all the high ground and ridgelines, which allowed them to look down on the troops as they approached – the soldiers were ‘sitting ducks’.
To counter this threat the PAF required a platform capable of loitering overhead the area of operation for long periods to pinpoint enemy locations. In early 2009, the PAF set about modernising a C-130B with a FUR Systems Star Safire Ill imaging system to pinpoint areas of interest on the ground and then zoom-in. From around 18,000ft (5,486m) the operator can recognise an individual’s features – it is an impressive tool. Within six months the PAF was also installing a Brite Star designator to allow the Hercules to lase bombs onto targets for strike aircraft. During Operation Lightning II (which commenced on October 11, 2009) PAF FLIR-equipped transport aircraft were airborne almost 24 hours a day supporting army ops. In the rear of these aircraft are two large flat-screens, one showing a moving map as photographed by the DB-110 and the other showing the FL1R imagery being worked by the operator where to look. It became a very useful tool – essentially the army had its own eyes in the sky. There are plans to data-link the imagery down to a ground station; but while telemetry trials have proved it can be done, the system will need upgrading.
The author flew with ‘Stranger 12’ over the Swatnavigator/FL1R operator in the cockpit. Army personnel can watch the areas of interest and describe via radio to troops on the ground what they are looking at from thousands of feet above the battlefield. Through their headsets, those in the rear can also direct the FLIR Valley to see the kind of work the FLIR ‘Herks’ can undertake.
“We fly the FLIR C-130s at 10,000- /5,000ft [3,048- 4,572m] and we can track a single person. It’s a safe height but if we need to go lower we have to gain clearance,” explained one of the aircrew.
“Once the army has the intelligence, it provides us the rough co-ordinates so we can have a closer look. We fly to the area and scan the targets, enabling us to provide the intel guys with exact co-ordinates. The bad people generally move at night, so we tend to fly at medium level over the area of their compound, scan their movements, take co-ordinates and pass them to the army. Knowing what the place looks like helps the army should they decide to attack,” he added.
GPS is integrated into the FLIR, so it can focus with rough co-ordinates on the area of interest in the vicinity of the Hercules’ position. The FUR can then be zoomed-in allowing the operator to illuminate the exact target to pick precise co-ordinates that can then be relayed to various intelligence agencies.
The PAF’s FLIR-equipped C-/30Bs are known to fly along the Afghan border, checking for hostiles moving in and out of Pakistan.
GOODRICH DB-110
In early January 2009, the PAF took delivery of its DB-110 systems and almost immediately put them on F-16 aircraft to carry out integration and acceptance trials.
A PAF DB-110 expert explained: “We are using them regularly— for battle damage assessment and mapping which provide us with latest time intelligence of value (LTIoV). We are about to get a capability enhancement, while Royal Air Force personnel have been here sharing their experience of their (DB-110-based) RAPTOR (Reconnaissance Air Pod for Tornado) system and showing us ways of exploiting the system even further so we can get more out of it. They have even designed a special course for the PAF”
According to Goodrich, the DB-110 provides real-time high-quality imagery intelligence from stand-off to close-in range to the target, enabling aircrew and imagery analysts to verify targets and conduct mission-related tasks such as battle damage assessment.
The 08-110 sensor can be operated autonomously by the pod’s reconnaissance management system or can be used interactively with aircrew input for new task-entry and target-of-opportunity imaging. During bombing missions, pilots are selected from different squadrons to ensure experience and expertise is spread throughout the force. Designated squadrons are responsible for training pilots in the close air support role.
A huge air-to-ground firing range is used to practise high-altitude steep dive-angle bombing manoeuvres, with the new pilots also flying a couple of missions in the rear seat to get a feel of the situation.
Source: http://www.defence.pk/forums/pakistan-air-force/236765-paf-prowness.html#ixzz2Ll0CpLrL
Posted by admin in Defense, Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Air Force Special Services Group, Pakistan Fights Terrorism on February 1st, 2013
No.26 MR Sqn “Black Spiders” pilots with their Officer Commanding Wng Cdr Khalid Mehmood.
Currently PAF is involved in the sixth sequel of “Saffron Bandit”, which commenced on 22nd October 2012. The whole exercise is spread over six to seven months. The exercise is planned to culminate on 27 April 2013. It is aimed at standardizing the tactics and provide near-realistic ‘Role Oriented’ training to PAF combat crew in a controlled environment, with the exposure of integrating combat support elements in synchronization with modern concepts and emerging tactical scenarios.
Presently the Surface Attack Phase of the second cycle is in progress. The Chief of Army Staff and the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) have separately visited the exercise area and been briefed regarding the concept and conduct of the exercise. A unique feature of the “Saffron Bandit” under progress is that all the modern weapon systems and capabilities of PAF as well as the Army’s Air Aviation and Air Defence System are operating under one umbrella for the first time orchestrating modern tactical environment. State-of-the-art data links and communication systems have been integrated, along with the employment of beyond visual range weapons as well as standoff capabilities operating under the umbrella of electronic warfare, are being activated.
The CJCSC was afforded the opportunity to fly in an AEW&C Aircraft to observe the complexities of aerial warfare and the professional handling and employment of integrated air and ground combat elements by the aircrew. Simultaneously, Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force, set a personal example by actively participating in the exercise and examining the war preparedness of PAF Combat Squadrons, flying an F-16 Block 52. Overwhelmed by the experience of flying on board the SAAB 2000 aircraft fitted with the Erieye Airborne Radar, the CJCSC while interacting with the participants after the mission, stated: “The opportunity to interact with the skilled Air Warriors and to practically fly with them in Exercise Saffron Bandit has afforded me an insight into the high quality of training standards maintained by the PAF. This Exercise, with the mandate of providing exposure and training to PAF’s Combat Crew in near-realistic environment, certainly serves well for enhancing war preparedness in the hi-tech scenario of aerial warfare. It is heartening to see PAF stepping into the future with its newly acquired capabilities and emerging concepts of employment.”
