Pakistan Air Force
Sign in to saveAlso known as PAF, air force of Pakistan
air warfare branch of Pakistan's armed forces
Key facts
- Founded
- 14 August 1947 ; 78 years ago ( 1947-08-14 )
- Country
- Pakistan
- Type
- Air force
- Role
- Aerial warfare
- Size
- 70,000 total active personnel 8,000 reserve
- Part of
- Pakistan Armed Forces
- Headquarters
- Air Headquarters (AHQ) , Sector E-9 , Islamabad
- Mottos
- Urdu : قوم کا سرمایہ افتخار "A symbol of pride for the nation" ( ISPR official ) Persian : صحراست که دریاست ته بال و پر ماست "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional)
- Anniversaries
- Air Force Day : 7 September
- Battle honours
- Major Engagements
- Website
- paf .gov .pk
- Commander in chief
- President Asif Ali Zardari
- Chief of defence forces
- F.M Asim Munir
- Chief of the air staff
- Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar
- Spokesman
- Air Vice Marshal Tariq Ghazi
- Attack
- Mirage 5 , Mirage III , Burraq UCAV , CH-4 UCAV , Wing Loong II UCAV , Akıncı UCAV , TB2 UCAV
- Electronic warfare
- SAAB-2000 Erieye (AWACS) , ZDK-03 (AWACS) , Falcon DA-20 (EW) , KJ-500
- Fighter
- F-16A/B/AM/BM/C/D , JF-17A/B/C , Chengdu J-10C
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- air force
- Country
- Pakistan
- Parent organization
- Pakistan Armed Forces
- Location
- Islamabad
- Official website
- www.paf.gov.pk
- Image
- Pakistan Air Force trains at Nellis.jpg
Show 5 more facts
- inception
- 1947-08-14
- Commons category
- Air force of Pakistan
- topic's main category
- Category:Pakistan Air Force
- social media followers
- 236000
- short name
- PAF
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (Urdu: پاک فِضائیہ, romanised: Pāk Fizāʾiyah; pronounced [pɑːk fɪzɑːɪjəɦ]) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when required, and a tertiary role of providing strategic airlift capability to Pakistan.
As of 2024, per the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the PAF has more than 70,000 active-duty personnel. Its primary mandate and mission is "to provide, in synergy with other inter-services, the most efficient, assured and cost effective aerial defence of Pakistan." Since its establishment in 1947, the PAF has been involved in various combat operations, providing aerial support to the operations and relief efforts of the Pakistani military. Under Article 243 of the Constitution, the president of Pakistan is the civilian commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), by statute a four-star air officer, is appointed by the president with the consultation and confirmation needed from the prime minister of Pakistan.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Pakistan Air Force” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.