Sargodha Airbase
Encyclopedia
PAF Base Mushaf is a Pakistan Air Force
airbase located at Sargodha
in the Punjab province
of Pakistan
. It is the headquarters of the PAF Central Air Command.
It was known as PAF Base Sargodha until 2003, when it was renamed in honour of former Base Commander and Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal
Mushaf Ali Mir
, whose aeroplane crashed on a routine flight near Kohat
the same year. It has also been nicknamed the PAF's Top Gun base due to the PAF's elite Combat Commanders School being based there.
R. D. Rollo, was completed by 16 November 1959. Originally named PAF Station Sargodha, the first base commander was Group Captain Salahuddin who took over in November 1959 and fighter squadrons began transferring to the base. Nos. 5, 11 and 16 Squadrons of No.33 Wing were present with their F-86F Sabre fighters by April 1960.
PAF Base Sargodha has initially hosted almost all new types of combat aircraft introduced by the PAF, including the F-86, F-104, F-6, Mirage and F-16.
Pilots are normally selected to undergo training at the CCS after around 9 to 12 years of service with the PAF. Once selected by the Air Headquarters they undergo three courses: the 4-5 month Combat Commanders Course, the 3 month Weapons Course and the 4-5 week Fighter Integration Course. These courses are reputed to be very tough and some pilots fail them. The successful graduates can go on to attain the rank of Wing Commander
and command a squadron.
Dissimilar Air Combat Training (DACT)
at the CCS is renowned "throughout the world" for giving complete freedom and responsibility to participating pilots for forming and executing their mission plans. Combat missions are regularly flown at tree-top height and pilots are also responsible for their own post-flight learning. Foreign Chiefs of Air Staff visiting the base have been "most impressed" and "showed surprise at the freedom allotted to the student DACT pilots."
CCS has two squadrons under its command, the Skybolts currently flying the Dassault Mirage III/5 and the Dashings currently flying the Chengdu F-7P.
CCS staff pay annual visits to all PAF fighter squadrons to evaluate and enhance combat capabilities. In June 1990 the Squadron Combat Upgradation Programme (SCUP) was initiated and four month-long cycles were conducted by October 1990, each involving two fighter squadrons, F-16 pilots and ground controllers. SCUP was replaced by the regular Exercise Saffron Bandit in 1992, which is a more demanding and complicated near-realistic environment for participating pilots. Exercise Saffron Bandit is still supervised and its syllabus constantly improved by the CCS.
Road, where a motorcycle loaded with explosives rammed the bus and triggered the blast. All the officers were new recruits posted to PAFB Mushaf for training. This was the last major attack before the 2007 state of emergency
was imposed on the country.
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
airbase located at Sargodha
Sargodha
Sargodha is a city in the Sargodha District of Punjab province, Pakistan.Sargodha is located in the northwest of Pakistan. It is the eleventh largest city of Pakistan and also known as Pakistan's best citrus-producing area. It is an agricultural trade centre with various industries...
in the Punjab province
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. It is the headquarters of the PAF Central Air Command.
It was known as PAF Base Sargodha until 2003, when it was renamed in honour of former Base Commander and Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal
Air Chief Marshal
Air chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Mushaf Ali Mir
Mushaf Ali Mir
Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir was four-star general of the Pakistan Air Force who served as the chief of air staff of the Pakistan Air Force from 20 November 2000 until his death on February 20, 2003 when the PAF Fokker F-27 he was traveling in, crashed near Kohat, Pakistan...
, whose aeroplane crashed on a routine flight near Kohat
Kohat
Kohat is a medium sized town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at 33°35'13N 71°26'29E with an altitude of 489 metres and is the capital of Kohat District. The town centres around a British-era fort, various bazaars, and a military cantonment. A British-built narrow gauge...
the same year. It has also been nicknamed the PAF's Top Gun base due to the PAF's elite Combat Commanders School being based there.
History
PAF Base Sargodha was originally an abandoned WW2 airfield until July 1951, when a PAF Care and Maintenance Party arrived at the base. Construction of infrastructure, supervised by Wing CommanderWing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
R. D. Rollo, was completed by 16 November 1959. Originally named PAF Station Sargodha, the first base commander was Group Captain Salahuddin who took over in November 1959 and fighter squadrons began transferring to the base. Nos. 5, 11 and 16 Squadrons of No.33 Wing were present with their F-86F Sabre fighters by April 1960.
PAF Base Sargodha has initially hosted almost all new types of combat aircraft introduced by the PAF, including the F-86, F-104, F-6, Mirage and F-16.
Combat Commanders School
In 1976 the elite Combat Commanders School (CCS) was formed, replacing the PAF's Fighter Leaders' School. It has four aims:- Research and development in the field of tactics.
- Application of flying tactics.
- Utilisation of weapon systems.
- Standardisation and evaluation of various units.
Pilots are normally selected to undergo training at the CCS after around 9 to 12 years of service with the PAF. Once selected by the Air Headquarters they undergo three courses: the 4-5 month Combat Commanders Course, the 3 month Weapons Course and the 4-5 week Fighter Integration Course. These courses are reputed to be very tough and some pilots fail them. The successful graduates can go on to attain the rank of Wing Commander
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
and command a squadron.
Dissimilar Air Combat Training (DACT)
Dissimilar air combat training
Dissimilar air combat training was introduced as a formal part of US air combat training after disappointing aerial combat exchange rates in the Vietnam War.Traditionally, pilots would undertake air combat training against similar aircraft...
at the CCS is renowned "throughout the world" for giving complete freedom and responsibility to participating pilots for forming and executing their mission plans. Combat missions are regularly flown at tree-top height and pilots are also responsible for their own post-flight learning. Foreign Chiefs of Air Staff visiting the base have been "most impressed" and "showed surprise at the freedom allotted to the student DACT pilots."
CCS has two squadrons under its command, the Skybolts currently flying the Dassault Mirage III/5 and the Dashings currently flying the Chengdu F-7P.
CCS staff pay annual visits to all PAF fighter squadrons to evaluate and enhance combat capabilities. In June 1990 the Squadron Combat Upgradation Programme (SCUP) was initiated and four month-long cycles were conducted by October 1990, each involving two fighter squadrons, F-16 pilots and ground controllers. SCUP was replaced by the regular Exercise Saffron Bandit in 1992, which is a more demanding and complicated near-realistic environment for participating pilots. Exercise Saffron Bandit is still supervised and its syllabus constantly improved by the CCS.
Incidents
On 01 November 2007 a suicide bomber struck the 50-seat bus carrying PAF officers to nearby Kirana Ammunition Depot, killing 11 people (including 7 officers) and injuring 28. The bombing took place on FaisalabadFaisalabad
Faisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...
Road, where a motorcycle loaded with explosives rammed the bus and triggered the blast. All the officers were new recruits posted to PAFB Mushaf for training. This was the last major attack before the 2007 state of emergency
2007 Pakistani state of emergency
A state of emergency was declared by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on November 3, 2007, and lasted until December 15, 2007,during which time the constitution of Pakistan was suspended....
was imposed on the country.