Keeping up with the emerging challenges, PAF has come a long way in operating in tandem with the Pakistan Army in tackling with the miscreants in the war on terror. The current “Saffron Bandit” has incorporated anti militant operations and practicing effect based operations through precision weapons. The aim is to familiarize participants with different tactical aspects of the anti-terror operations in support of the national military effort. The training exercise focuses on tactical level peculiarities of kinetic engagement of militant targets using precision ordinance, with special emphasis on avoiding collateral damage. The Air Defence Environment has not only been enhanced but taken a step into the future with the employment of airborne early warning and control platforms as well as the use of both active and passive sensors including UAVs.
Learning from the experience of the allied forces’ operations in the ongoing war in Afghanistan and recently concluded war in Iraq, PAF has ventured into a new dimension of “combat search and rescue” for the first time through this “Saffron Bandit” exercise. The aim is to validate the concept and efficacy of “combat search and rescue” operations with the assistance of Pak Army aviation. The timely search and ultimate rescue of soldiers and men, requiring assistance and extraction from hostile conditions, even in the face of enemy fire is essential for the confidence and morale of own troops. In accordance with prescribed practice, each training cycle commences with classroom lectures on combat related topics to consolidate academic knowledge of the combat crew before commencing the flying operations, which are conducted in two phases i.e. air superiority and surface attack phase. The degree of difficulty in flying missions progressively increases in scope and complexity, so that a complete threat scenario is simulated towards the final stages of each cycle. In order to accrue maximum benefit from this comprehensive exercise effort, an all-inclusive analysis and feedback mechanism in the form of an ‘Analysis Cell’ to bisect the exercise continuously thoroughly in order to remain focused in the exercise pursuits, remains active. Whereas realism is essential in any military exercise and near realistic scenarios are created, the parameters of safety are also essential. The planners of “Saffron Bandit” ensure this essential aspect. Thorough analysis of the exercise enables the PAF Think Tank to not only critically evaluate PAF’s combat readiness but also recommend future course of action in terms of tactical employment.
PAF remains cognizant of the possibility that any future conflict in the region will be short and intense, characterized by overwhelming employment of air power. PAF thus has to maintain its cutting edge to meet any future threat to the utmost of its capabilities. “Saffron Bandit” provides this opportunity in a wholesome manner.
—The author, a retired PAF Group Captain, served as Air & Naval attaché at Riyadh and is currently a columnist, analyst and TV talk show host.
Posted by admin in China, CHINA -PAKISTAN FRIENDSHIP, CHINA SHINING, Defense, Pakistan Air Force on January 28th, 2013
Why is JF-17 Thunder a Real Threat by dm_50d9ab0679d41
Thunder in Sino-Pakistani RelationsSince the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1951, Sino-Pakistani relations have steadily deepened, and the two countries have never had a public disagreement over any bilateral, regional, or global issue. If there was any wrinkle in their mutual relations, it was amicably resolved in private, outside the view of the world’s eye. The key to this closeness has been the frequency of highest-level contacts between the two countries, which yielded unprecedented results. A case in point is the Chinese premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to Pakistan in April last year, which led to the signing of the “Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Good Neighborly Relations” (Dawn, April 6, 2005). The treaty binds both signatories to desist from joining “any alliance or bloc which infringes upon the sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity of the other side” (Ibid.).
Similarly, General Musharraf’s third state visit to Beijing on February 19-23, which was a week apart from President Bush’s planned visit to South Asia in March, further strengthened the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Good Neighborly Relations. On February 20, China and Pakistan signed 13 agreements in Beijing, while President Hu Jintao and General Musharraf remained present at the signing ceremony. Of these, agreements on defense production, particularly the manufacture of multi-role JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft, nuclear power generation, and strategic infrastructure-building, including the widening of the Karakorum Highway, are critically important to the future direction of Islamabad’s relations with Beijing.
Nothing explains Pakistan’s Sino-centric relations better than its defense and strategic ties with Beijing. Since the 1970s, these relations have continued to deepen and widen with progressive expansion in defense cooperation. Joint defense production, however, peaked in the 2000s. Today, all three branches of the Pakistani military—land, air and navy (in that order)—are equipped with Chinese weapons systems. Taxila Heavy Industrial Complex, situated near Islamabad, was the first seed of mutual collaboration that sprouted to branch off into building components for air defense. As a result, a state-of-the-art Aeronautical Complex was built at Kamra, a small town in Attock district of the Punjab province. Most recently, Beijing has offered Islamabad a helping hand in building two frigates at its naval base in Karachi, which will be a landmark breakthrough in their joint naval defense production as well. General Musharraf, at the conclusion of his five-day visit to Beijing, declared that “defense relations have been the bedrock of Sino-Pakistan relations” (Dawn, February 25). The hallmark of their decades-long defense collaboration, however, is the joint production of JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft, which General Musharraf described as a “great success.” He favorably compared JF-17s with the U.S. Air Force’s F-16 fighter jets “in platform engine, maneuverability, avionics and capability of carrying various modern weapon systems” (Ibid.).
JF-17s are being manufactured in Chengdu, capital of China’s Sichuan province. In 1999, Chengdu Aircraft Industry Company (CATIC) signed an agreement with the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) for joint production of JF-17s. Since then, CATIC, Chengdu Aircraft Designing Institute and the PAF have been working on this project. They rolled out the prototype of JF-17 on September 3, 2003, the test-flight of which satisfied both Chinese and Pakistani pilots. Almost two-and-a-half years later, General Musharraf watched the demonstration flight of the aircraft on February 22 when he visited Chengdu, Sichuan, which is China’s center of high-tech defense production. General Musharraf was so impressed by the manufacture of JF-17s that he had a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between China and Pakistan to declare Sichuan and Punjab (Pakistan’s most populous province that predominantly contributes “manpower” to the country’s three services) as “sister provinces” (Dawn, February 22). Pakistan is now celebrating JF-17s as worthy substitutes for F-16s.
Although Pakistan did receive 40 F-16s from the U.S. in the 1980s and is expected to receive an additional 80 F-16s this year, it still faces problems in their maintenance and service as its access to spare parts and manufacture technology is highly regulated (Dawn, February 25). This is what, Pakistan thinks, makes the U.S. an “unreliable” arms supplier, pushing Islamabad into the instinctive embrace of Beijing, which it considers an “all-weather friend” (Daily Times, February 24). Since 9/11, the U.S., however, has taken important measures to rebuild Pakistan-U.S. relations into longer-lasting cooperation. A case in point is Pakistan’s upgraded status as a major non-NATO ally of the U.S. to the perceptible unease of India, its arch rival. Yet Pakistan views such steps as symbolic as compared to the emerging strategic partnership between India and the U.S.
