No. 5 Squadron, named the Falcons, is a

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

fighter squadron, the second oldest fighter squadron since the PAF's creation in 1947.

History

The squadron was established as part of the Royal Pakistan Air Force on 15 August 1947, equipped with eight Hawker Tempest II fighters and commanded by Squadron Leader Zaheer Ahmad. The unit was based at Miranshah and was suffering from inadequate numbers of technical staff. Most of the squadron's personnel were inherited from the

Royal Indian Air Force The Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) was the aerial force of British India and later the Dominion of India. Along with the Indian Army, and Royal Indian Navy, it was one of the Armed Forces of British Indian Empire. The Indian Air Force was offi ...

No. 1 Squadron. In December 1947 the squadron provided cover to the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

units pulling out from Razmak during ' Operation Curzon.' In the early 1950s the unit was converted to fly the

Hawker Sea Fury The Hawker Sea Fury is a British fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. It was the last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy, and one of the fastest production single reciprocating engine aircraft e ...

. The squadron's

F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing So ...

s were replaced in 1967 with the Dassault Mirage IIIE and its role changed to tactical attack. The unit was made fully operational and, during the 1971 Indo-Pak War, over 200 missions were flown in day and night. The squadron's reconnaissance role is performed year-round along the entire eastern border with Mirage III/5 reconnaissance variants and reconnaissance pods supported by other PAF aircraft and ground-based radars. These duties require the squadron to be split up and deployed at different locations throughout the year. Reconnaissance duties are in addition to monthly Air Defence Alert (ADA) and training. In 2010 the squadron was re-equipped with the F-16C/D Block 52+, the old Mirage III/5 being transferred to other units. As well as air-to-air and air-to-ground armaments such as the

AIM-120 AMRAAM The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM (pronounced ), is an American beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. It is 7 inches (18 cm) in diameter, and employs ...

, the new F-16s are also equipped with new Goodrich DB-110 reconnaissance pods. These have seen service in the skies over North West Pakistan against the insurgency there, providing high resolution infra-red imagery and maps to the Pakistani forces.

Awards

* The Pakistani Inter-Squadron Armament Trophy 1952 * The Pakistani Inter-Squadron Maintenance Efficiency Trophy (1991, 1992, 1995) * The Pakistani Inter-Squadron Armament Competition (ISAC) 1996 – fourth place overall.

Gallery

File:Pakistan Air Force F-16D 10806 Falcons (28928474790).jpg, A Pakistani F-16 Block-52 from the No. 5 Squadron File:Pakistani F-16C Viper.jpg, A Pakistani F-16 Block-52 from the No. 5 Squadron File:Pakistani F-16.jpg, A Pakistani F-16 Block-52 from the No. 5 Squadron File:New F-16 block 52 of PAF.JPG, A Pakistani F-16 Block-52 from the No. 5 Squadron

References

External links

{{Pakistan Air Force squadrons Pakistan Air Force squadrons

History

Awards

Gallery

See also

References

External links