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Pakistan Army Aviation Corps

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Pakistan Army Aviation Corps
Badge of the Corps of Aviation
Founded1958; 66 years ago (1958)
Country Pakistan
Branch Pakistan Army
TypeCombined and Combat support service
RoleAdministrative and staffing oversight.
HQ/GarrisonArmy GHQ in Rawalpindi, Punjab in Pakistan.
Nickname(s)AVN
Colors identificationPurple, White, Yellow
   
Anniversaries1958
EngagementsMilitary history of Pakistan
Commanders
Director-GeneralMaj-Gen. Dr. Najeeb Ahmad
Notable
commanders		Brigadier Zakaullah Bhangoo
Insignia
War Flag
Patch
Aircraft flown
Attack helicopterAH-1 Cobra
Mi-35M Hind-E
Z-10ME
Bell AH-1Z Viper
Multirole helicopterAW139
Bell 412
Eurocopter Fennec
Trainer helicopter206 JetRanger
Enstrom 280FX
Schweizer 300C
Utility helicopterMi-17/171
SA 330 Puma
Alouette III
Eurocopter Écureuil
SA 315B Lama
UH-1 Huey
ReconnaissanceSuper King Air 350i
TransportSuper King Air 350
Y-12
Turbo Commander 690C
206 Stationair
208 Caravan
Citation V
Citation Bravo
G450
Administrative Corps of the Pakistan Army
Previous Next
Artillery Band

The Pakistan Army Corps of Aviation is a military administrative and combined arms service branch of the Pakistan Army.[1]

The Aviation Corps is tasked with configuration of all army aviation aircraft and provides principle close aerial combat support and aerial logistics for the Pakistan Army.[1]

Overview

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Originally formed by the British Army Air Corps in 1942, the partition in 1947 of the former British Indian Army allowed the entire unit of the British Army's Air Corps to be transferred to the Pakistan Army.[1] Initially, the Aviation Corps was part of the Pakistan Air Force but was commissioned in the Pakistan Army after its personnel were trained and certified in the United States in 1958.: 32 [2][3] The Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering started to maintain the aircraft and helicopters given by the U.S. Army's Aviation Branch, opening its own aviation school in 1959.[4]

Since the 1960s, the corps expanded in momentum, manpower, and its operational scope has widened.[4] The Aviation Corps became a combat support branch when it inducted its first attack helicopters from Iran in 1970.[4] The Aviation Corps is commanded by an active-duty two star major-general, who serves as its director-general and functions directly under the Chief of the General Staff at the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi, Punjab.[5]

Aircraft inventory

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The Pakistan Army operates 314+ helicopters alongside several fixed-wing aircraft.

3 CAIC Z-10 attack helicopters of China were delivered for trial use so that orders could be made in the future. However, as of 2018, no orders have been made further and replaced by TAI/AgustaWestland T129 ATAK, this could mean that these 3 helicopters were returned with no follow-up order.[citation needed]

15 Bell AH-1Z Viper with Hellfire missiles, equipment and support worth $952 million were on order but are on hold due to political tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan.[6]

30 TAI/AgustaWestland T129 ATAK worth $1.5 billion is on order however production is still on hold due to the United States not giving export license for the engine, which is of American origin. New Turkish indigenous engine as a replacement is currently on trials.[7]

After the United States failed to deliver the AH-1Z and the problems with the Turkish T129, the Pakistan Army again is showing interests in Chinese all-weather, multirole CAIC Z-10ME which is the advanced and upgraded variant of the CAIC Z-10.[8]