Pakistan is especially wary of the Indo-U.S. agreement on the transfer of nuclear power technology to Delhi, which is expected to be finalized during President Bush’s visit to India later this week. Since the signing of the Indo-U.S. nuclear agreement on July 18, 2005, when Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a state visit to the U.S., Pakistan has been lobbying the U.S. to allow it the same access to nuclear power technology, but to no avail. It is not just the ruling Republican Party in the U.S. that is averse to providing Islamabad with nuclear reactors; leaders of the Democratic Party are even more adamant on this issue. Senator John Kerry, who visited Pakistan this year on January 14-15, told a news conference in Islamabad: “India is a democracy and it has adhered to the non-proliferation agreement in all the years of its involvement with nuclear facilities. This is not yet true of Pakistan, though Pakistan is moving in that direction” (The Hindu, January 16). Pakistan is, nevertheless, pursuing a plan to generate 8,000 MW of electrical power from nuclear fuel by 2020, an ambitious plan that makes it look to Beijing for support.
Beijing has already provided Islamabad a 300-MW nuclear reactor (Chashma-I), which is sited in a small town—Chashma—of the Punjab province. Beijing has now agreed to provide another nuclear power plant—Chashma-II—which will be sited next to Chashma-I. It will take five years before Chashma-II becomes operational. In addition, Pakistan is in talks with Beijing to buy six to eight nuclear power reactors of 600 MW each over the next decade (Press Trust of India, January 3). If the talks are successful, Pakistan will buy a number of nuclear reactors at the cost $10 billion to produce 4,800 MW of electricity. Pakistan’s current production of nuclear power is just 425 MW (Ibid.). Although Pakistan denies any such talks, it did sign an agreement with Beijing on February 20 to further “deepen cooperation in peaceful application of nuclear power.” In addition, Pakistan and China signed an “energy cooperation framework agreement,” which will explore the possibility of a gas pipeline between Iran and China through Pakistan (Dawn, February 22).
Besides, China and Pakistan are engaged in building key strategic infrastructures to further strengthen their defense ties. The construction of the Karakorum Highway (KKH)—which connects western China and its largest autonomous region of Xinjiang with Pakistan’s Northern Areas (NAs) all the way through Islamabad—was the first such major project. Since its completion in the 1970s, the Karakorum Highway has been used for limited trade and travel, however. In harsh winters, the stretch running through the Northern Areas and Xinjiang becomes unusable for motorized traffic due to heavy snowfall. Chinese and Pakistani engineers have since been trying to render it into an all-weather passageway. Yet limited trade and travel remained a poor incentive for such an expensive undertaking, until its renewed strategic significance became all too apparent in recent days. In a strict strategic sense, KKH is considered priceless. It gives Beijing unhindered access to Jammu and Kashmir in India, in addition to enabling it to the India’s movement along Aksai Chin, which China seized from India in 1962, severing India’s land-link to China’s turbulent autonomous regions of Tibet and Xinjiang. For Pakistan, the KKH is an added security for its turbulent Northern Areas, all the way up to Siachin where Indian and Pakistani troops have been in a stand-off since the mid-1980s.
On February 20, China and Pakistan agreed to widen KKH for larger vehicles with heavier freight. The rebuilding of KKH will enable China to ship its energy supplies from the Middle East from Gwader Port in Baluchistan through the land route of KKH to western China, which is its development hub. This alternative energy supply route will reduce Beijing’s dependence on the Malacca Straits. General Musharraf also wants to set up a “crude transit route” through Gwader Port for Beijing’s energy shipments from Iran and Africa. For this reason, Pakistan is building oil refineries, natural gas terminals, oil and gas equipment, and transit facilities in Baluchistan. China has agreed to help Pakistan with its plans for the development of its oil and gas industry. With this planned elaborate energy infrastructure, KKH has assumed an added significance as an alternative land link between China and its energy sources, of which Iran sits atop.
Beijing and Tehran are now all set to sign a $100 billion agreement on developing Iran’s Yadavaran oil field in southern Iran as early as March this year (Reuters, February 17). Under this agreement, China will buy 10 million tons of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Iran each year over the next 25 years. KKH would be the shortest and safest land route to ship Iranian LNG to western China. In return for LNG, China will develop the Yadavaran oil field, which is estimated to have three billion barrels of oil and is expected to produce about 300,000 barrels of oil per day, which is equivalent to China’s current imports from Iran (Ibid.). General Musharraf wants to turn Pakistan into China’s “energy corridor” for Chinese energy imports from the Middle East, Persian Gulf and Africa (Daily Times, February 18). He also wants Pakistan to be China’s “trade corridor” for its exports to Central Asia. For the latter reason, Pakistan has recently built the Torkham-Jalalabad road in northwestern Pakistan (i.e., Pakhtunkhaw province) and Chaman-Kandahar railroad link in Baluchistan to carry Chinese manufactured goods to Central Asia through Afghanistan.
China generously recognizes General Musharraf’s contribution to forging even closer relations between Beijing and Islamabad. It also wants Pakistan to play a bigger role in the region, for which General Musharraf has asked Beijing to upgrade Pakistan’s observer status at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to full membership. China will notify all SCO member states of Pakistan’s request to consider it at the SCO’s scheduled summit meeting this year (Dawn, February 20). To honor his contribution and his visit to Beijing, China put General Musharraf’s face on its postage stamps, which is a rare gesture even by Chinese standards.
Defense and strategic ties are the bedrock of Sino-Pakistan relations, which are too solid for any hint of weakness. Their ambitious future agenda for high-tech defense production (such as JF-17s and Frigates), nuclear power generation, and strategic infrastructure building (such as KKH and deep-sea Gwader Port) will further energize their ties. Although Sino-Pakistan relations have flourished under all military governments in Islamabad, General Musharraf has taken them to even greater heights by signing a territorial defense treaty in April last year, and literally and metaphorically putting (JF-17) “thunder” in Sino-Pakistan relations.
