PAF Base M.M. Alam is a Pakistan Air Force

airbase An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

located at Mianwali, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The base is named after

Muhammad Mahmood Alam Air Commodore Muhammad Mahmood Alam (Bengali: মহম্মদ মাহমুদ আলম; ur, ) 6 July 1935 – 18 March 2013) was a Bengali fighter pilot officially credited by the Pakistan Air Force with having downed four India ...

History

Originally a World War II airstrip, it was decided that Mianwali would be upgraded into a satellite airbase for PAF Base Mushaf (then PAF Base Sargodha) during the

1965 Indo-Pak War The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

to act as an alternate recovery airfield. The airbase became operational in October 1971 and was first commanded by

Group Captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

S. M. Dutta. Aircraft of different types, including the

Shenyang F-6 The Shenyang J-6 ( Chinese: 歼-6; designated F-6 for export versions; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is the Chinese-built version of the Soviet MiG-19 'Farmer' fighter aircraft, the world's first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. Design and ...

, were operated from the base during the

1971 Indo-Pak War The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decemb ...

. Pilots and anti-aircraft gunners of Mianwali airbase shot down 5 enemy aircraft during that conflict, the first three days of which the base came under regular attacks. The airbase was again upgraded to a permanent operational airbase in August 1974, although construction of facilities was not completed for another three years. The first base commander was Wing Commander Sultan Muhammad. During November 1975, the No.1 Fighter Conversion Unit (FCU) was transferred to Mianwali airbase from

PAF Base Masroor PAF Base Masroor is the largest airbase operated by the Pakistan Air Force. It is located in the Mauripur area of Karachi, in the Sindh province. The base was originally known as RPAF Station Mauripur and after 1956, as PAF Station Mauripur. ...

where it began fighter conversion training using the

FT-5 The Shenyang J-5 (Chinese: 歼-5) (NATO reporting name ''Fresco'') is a Chinese-built single-seat jet interceptor and fighter aircraft derived from the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. The J-5 was exported as the F-5 and was originally designated ...

dual-seat training aircraft. Over 500 fighter pilots have graduated since. In November 1976, No.14 Squadron was transferred to Mianwali airbase for operational conversion of graduates of the No.1 Fighter Conversion Unit from dual-seat to the

single-seat fighter aircraft. When No.14 Squadron was selected to operate the

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...

in August 1986, it was transferred away from Mianwali airbase and replaced by No.25 Squadron. Further construction of facilities and transfer of units to the base took place during the 1980s. On January 5, 2012, No 1 Fighter Conversion Unit re-equipped, after end of long and illustrious services rendered by veteran Chinese FT-5 fighter trainer aircraft. No 1 FCU, is now being re-equipped with modern state-of-the-art K-8P fighter trainer aircraft. Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman, Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force was the Chief Guest at the occasion. In this regard the advanced and focused training at No 1 FCU on K-8P aircraft would assist Pakistan Air Force to remain an air force second to none.

Base Commander

Renaming

The airbase was renamed as "PAF Base M.M. Alam" on 20 March 2014 after the 1965 war veteran

References

{{authority control Pakistan Air Force bases Mianwali District Military installations in Punjab, Pakistan