A US drone has crashed in the tribal areas of northwestern Pakistan, reportedly targeted by local tribesmen, area residents say.
The local tribesmen claimed that they shot down an unmanned aircraft in Miranshah in northern Waziristan, a Press TV correspondent reported.
This is the second drone, allegedly downed by local tribesmen, in the same town in less than two days. The drone crashed 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the town of Miranshah on late Sunday.
Pakistan has been looking for an AWACS/AEW/AEW&C platform for years. They tried very hard to buy some or all of Saudi Arabia’s 5 E-3As, to no avail. The Swedish aircraft manufacturer SAAB announced last month in Dubai that Pakistanwill soon receive a first Saab 2000 – 340 AEW (Airborne Early Warning) aircraft in 2000, will use the system.
According to Aviation News NL:
The Pakistan Air Force has in Sweden until the first military surveillance aircraft converted Saab 2000 taken receipt. The device is equipped with the Saab Microwave Systems Erieye developed equipment. Pakistan ordered in 2006 to five observation aircraft to build Saab in 2000 with a contract value of 1.2 billion U.S. dollars.
The Saab Microwave Systems Erieye developed consists of a surface radar, a mission system and electronic warfare equipment. The Saab Aero Tech in 2000’s have converted a mission duration of nine hours.
Erieye equipped with Saab 340 aircraft of the type have been used by the governments of Brazil, Greece, Mexico and Sweden. Thailand also recently ordered a Saab 340 will be equipped with Erieye.
This system will be installed on SAAB 2000 aircraft, which Pakistan Air Force negotiated with Sweden. Pakistan will received 5 of these air crafts with the AWACS system installed.
It’s a milestone and memorable day for Pakistan Air Force (PAF), when it launches first ever locally made JF 17 Thunder combat aircraft on 23rd November. Pakistan is thence made its place in the list of combat aircraft producing countries. JF 17, which is equivalent to F 16 in performance, but lighter in weight and much cheaper, has strengthened PAF to a great extent.
Originally known as Super-7, JF 17 was developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation (CAC), China and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC), Kamra, under a joint venture of China and Pakistan. The JF 17 (Joint Fighter 17) Thunder, which is known as FC-1 (Fighter China) in China, is a lightweight multi-role fighter capable of boarding any sort of warhead. It is capable of beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air combat, as well as laser-guided weapons delivery. Because it has been developed primarily for the PAF and export market, it provides a low-cost replacement for many developing countries. The unit price is estimated to be US$15 million.
The maiden test flight of the first prototype took place during 2003 in China, later test flights of a more advanced version taking place in 2006. The first two SBP (small batch production) aircraft were delivered to the Pakistan Air Force on 12 March 2007 for further flight testing and evaluation.
Chengdu was selected as primary contractor and the Russian Mikoyan Aero-Science Production Group (MASPG) was contracted to provide the Klimov RD-93 turbofan engine and design assistance too.
The PAF has committed to the acquisition of 150 JF-17, whilst China is expected to buy 250. Pakistan will initially produce 50% of the aircraft locally, progressively increasing to 100%.
PAF plans to make the first JF-17 squadron officially operational in early 2010.
Technical Specifications of FC-1/JF-17:
Dimensions: length 14.97 m (49 ft 1 1/2 in); height 4.77 m (15 ft 8 in); wing span 9.46 m (31 ft 1/2 in)
Weights: empty 6,411 kg (14,136 lb); Normal Take-Off Weight 9,072 kg (20,000 lb); Max Take-Off Weight 12,474 kg (27,500 lb)
Performance: max level speed ‘clean’ at altitude Mach 1.6 or 1,909 km/h (1,186 mph); service ceiling 15,240 m (50,000 ft); ferry range 2,037 km (1,266 miles); operational radius 1,352 km (840 miles).
Armament: JF-17 can be armed with up to 3,629 kg (8,000 lb) of air-to-air and air-to-ground ordnance, as well as other equipment, mounted externally on the aircraft’s seven hardpoints (part of an airframe designed to carry an external load).
Among potential customers of this Pakistani fighter plane are Azerbaijani Air Force, who has negotiated with Pakistan for the purchase of 26 JF-17, worth between 16 and 18 million dollars each. Besides that, the Sudanese Air Force is also negotiating for 12 aircrafts.The Zimbabwe Air Force reportedly ordered 12 JF-17 in 2004. Several other countries including Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran and Nigeria, and Malaysia have been identified as potential buyers.
Courtesy: Pakistan Aeronautical Complex
Kurt Nimmo
Newspapers in Pakistan have accused the United States of using Blackwater and other agencies to conduct bombings and targeted assassinations in the country, according to MEMRI translations. MEMRI is a neocon propaganda outfit with connections to Israeli intelligence.
“Evidence of the private U.S. security firm Blackwater’s involvement in the targeted killings of high-ranking Pakistani military officials has been found,” reports Haftroza Al-Qalam, a Pakistan weekly published in Urdu, one of the two official languages of Pakistan. “According to a report in the Urdu-language magazine Haftroza Al-Qalam, the recent killings of Pakistani military officials represent an old method used by Blackwater in Iraq and South American countries.Journalist Jeremy Scahill reported on the CIA-Blackwater assassination program in August, 2009. See the second part of the report.
Pakistan media and other sources have reported on a Blackwater presence in Pakistan since 2008. “The notorious US security firm Blackwater has reportedly established a presence in the restive tribal belt on the Afghan borders to help the FBI and CIA track down Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants allegedly hiding there and protect USAID projects,”Aamir Latif reported for IslamOnline.
USAID is a a documented CIA front. The fact USAID is essentially a CIA dummy corporation was largely confirmed when the CIA released its ‘Family Jewels’ documents in 2007. Continue reading »
Pakistan (CNN) — Six years ago an ad in the Sunday paper changed a young Pakistani woman’s life and made aviation history.
The ad read: “Pakistan Air Force recruiting females cadets.”
Back then Ambreen Gul was 20-years old and living in Karachi. Her mother wanted her to be a doctor. She remembers her reaction when she told her she wants to fly.
“She was like: ‘You’re a girl,’” says Gul. “How will you do it? How will you fly?”
The following day Gul took the first step in proving her mother wrong. She was among the first in line at the recruitment center.
For nearly six decades it was only men who had flown Pakistan’s fighter jets. Today Gul is one of seven women who are trained and ready to fly Pakistan’s F-7 supersonic fighter jets.
“This is a feeling that makes you proud and makes you humble also,” says Gul.
Humility doesn’t mean lack of confidence.
“We can do everything better than the men,” explains cadet Nida TariqWe’re more hardworking, more consistent and more patient,” adds cadet Anam Faiq.
To become a fighter pilot takes three years of training at the Air Force Academy in Risalpur, Pakistan, where the halls are lined with grainy black-and-white pictures of nearly six decades of male graduates who went on to fly for the Pakistan Air Force.
The training is often intensely physical. Here, equal opportunity means equal treatment. Continue reading »
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