Posted by admin in Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan-A Nation of Hope on January 13th, 2013
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Shenyang AMF Gyrfalcon is flown accompanied by a Shenyang J-11BS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature…–JsS_g#t=118s
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AMF Gyrfalcon CGI by BaiWei^
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Pakistan’s JF-17 air force combat aircraft
original set of military Digest 2011.2
Recently, a few photos of J-10B fighter’s radar array in Chinese websites exposed. Users analysis think that the pictures shows the J-10B’s radar is a passive phased array radar (PESA). PESA radar usually the middle of a row or rows of IFF antenna. The Active Phased Array Radar (AESA) has not yet seen the middle of this line is a flat surface without protrusion, so some users believe that the yellow radar map the surface of the black dots array for the IFF actual antenna, which fire control radar is to determine whether to adopt active phased array main indicator of high-tech.
Ordinary radar beam scanning by the radar antenna rotation is achieved, also known as mechanical scanning radar.
The power phased array radar is a way to control changes in the radar beam point scanning, this approach is known as electronic scanning. Phased array radar, radar though not as dependent as other rotating antenna to make the radar beam rotation, but it is their own “trick”, that is using the “phase shifter” to turn the radar beam. Phased array radar antenna is a large number of radiators (small antenna) array consisting of (square, triangle, etc.), radiator varies from several hundred to as many as several thousand, even thousands, of each radiator are connected to the back of a controllable phase shifter, each phase shifter controlled by the computer. When the search for long-range phased array radar target, although do not see the antenna rotation, but tens of thousands of radiators controlled by computer focus fired in one direction, deflection, even thousands of meters away on the intercontinental missile and several thousands of meters satellite, can not escape its “eyes.” If the goal is to deal with more recent of these emitters and can share the responsibility, produce multiple beams, some search, some track, and some guidance. It is this radar abandon the general principle of the radar antenna, it gave it a different name — phased array radar, that “the phase to control the antenna array” means.
Phased array radar is divided into active (active) and passive (passive) categories. In fact, active andpassive phased array radar antenna array the same, the main difference between the two is the transmit / receive element number. Passive phased array radar is only one central transmitter and a receiver, transmitter, high frequency energy generated by the computer automatically assigned to each radiator array, the target reflected signal amplified by the receiver uniform (unlike ordinary radar not very different). Active Phased Array Radar for each radiator is equipped with a transmitter / receiver module, each component can generate their own, receiving electromagnetic waves, and therefore bandwidth, signal processing and redundancy degree of the design than the passive phased array radar has a larger advantage. Because of this, it makes the active phased array radar, expensive and engineering more difficult. But the active phased array radar has unique advantages in functionality, a great passive phased array radar replaces the trend.
Active Phased Array Radar biggest difficulty lies in transmit / receive components manufacturing, relatively speaking, passive phased array radar is much less technical difficulty. Passive phased array radar in power, efficiency, beam control and reliability, as active phased array radar, but the functionality is obviously better than the ordinary mechanical scanning radar, after all, a good compromise. Therefore developed a practical active phased array radar, before completely passive phased array radar as a transitional product. Moreover, even if the active phased array radar, developed after the passive phased array radar, phased array radar as a family of low-end products, still has great practical value.
The mainstream of the world have installed a new fighter AESA phased array radar, the installation of new radar to have greater combat aircraft upgrade. Let us look at the world’s major aircraft phased array radar it.
F-35′s APG-81 AESA radar front smaller and only has 1,200 transmit / receive modules, the other, APG-77 power (said to 16.4KW) to be much larger than the APG-81, so. F-22A aerial target radar detection range for the F-35 is far more than about 1 / 3. APG 81 has the advantage of a work on the model, its mapping synthetic aperture radar (SAR) / ground moving target indication (GMTI) / moving target indicator capability at sea-surface / air-sea mode and more than performance on APG a 77. APG-81 An important feature is to have the same time mapping synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and ground moving target indicator (GMTI) capacity, although its detection range against air targets far less than the F-22A, but a 81 APG target detection capability of the air is far stronger than the F / A 18 series and a series of F-16 fighter jets airborne pulse Doppler radar.
APG-81 in the work mode of the advantage is not absolute, it was reported: The United States is being upgraded by replacing radar radar modules and software approach, working on F-22A’s APG-77 radar performance upgrades, and soon after upgrade After the APG-77 radar performance under various operating modes will be more powerful, relatively speaking, APG-81 radar upgrade the performance space is very small, the first F-35 nose radome of the size of already small, and the APG -81 radar and EOTS system also share the already crowded head space, followed by the APG 81 radar by a power supply and cooling system of its limitations, so. Hard on the APG-81 radar further hardware upgrade.
In addition, F-35′s APG-81 radar, both in cost and weight of the F-22 is one half of their working life and is expected to reach 8,000 hours of life consistent with the aircraft, that is not in the whole life cycle replacement of the radar. In these areas, APG-81 radar obvious advantages, but the replacement of some of the radar module 77 after the APG a radar will significantly reduce weight and cost, work life expectancy.
the recent news from Pakistan said China will” emergency “provision of 50 aircraft to Pakistan JF-17 combat aircraft type These aircraft will be raised to the standard batch of JF-17BLOCK2, the combat capability of JF-17BLOCK1 than existing with a larger increase. JF-17BLOCK2 will be active PAF JF-17′s standard equipment.
information from the point of view, JF-17BLOCK2 will continue to use our on-board avionics systems and weapons, and continue to to increase the depth and breadth of the operational performance of the aircraft, and the PAF is also introduced the formation of ZDK-03 early warning aircraft, air combat more rigorous and complete system to enhance the autonomy of PAF combat capability.
