Military unit
The Pakistan Air Force Strategic Forces Command, known as AF Strategic Command, is one of the three unified command of the Pakistan Strategic Forces Command. It is one of the major command of Pakistan Air Force and is tasked with space operations (such as military satellites), information operations (such as information warfare), missile defense, national command and control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR), strategic strike and strategic deterrence (Pakistan's nuclear arsenal), and combating weapons of mass destruction.[1] The command is headquarter in Islamabad and directly reports to Chief of Air Staff, President, and the Prime minister of Pakistan.[1]
The unified military combat command structure is intended to give the civilian leadership a unified resource for greater understanding of specific threats to Pakistan's national and strategic assets and the means to respond to those threats as quickly as possible.[1]
History
The Operation Chengiz Khan, commenced on December 3, 1971, against Indian Air Force resulted in brutal failure. This operation started the formal start of Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 and led a bitter defeat of Pakistan Air Force. In context of this war, the Combat Commanders School (CCS), was established under Colonel Cecil Chaudhry to train the best fighter pilots in the air force for carrying out the strategic bombing operations. However, the need for a strategic command was felt in depth in 1980s.[2]
In 1981, Israeli Air Force successfully sabotage the Iraqi nuclear program after commencing a successful surprise air strike on Iraqi nuclear installations at Osirak, under the codename Operation Opera.[2] The Operation Opera played a psychological role in Pakistan as it was a success operation commenced by Israeli Air Force.[2] The Air Intelligence picked reports about suspected activities near Indo-Pakistan border.[2] Therefore, PAF was put on high alert and in 1983, the PAF made first contact with suspect IAF F-16s.[2] The PAF jets intercepted the suspected F-16s and confirmed their Israeli identity.[2] The PAF jets took aggressive measures and their tactics surprised the IAF F-16s.[2] Panicked and surprise, the mission was cancelled and IAF F-16s were pulled off immediately.[2]
After this incident, the Chief of Air Staff General Anwar Shamim decided to formed a unified command to protect the nuclear deterrence from outside forces. The 1980s was a decade of modernizing of Air Force and PAF inducted and introduced advanced jets in its weaponry. Since 1990s, the PAF jets are believed to have to have practiced "toss-bombing"— a method developed by United States Air Force to deliver nuclear weapons from fighter jets.
The command was highly active in 1998 when country, under the leadership of Prime minister Navaz Sharif, decided to carried out the nuclear test operations at Chagai Hills. The command flew the nuclear devices from Rawalpindi to Chagai and also carried scientists to the nuclear test sites.
The two units, [[No. 16 Squadron (Pakistan Air Force)|Squadron No. 16 Black Panthers and the No. 26 Squadron Black Spiders, were the first units to be inducted in this command and reportedly stationed at Masroor Air Force Base in early 1998.[1] By late 1999 they had reportedly been re-deployed to Peshawar Air Force Base.
On 01 April 2009 the government promoted air vice marshal Farhat Hussain Khan to the rank of air marshal.[1] Air Marshal Farhat Hussain Khan had commanded a fighters' squadron, a fighters' wing and an operational base.[1] In 2011, Air Marshal Sohail Ahmad, former commander of Special Service Wing, was made its second commander.
Pakistan
Pakistan Air Force