Aircraft/System Photo Origin Role Variant Quantity Note Service period
Helicopters 314, 92 Attack
Bell AH-1 Cobra  United States Attack AH-1F 50[9] 1985–present
Mil Mi-35  Russia Attack Mi-35M3 4[9] 2018–present
CAIC Z-10  China Attack Z-10ME 3[10] 17 on order.[11] 2023–
Eurocopter Fennec  France Armed / Scout AS550 C3 35[9][12] 2009–present
Mil Mi-17  Russia SAR
Utility
Transport 		Mi-171 48[9] 1996–present
AgustaWestland AW139  Italy SAR
Utility
Transport 		AW139M 7[9][13] Also used as VIP transport. 2017–present
Aérospatiale/IAR SA 330 Puma  France
 Romania 		SAR
Utility
Transport 		330L 43[9] 1977–present
Bell 412  United States Liaison
Utility 		412EP 31[9] 2004–present
Bell UH-1 Iroquois  United States Liaison
Utility 		UH-1H 1[9] 1970s
Aérospatiale Alouette III  France Light Utility SA 316B 13[9] 1967–present
Aérospatiale Lama  France Light Utility SA 315B 17[9] 1986–present
Bell 206 JetRanger  United States Trainer 206B 18[9] 1975–present
Enstrom F-28  United States Trainer 280FX 19[9] 2018–present
Schweizer 300  United States Trainer 300C 25[9] 1993–present
Fixed-wing Aircraft
PAC MFI-17 Mushshak  Pakistan
 Sweden 		Trainer 214[9]
Beechcraft Super King Air  United States Reconnaissance 350i 3[9] for SIGINT & ISR
 United States Utility 350ER 6[9]
Harbin Y-12  China Utility Y-12(II)/F 4[9]
Turbo Commander  United States Utility 690C 2[9]
Cessna 208 Caravan  United States MEDEVAC
 208B 13[9]
Cessna 206 Stationair  United States MEDEVAC T206H 4[14]
Cessna Citation II  United States VIP Transport Citation Bravo 1[9]
Cessna Citation V  United States VIP Transport Citation Ultra 1[15]
Gulfstream IV  United States VIP Transport G450 1[16]

Retired Aircraft

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Notable accidents and incidents

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The Mil Mi-17 (with Pakistani military markings) participating in combat support operations in coordination with Russian forces, 2017

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c PA, Pakistan Army. "Army Aviation-Pakistan Army". Pakistan Army. Pakistan Army Aviation Corps. Archived from the original on 17 November 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  2. ^ Karim, Afsir (1996). Indo-Pak Relations: Viewpoints, 1989-1996. Lancer Publishers. ISBN 978-1-897829-23-3. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  3. ^ Global Security. "Army Aviation Corps". Global Security inc. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  4. ^ a b c The United States Government (CIA Fact Book) (2011). Pakistan Intelligence and Security Activities Army Aviation Corps. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government. p. 259. ISBN 978-0-7397-1194-1. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  5. ^ Alam, Dr Shah (1 July 2012). Pakistan Army: Modernisation, Arms Procurement and Capacity Building. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. ISBN 978-93-81411-79-7. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Nine Pakistan AH-1Z now stored at AMARG". AirForces Monthly. Key Publishing. May 2019. p. 26.
  7. ^ "Turkey First Indigenous Helicopter Engine to be Ready for Integration This Year". Archived from the original on 12 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  8. ^ "Janes | Latest defence and security news". Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "World Air Forces 2022". Flightglobal Insight. 2022. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  10. ^ "World Air Forces 2022". Flightglobal Insight. 2022. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  11. ^ "World Air Forces 2022". Flightglobal Insight. 2022. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  12. ^ "2023 World Air Forces directory". Flight Global. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  13. ^ "List of AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters in Pakistan". Helis.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  14. ^ Siddiqui, Naveed (31 March 2017). "Pakistan Army receives six Cessna aircraft from US". dawn.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  15. ^ "Cessna 560 Citation V – Pakistan – Army". airliners.net. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  16. ^ "Gulfstream G450". jetphotos.com. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  17. ^ "Eight killed as UN helicopter crashes in eastern DRC". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  18. ^ "Six Pakistan Army officers, soldiers martyred in UN copter crash". The Express Tribune. 29 March 2022. Archived from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  19. ^ Siddiqui, Naveed (29 March 2022). "Six Pakistani officers, soldiers martyred in helicopter crash in Congo: ISPR". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  20. ^ "Eight UN peacekeepers killed in helicopter crash in DRC". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 29 March 2022. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
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