JF-17 and China ZDK-03 form a complete operational system
; in the JF-17BLOCK2 the message, the outside world for the first time that the SD-10B active radar guided air to air missiles there, the Palestinian side that the SD-10B’s performance can be introduced with AIM-120 air to air missile compared, and in weight than the existing SD-10 to lighter, open air show information from the point of view, SD-10 air to air missiles of the maximum range of over 70 km, 50 km effective range, and the AIM-120A similar, the latter a maximum range of over 80 km, 55 km effective range, but the SD-10 should be greater than the size and weight of the AIM-120A, so that the JF-17 light fighter, the mount the SD- 10, larger impact on flight performance, in particular, mounted on the outer wing pylons, you need to reach launchers to adjust the focus of the new century, the introduction of F-16C/D-BLOCK52 PAF fighter aircraft from the United States, its top equipped with the AIM-120C5, the last century, taking into account the 90 Navy AIM-54 “Phoenix” retired long-range air to air missiles, and its follow-up of advanced air to air missile-AAAM program was terminated, the U.S. Navy long-range air strike capability targets dropped significantly, as a supplementary means of a quick U.S. Navy AIM-120 required to intercept distance of more than 40 miles (60 km) of aerial targets, this is the AIM-120C5, compared with the prototype missile, the missile is increased the weight of the missile engines, from 45 kg to 50 kg, while improving the grain of the surface, so that more regular and full combustion, increasing the time and the specific impulse fuel, so that the AIM-120C5 missile interceptor increases range from prototype about 10%, while increasing the seeker signal / data processing capability, increasing the number of warhead fragments, improve on the three generations of fighter jets destroy twin capability, the improved AIM-120C5 and AIM-120C7 continue to increase the rocket engine, its effective range has been further improved, from Pakistan’s point of view of information sources the performance of SD-10B may be in line toward the AIM-120C5, on the basis of improving the range and reduce the volume and weight, to improve the load adaptability, I believe that it is very important is the possibility of SD-10B is also being developed taking into account China’s demand for arms stealth fighter, stealth fighters to reduce the RCS, airborne weapons are generally placed above the tank shells, bombs in order to narrow mounted inside the tank weapons as much as possible, so it is necessary to reduce the air to air missile system, AIM-120C than the AIM-120A on the reduction of the tip, to improve the F-22′s bomb bay to mount the number, SD-10B may also be the ideas, with the range of increase, but also to keep up with the precision guidance system, SD-10B is said to adopt a surprisingly active / passive composite guidance system, and we are familiar with the different sources of interference when the guidance system, this master / reactive compound is to use passive guidance system to receive the other airborne radar signal, and then start using the former terminal guidance radar data to improve target detection, both work to improve the detection range of the seeker and anti-jamming ability, be pointed out SD-10B is not planning to use that air to air missile guidance system, AIM-120 is also used to have such a plan, but the technical difficulty of this seeker great need to address the broadband active / passive antenna and composite guidance radome, data fusion, and other key technologies, so I for SD-10B is equipped with reservations about such a guidance system, but we seem to speculate about the range of air to air missile development.
SD-10 JF-17 is the main combat arms
improved performance air to air missiles inevitably require the performance of airborne fire control radar to increase as, for air to air missile which provides target data required for the calculation of attack area, JF-17BLOCK2 with SD-10B-air missiles, which means that the aircraft should be equipped with China’s airborne radar, this is because an aircraft using certain weapons-related programs need to reside in the mission computer, or fire control computer, and these procedures are based on the preparation of the missile launch envelope, and missile launch envelope is the core of national secret airborne weapons, related to the work of the missile terminal guidance radar tracking distance and angle and the maximum tracking speed, time, energy work on a missile, engine thrust and working time, definitely not exposed, so JF -17BLOCK2 the mission computer can be sure that our products are basically, as I said before the airborne radar to the target, it will smooth the data and make forecasts, then the data to the mission computer for processing, by the latter to complete the manipulation of the aircraft command, missile attack area, the calculation of radar scanning parameters clearly will involve airborne radar parameters, these parameters are also confidential, so I thus believe that the JF-17BLOCK2 still used in China’s aviation electronic systems. Indeed JF-17BLOL01 quite advanced avionics systems, has more than existing third-generation combat aircraft, the third-generation combat aircraft avionics with the federated system, the system is the use of associated data bus, the system is the core mission computer, the task computer responsible for the detection system to obtain information, and then submitted to a unified display and control computer display, and JF-17 avionics system to control the computer as the core arms management, the most prominent feature is a combination of two computer tasks and control functions were , which reduces the complexity of the system, simplify the structure, reducing weight, improving the overall reliability of the avionics system. but also for future upgrades to lay a solid foundation.
JF-17 with the new generation avionics system and glass cockpit
in Pakistan for the description of the aircraft radar, there is a word Readers may be surprised; “will be rotating disk with active phased array radar,” in many people’s impression of airborne phased array radar antenna should be fixed and why the JF-17BLOCK2 the AESA with this thing? I thought it might be to expand the scope of the radar scan, phased array radar has a drawback, as the scanning range increases, the reduction of radar Kongjing projection area, resulting in lower gain antenna and beam increases, thereby reducing the radar detection distance, so need to turn the antenna to extend the scope of the radar scan, we are familiar, such as F-22 fighter AESA, etc. The reason is fixed, because the power of these fighter AESA high, big angle scanning can tolerate certain gain losses, while the light aircraft as the radar power is limited, this loss can not be ignored, and the JF-17 the same level of JAS-39 fighter, equipped with the AESA will also use rotary mechanism is said to increase the range of the radar scan. There is also a mechanical scanning mechanism of airborne phased array radar is more familiar with the BARS passive phased array radar-PESA, the radar equipment in Indian Air Force Su-30MKI fighter jets above, some people often take the Su-30MKI China Air Force Su-30MKK comparison, BARS is a project must be mentioned, but the official website of NIIP is relatively conservative given the data; BARS electronic scanning angle is 40 degrees lower than conventional aircraft fire control radar scanning range of 60 degrees the need to further expand the machinery sector, the size of radar target detection range fighter aircraft in the 130-140 km, these data clearly BARS radar antenna, the 1-meter diameter and 5KW peak do not match, because I think the two are virtually identical The, BARS is PESA, compared with the AESA, the radar antenna is relatively simple, cost is also low, but the disadvantage is the complexity of radar feed, transmitter power need to go through circulation, the power distribution network to reach the array element, in which clearly have greater power loss, that is, even though the antenna and power BARS larger, but due to large losses, the antenna radiated energy is not high, so that when the scanning angle is large, this loss plus the antenna decline in the gain will reduce the radar detection performance, in this case, had to be supplemented by mechanical scanning mechanism, as heavy phased array antenna, the target data update rate is not too high, also causing the overall weight and radar systems increase in volume, BARS weight of more than 500 kilograms. This is why the Indian Air Force to upgrade the BARS to the root causes of AESA.
