Pakistan Air Force Bases

PAF bases are located all along the frontiers of Pakistan in such a way that PAF is able to immediately respond to any escalating peace or war time situation. Major operational bases are located at Rafiqui (Shorkot), Masroor (Karachi), Samungli (Quetta), Minhas (Kamra), Peshawar and PAF Base Mushaf (Sargodha), in the name of ACM. Mushaf Ali Mir, Shaheed. Over the years, the PAF has developed an array of training facilities. Notable among these are PAF Academy, Risalpur; PAF Air War College; Combat Commanders' School; Air Defence Traning School; Air Defence System School; Transport Conversion School; Helicopter Training School; Para Training School; Survival Training School; School of Intelligence; Pre-trade Training School; Administrative Trade Training School and School of logistics; (Kohat), School of Aeronautics and School of Electronics (Korangi).

The flying operations of the Air Force are carried out and supported by a number of operational, training and maintenance Air Bases located all over the country. The respective Base Commanders are responsible for the operational readiness and combat efficiency of their Bases. These operational Bases are placed under three regional Air Commands, viz, Northern, Central and Southern, each commanded by an Air Officer Commanding (AOC) who is responsible to the Chief of the Air Staff. The field command structure is designed to ensure coordination among the various fighting elements of the three services as well as understanding of one another’s role in the defence of the country. Each Base embodies a well-knit community of officers and men who operate and maintain the various weapon systems of the Air Force and is well equipped to cater for all the needs of the personnel deployed there. An Air Base is not only a place of work but a home for its personnel.

• Major Operational Bases are fully functional bases from which aircraft operate during peacetime. They have complete infrastructure of hardened shelters, control towers, workshops, ordnance depots etc. These are ten in number.
• Forward Operational Bases are active during peacetime and become fully operational during wartime. These are the bases on which the planes are dispersed during war. They are capable of supporting almost all types of missions. They are generally lightly manned during peace time and are usually activated during excercises or some national crisis. They are thirteen in number.
• Satellite bases are used for emergency landing and recovery of aircraft during both peacetime and wartime. They have a very small infrastructure and are either lightly manned or unmanned. They are nine in number.
• Ground Installations are other training and radar bases that do not have a runway and other landing facilities. They are six in number.

In addition there some two dozen other civilian airfields in Pakistan that could be used for landing and recovery of military aircraft during both peace and war. While some are full-fledged civilian airports, others consist of little more than a single runway and modest support facilities. Most are can be used by jet-fighter aircraft, and all can handle medium-sized tactical transports.

75 with permanent-surface runways
 1 with runways over 3,659 m  
30 with runways 2,440-3,659 m  
43 with runways 1,220-2,439 m  

Initially the credibility of Pakistan's nuclear deterrent depended not on its limited-range missiles, but on the survivability of its strike aircraft. In peacetime the bulk of Pakistan's combat aircraft are concentraed in seven air bases. However, there are roughly 30 airfields at which Pakistani nuclear-equiped aircraft could be based, vastly complicating Indian counterforce attack planning.

The two units operating the Chinese-built A-5 [No. 16 Sqn and No. 26 Sqn], an aircraft believed to be a leading candidate for the aerial delivery of nuclear weapons, were reportedly stationed at PAF Masroor in early 1998. By late 1999 they had reportedly been re-deployed to PAF Peshawar. The Pakistani Air Force currently operates some 180 Mirage aircraft of various configurations, equiping four operational squadrons [No. 5, No. 7, No. 8, No. 22 (OCU)] and a Combat Command School training squadron. Pakistan obtained 43 used Mirage IIIOs and 7 Mirage IIIODs from Australia in 1990, and purchased another 40 reconditioned Mirage IIIEs from France in 1996. The allocation of these 90 aircraft is not evidently reflected in published order of battle tables.