JAS-39 equipped with the AESA, pay attention to the radar antenna is movable, JF-17′s AESA estimated its close
according to China Electronics Import and Export Company information provided with the JF-17BLOCK1 current airborne radar is a type of KLJ-7 fire control radar, the radar antenna is about 600 mm in diameter, as the probe under distance of 80 km about 105 km on the apparent. Plane search distance of 120 km, while KLJ-7 also has a more complete ground (sea work) patterns, including high-precision synthetic aperture and ground moving target indication mode, but the indicators for the SD support effective longer range -10B is still a reluctance, particularly the goal of mechanical scanning radar update rate lower, less able to multi-target attack, while in the implementation of the open space model can not simultaneously empty model, which for the PAF at a disadvantage, it is very negative. If the dress AESA, you can use the latter the product of a larger power aperture radar to improve detection range, but may have to raise the level of JF-17 is limited by the power supply and cooling system capacity, but rely on quick AESA electronic scanning capabilities, JF-17 can focus the radar energy is concentrated mainly on the direction of the threat or to provide a detection range of the tracking accuracy, or to achieve fast detection and tracking of multiple targets, and mode of implementation of the time when the implementation of open space empty model, particularly is its good performance for multi-target tracking to provide reliable PAF multiple target attack capability, multi-target attack in the BVR process, airborne radar speed search mode after completion of the target detection, edge tracking mode into the side of the search target tracking, multiple target tracking algorithm after treatment by objective data, and then to the mission computer for data processing. From the experience of modern air combat, air combat of the war the next intersection is shorter and shorter time, the pilot in an attack as much as possible to attack multiple targets in order to improve the ability of targets. This is also the general facelift of modern fighter AESA and active radar guided air to air missile of the main reasons.
JF-17BLOCK2 F-10B may be equipped with the IRST
With modern electronic warfare systems development, in particular the development of radio frequency memory technology, airborne radar, if too much power, very easy to intercept and interfere with each other, even if the JF-17BLOCK2 equipped with AESA, you can use the burst and low-probability of intercept flashing mode, but still want to avoid excessive signal leakage, therefore, have a silent detection means to become a modern air combat is an important component of which is infrared search and tracking system, be pointed out that Pakistan had developed its own related systems, and equipped with PAF’s Mirage -3 / top 5 fighter aircraft, used for air and ground target detection, and navigation can be used for night flying at low altitude, but its performance such as lower detection range, I believe that China’s production of the aircraft will be equipped with airborne infrared search and tracking system – IRST, the system has replaced the Russian system has become -11 J of the Air Force’s main equipment, the system has detected distance, the characteristics of strong anti-interference ability, by virtue of IRST, PAF pilots can not open the case of the radar, still remain mastery of the target, thus avoiding the premature opening of the radar, exposing their position.
PAF equipment SAAB-2000″ Balance Beam “early warning
we know that the modern battlefield broad aspect, the detection system of any fighter can achieve coverage of theater, and more need for an external command guidance system provides objective support for the fighters for the attack The first step is to guide and air target detection radar network to detect, the determination of the relevant coordinates, and send fighters guided the plane to the array are favorable to launch attacks, to take the initiative in aerial combat, the traditional ground-air defense command guidance systems, though they have more display and control units, can guide a large number of fighters, but due to curvature of the Earth, restrictions on the lack of grasp of the low empty feeling, so PAF has introduced from Sweden and my SAAB-2000 “balance beam” and ZDK-03 early warning aircraft. The former side-looking radar by air to achieve the key threat to the direction of extension of alert, and the latter with a larger body and range, you can stay over a long time in key areas, to guide the implementation of early warning and control mission, the command can be under the authority of the superior direct command of combat fighters, PAF enhanced emergency response capacity, for the land strip, the limited strategic depth for Pakistan is very valuable, so it is imperative for the PAF to complete early warning aircraft and fighter jets, ground air defense command guidance systems join to form a joint network operations system, which is already equipped with a JF-17 tactical data link terminals, and ZDK-03 can join, but the view from the relevant message, JF-17 data link the present power seem more limited, less likely to LINK-4A with the United States rather, to support one-way or two-way data transfer and exchange, but the network can accommodate the small number of members of the exchange’s data include only the location of the intended target intercept point, fighters themselves location and status information, and JF-17BLOCK2 will achieve early warning aircraft and SAAB-2000 interconnection network to form a more perfect system, combat system, while its chain of transmission of data and more extensive information, data throughput is also higher, more integrated and more features.
domestic WMD-7 optical targeting pod
Pakistan’s national power as limited, PAF can not afford large-scale fleet, so it needs its own fighter aircraft to have more features to the smaller fleet to bear more combat missions, from the point of view Zhuhai Airshow, JF-17BLOCK1 WMD-7 fighter aircraft equipped with optical targeting pod, the pod of about 2.7 meters, diameter of 0.39 meters, weighs 280 kilograms, is equipped with a FLIR infrared imaging, CCD and laser irradiation / ranging system, you can day and night in all weather conditions to search for ground targets, identification and tracking, and track the target under irradiation of laser ranging and guide the laser-guided bombs and other precision-guided weapons general-purpose bombs or precision bombing of targets from the air show public information shows that, WMD-7 infrared device operating in middle infrared band (3-5 microns), this small band interference infrared background radiation, through atmospheric water gas and ability to detect high temperature conditions, and imaging devices and more simple and reliable, is the main national optical pod devices, infrared devices and has two CCD field of view; 4.3 * 5.8 degree wide field for 1.9 1.4 * search for the target and the narrow field of view used to track, identify goals, work in the 1.06 micron laser irradiation distance of more than 13 km, ranging from greater than 18 km, it can be speculated that infrared devices can detect more than 20 kilometers away from From these data, domestic WMD-7 pods roughly the skill level of the first generation of Israel Lite Ning pod performance rather than the latest Lite Ning or the United States Sniper XR pod that there are certain gaps, including infrared detection range, the role of distance laser devices, while the laser wavelength is 1.05 microns, but not eye-safe 1.57 microns, which will obviously affect the use of the pod, there is WMD-7 pod seems the lack of wide-field (24 * 17 degrees) and low-altitude night navigation capability, I think this may be the PAF JF-17 to perform mostly in close air support and attack missions shallow depth, does not perform low-altitude long-range strike missions, or the low-altitude radar penetration ability to do, such as adding terrain for radar tracking and avoid regression model, the pod from the simplified structure and reduce the cost point of view, PAF does not require the WMD-7 with navigation capability, in fact, in our Air Force , the information from the public point of view, such as the Zhuhai Air Show, the F-10S in the pod layout view, using a system similar to the U.S. Air Force LANTRIN dual pod system, which uses low-altitude navigation pod Blue Sky (equipped with a terrain following radar, wide-view FLIR system) to support the WMD-7 pods, be pointed out that in some data that the role of distance as a new generation of pod, you can cancel the original navigation pod, but the latest two from the current situation the use of a pod; U.S. Air Force is still with the AAQ-13 navigation pod to support low-Sniper XR pods, while France’s DAMOCLES pod also has a special wide-navigation FLIR device, which also shows the current dual pod system is still low penetration of States against long-range night pod of choice. It is worth mentioning that the JF-17 is equipped with laser-guided bombs, and no wind we are familiar with the header, so I guess should be used 500 kilograms of the latest laser-guided bombs, the missile uses proportional navigation guidance system, rather than the original speed track guidance system, proportional navigation guidance accuracy better way, and can overcome the influence of wind, can attack the target speed, is the new laser-guided bombs used to guide the general approach. Have more combat capability.
optical targeting pod While increasing the aircraft’s low altitude penetration capability, but limited its own limitations, and its standoff attack capability is poor, forward-looking infrared devices can not obtain the target distance, must have a laser device with, but the laser in the atmosphere close distance, although a new generation of optical laser device known as pods, such as DAMOCLES working distance can be over 40 kilometers, but the operation that is, to more than 10,000 meters altitude, the conditions for the disadvantage of the PAF, this is obviously unrealistic. JF-17 Therefore, the greater need Standoff Weapon System for the Indian Air Force combat capability in the case of increasing, especially in the Indian Air Force A-50EHI early warning aircraft enter service today have been able to hit the target, save themselves, from the point of view the air show, JF-17BLOCK1 Ray Stone in China has been able to mount -6 glide bomb, mine stone -6 500 kg in a normal installation of aerial bombs on the GPS / INS guidance components and a high aspect ratio come on the wing, on the wing than the advantages of exhibition is a large lift, induced drag is small, with better conditions in the subsonic lift-drag ratio, the distance run, according to information delivery from the mine stone -6 more than 60 km, can be in India outside the range of most air defense systems put in, as Ray Stone -6 is used in GPS / INS guidance system, so there is signal interference during the war and shielding the risks, but the JF-17′s KLJ -7 synthetic aperture radar will have high-precision drawing mode, you can detect ground targets, and then combine their laser inertial navigation system to obtain target coordinates, and then enter into the mine rock -6 to guidance systems, and JF-17BLOCK2 the AESA is in the mode of implementation of the land, while at the same time detection of air targets, to further enhance the aircraft in high threat combat environment.
H-4 in Pakistan Standoff Attack System
In addition to Ray Stone -6 outside, JF-17BLOCK2 will integrate the two types of self-developed standoff in Pakistan attack system, which is H2/H4 Standoff Standoff Attack attack system and Raytheon Systems, These two systems are the introduction of technology from South Africa, Pakistan, precision-guided attacks its own production system in which the design concept and Ray H2/H4 stone -6 similar system installed in the general-purpose bombs gliding wing and TV guidance system is made, H2′s running a distance of 60 km, and the installation of a booster rocket H-4 engine, with a range over 120 kilometers, H-2/H-4 are equipped with data link, to support the attack mode after launch lock, that is the first briefly to put the bomb target, and then the pilot use of the bomb television image seeker targeted return, and also the importance of targeting or attack the weak parts, and assessment of attack effects, and Raytheon Systems is an international standoff attack Popular standoff munitions tear cloth system, image released from the Palestinian side view, Raytheon Systems, non-circular cross section projectile body, a certain degree of stealth capability, hence, have a better use of space within the series, contribute to the modular shells space to accommodate the different munitions to deal with different objectives, the system used in large aspect ratio and jet engines under the wing, so far with the range, with Raytheon Systems, JF-17 can fight in the Indian border with Pakistan in depth objectives, and further greatly enhance the aircraft’s combat capability and survivability.
the above analysis we can see, JF-17 through its outstanding performance, PAF has received recognition, PAF has become an integral part of combat; through the installation of AESA and SD-10B air missiles, to improve the combat aircraft Su-30MKI fighter, while the introduction of the system Standoff Attack to further enhance the aircraft against ground targets in India, Pakistan JF-17 project in the sound and pragmatic attitude and India in LAC project Shanghao Nu far higher in sharp contrast; in the LCA fighter configuration does not standard MK1 circumstances, actually have to invest the development MCA fighters, all regardless of whether the strength of its own developed such aircraft.
JF-17 will become the main force of PAF fleet
Pakistan and China have been cooperating for a number of years on the JF-17/ FC-1 Thunder, a low-medium performance, low-cost aircraft that has attracted interest and orders from a number of 3rd World air forces. In November 2009, a long-rumored deal was announced for China’s Jian-10/ FC-20 4+ generation fighter, whose overall performance compares well with the F-16C/D Block 52 aircraft that Pakistan has ordered from the United States.
The J-10 has been reported as a derivative of the 1980s Israeli Lavi project, and reportedly incorporates an Israeli fly-by-wire control base that was transferred in the project’s early years. The change in relations that followed the Tienanmen Square massacre hurt the J-10 project badly, however, forcing the replacement of planned Western avionics and engines with Chinese and Russian equipment. The required redesign was very extensive, affected all areas of the airframe, and took over a decade, amounting to the development of a new aircraft. The first operational J-10 unit entered service with the PLAAF in July 2004.
China has reportedly ordered 100 J-10s to date. The initial Pakistani order is for 2 squadrons, but could expand as technical cooperation and orders increase. The $1+ billion sale represents the J-10′s first export order… but almost certainly not its last.
PAKISTAN THINK TANK ARCHIVES:
Nov 11/09:Widespread reports surface that Pakistan has signed a $1.4 billion contract for 36 of CATIC’s Jian-10 fighters, which will be known as FC-20 in Pakistan. The deal is described as a preliminary agreement, and there are reports that Pakistan may eventually be interested in acquiring up to 150 of these aircraft. Retired Pakistani general Abdul Qayyum is qoted as saying that:
“The agreement should not simply be seen in the narrow context of Pakistan’s relations with China… There is a wider dimension. By sharing its advanced technology with Pakistan, China is … also saying to the world that its defence capability is growing rapidly.”
The UK’s Financial Times echoes this theme, noting that the $21.7 billionAviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) group is rapidly emerging as a big military goods exporter. The group is also involved in China’s civilian aircraft program, and gives only total revenue figures, but the Financial Times quotes industry sources who believe a recent remerger of 2 split-out groups late in 2008 was aimed at creating a bigger and internationally competitive player.
It is not clear whether Pakistan’s FC-20s will carry Russian Salyut AL-31FN turbofans (17,130/ 27,557 pounds dry/afterburner thrust) that are similar to the engines in many SU-27 family aircraft, or the larger Chinese WS-10A derivative (reportedly a lesser 16,523/ 24,729 pounds dry/afterburner thrust) developed by China’s AVIC Aviation Engine Institute and Shenyang Liming Aero-Engine Group. Pakistan’s Daily Times
March 7/09: The Associated Press of Pakistan reports that a contract for 42 co-produced JF-17/ FC-1 fighters has been signed in Islamabad by China’s CATIC and the Pakistani Air Force, financed by “seller’s credit.” Production capacity is listed at 15 aircraft in the first year, rising to 30 aircraft per year thereafter. Pakistan has been flying 8 aircraft to work out tactics, techniques, and procedures, and expects to stand up the first JF-17 squadron before the end of 2009. The aircraft will be based at Peshawar, alongside existing Chinese-made Q-5/A-5C “Fantan” fighters that are a hugely modified Chinese derivative of the MiG-19, and their accompanying JJ-6/FT-6 MiG-19 trainers.
The article adds a quote from Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mehmood Ahmed. He reiterates that cooperation on China’s canard-winged J-10/FC-20 is also progressing, with first deliveries to Pakistan expected in 2014-15. CATIC’s President MA Zhiping reportedly added that the first FC-20 aircraft built under that agreement would fly in 2009. APP | Pakistan’s The News.
March 29/07: Pakistan’s The News International references an interview that Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mehmood Ahmed gves to Jane’s:
“On other important projects with China, the Pakistani air chief also revealed that Pakistan is well advanced in negotiations with China on the possible acquisition of up to 40 J-10 fighters which are the most advanced fighter aircrafts so far produced by China. When Pakistan’s then President General Pervez Musharraf was given a detailed briefing on the J-10 during his last visit to China.
“We are serious in our discussions and, as air chief, I look forward to getting this programme (of the J-10) to a stage where we can contract this. I am looking at two squadrons of aircraft, anywhere between 32 and 40 platforms,” said the Air chief.”
“The relationship between Pakistan and China is a geopolitical keystone for both countries, and the solidarity between them is unmatched by any relationship between two sovereign states,” Ambassador of Pakistan to China Masood Khan has said. He was delivering a keynote address at a roundtable on ‘Accelerating Sino-Pakistan Economic Partnership’.
“We have a good architecture for economic and trade cooperation. A Joint Economic Commission oversees progress in the implementation of projects under the Five Year Development Programme for Economic and Trade Cooperation. The first cycle of the programme was concluded last year and we have launched the second five year programme which will end in 2016,” Khan said.
“Under this plan, 36 projects valued at $14 billion; covering energy, transport, information and communications technologies, industrial, agricultural, health care and education sectors; have been identified,” he added. “The Economic Cooperation Group will monitor their implementation at the working level,” he said.
He pointed out that Pakistan and China have signed free trade agreements on goods, services and investment. Since 2008, the total volume of trade between the two countries has grown by 70%; and Pakistani exports to China increased two-fold from $1 billion to $2.2 billion during the same period.
Khan said the Chinese market will absorb more Pakistani products if Pakistan has more goods and services to export. He further said the Chinese government will send official purchase missions to Pakistan to enhance our exports, while Pakistani traders are attending China’s trade and investment expos and fairs in larger numbers.
The Ambassador said strong private Chinese enterprises were entering the Pakistani market to invest in the energy and infrastructure development sectors. He said that Pakistani businesses were also increasingly looking towards China.
He said Pakistani entrepreneurs and enterprises need to understand how Chinese state and non-state enterprises work. The Chinese corporate sector has unique characteristics, he explained, which have to be studied, comprehended and assimilated.
“To accelerate the Pakistan-China economic partnership, Pakistan has to think big with its feet on the ground. We in Pakistan need to develop competencies and adopt efficient implementation strategies. As we do that, China – our brother and partner – may step forward to help us develop these competencies,” he said. “Only then we will have a fuller interface between the two economies.”
On the occasion, China Development Research Foundation Chairman Wang Meng Kui said that the Sino-Pakistan Economic Partnership roundtable aimed at achieving tangible benefits for the economic development of both countries, and to further strengthen bilateral ties. He welcomed the presence of leading Pakistani businesses at the roundtable and regarded it an excellent opportunity to discuss concrete steps for enhancing cooperation.
Spread over five sessions, the roundtable focused on current status, issues and future potential of Pakistan-China trade and economic cooperation; gathering recommendations on accelerating mutual economic cooperation; looking into the feasibility of establishing a Pak-China Investment Fund; and cooperation in the fields of energy, mining, infrastructure, manufacturing, telecom and finance.
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