Bangladesh Air Force

Bangladesh Air Force
Active	1971 – present
Country	Bangladesh
Allegiance	Bangladesh
Branch	Air Force
Type	Military aviation
Role	Aerial warfare
Size	22,000+ personnel 215+ aircraft
Part of	Bangladesh Armed Forces
Air Headquarter	Dhaka Cantonment
Nickname	BAF
Patron	President of Bangladesh
Motto	বাংলার আকাশ রাখিব মুক্ত The Sky is the Limit
Engagements	1971 Bangladesh War of Liberation
Website	www.baf.mil.bd
Commanders
Chief of Air Staff	Air Marshal Shah Mohammad Ziaur Rahman
Insignia
Roundel
Air Force Ensign
Aircraft flown
Attack	A-5, L-39, Mi-171
Bomber	An-32 (converted)
Fighter	F-7, MiG-29
Helicopter	Bell 206, Bell 212, Mi-8, Mi-17
Interceptor	F-7
Reconnaissance	F-7
Trainer	PT-6, T-37, L-39
Transport	An-32, C-130

The Bangladesh Air Force (বাংলাদেশ বিমান বাহিনী Bangladesh Biman Bahini in Bengali), is the air arm of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. Bangladesh Air Force currently employs more than 22,000 personnel including 600+ pilots.

History

Bangladesh Air Force was officially formed at the Sector Commanders Conference during its independence war from Pakistan in 1971. Its official date of formation has been established as September 28, 1971 and it was launched formally by the Government on 8 October 1971. A number of BAF officers participated in the Bangladesh Liberation War. Initially, BAF was formed with all officers and airmen of Bengali origin serving in the Pakistan Air Force prior to the war. At that time, the embryo of Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) was formed with less than hundred officers and airmen. During the independence war, officers of the BAF attached to the Z-Force were Squadron Leader M. Hamidullah Khan, as Commander-Sector 11, Flight Lieutenant Liaqat as Battalion Adjutant, Flying Officer Rouf, Flying Officer Ashraf and Flight Sergeant Shafiqullah as company commanders. Squadron Leader Sadruddin Hossain, Squadron Leader Wahidur Rahim, Squadron Leader Nurul Qader, Squadron Leader Shamsur Rahman and Air Commodore Ataur Rahman as sub sector company commanders. Squadron Leader Khademul Bashar participated in the war as Commander-Sector 6.

Near the end of the war, a symbolic flight known as 'Kilo Flight' was flown to establish the Bangladesh Air Force. Initially, 'Kilo Flight' consisted of three aircraft provided by the Indian authorities. Squadron Leader Sultan Mahmud was appointed as the commander of the 'Kilo Flight' with one helicopter. After being able to repair only one air craft, the Alouette, into some operational form, 'Kilo Flight' successfully began its maiden operational flight as part of the new air force. It occurred on December the 16th at Tejgaon airport, Dhaka. During the war, Pakistan transferred a huge amount of essential war materials and equipment to then West Pakistan that was originally assigned and appropriated for the eastern zone. After independence, BAF received a significant donation from the former USSR and later from China. Among the aircraft delivered were Ten single-seat MiG-21MF and two twin-seat MiG-21UM.

In 1972, three sordid and outdated aircraft: 1 C-47 Dakota, 1 de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter and a French Aérospatiale Alouette III helicopter were left to Bangladesh by India. The Pakistan Air Force prior to 1971 had a large number of Bengali pilots, air traffic controllers, technicians and administrative officers. Many of them distinguished themselves during the Bangladesh Liberation War, thus despite the lack of aircraft, they provided the nascent Bangladesh Air Force with a good number of trained personnel.

Disaster in 1991

In 1991, devastating cyclone struck the Bangladeshi coast and around 80 operational BAF aircraft were lost or damaged beyond repair. That did limit the operational capability of BAF significantly at that time. But slowly BAF recovered from the setback and now maintains a high standard of maintenance and operational readiness. Due to the incident, Chief of Air Force in 1991, Air Vice Marshal Momtaz Uddin Ahmed was fired by Government and a new chief was appointed.

Air Force personnel in 1971

During the independence war of 1971, many career Pakistan Air Force Officers and Airmen participated in different sectors in Bangladesh and also at the headquarters. Below are a list of some notable participants:

Air Vice Marshal (Air Chief) Khademul Bashar

PAF-BAF - Deceased

Wing Commander M.Hamidullah Khan

PAF-BAF - Deceased

Air Vice Marshal (Air Chief) Sadruddin Hossain

PAF-BAF – Retired

Air Commodore Ataur Rahman

PAF-BAF - Retired

Squadron Leader Wahidur Rahim

PAF-BAF – Retired

Squadron Leader Nurul Kader

PAF-BAF - Retired

Squadron Leader Shamsur Rahman

PAF-BAF - Retired

Air Vice Marshal (Air Chief) Sultan Mahmud

PAF-BAF - Retired

Squadron Leader Nurul Islam

PAF-BAF - Retired

Group Captain Shamsul Alam

PAF-BAF - Retired

Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman, Bir Shreshtho

PAF-BAF – Killed during attempt to defect to Bangladesh in 1971.

Flight Lieutenant Liaqat

PAF-BAF- Retired

Flight Lieutenant Iqbal Rashid

PAF-BAF- Retired

Flying Officer Rouf

PAF-BAF- Retired

Group Captain Ashraf

PAF-BAF- Retired

Flight Sergeant Abu Yusuf Khan

PAF-BAF - Retired

Flight Sergeant Shafiqullah

PAF-BAF - Retired

However, the list of freedom fighters who took part in the liberation war in 1971 as Pakistan Air Force Officers and students, later joined in Bangladesh Air force as per Bangladesh Gazette dated 26 July 2010 is furnished below:

Air Vice Marshall A K Khondokar (Bir Uttam)

Air Vice Marshall Sadruddin (Bir Protik)

Air Vice Marshall Sultan Mahmud (Bir Uttam)

Air Commodore Ataur Rahman

Air Commodore Khondokar Iftekhar Ahmed

Air Commodore Shah Alam

Group Captain Shamsul Alam (Bir Uttam)

Group Captain T M Ashraful

Group Captain Khalilur Rahman

Group Captain Habibur Rahman

Group Captain Abu Jafar Chowdhury

Group Captain N I M Ferdous

Group Captain Md Abdur Rashid Khan

Group Captain A Y M Nazmul Huq

Group Captain Abul Kalam Azad

Group Captain Zillur Rahim

Group Captain K M Ali Munir Rana

Wing Commander S R Mirza

Wing Commander Syed Wahidur Rahim

Wing Commander G H Mizja

Wing Commander M Mustafizua Rahman

Wing Commander Shakhawat Hossain Khan

Wing Commander Abdur Rouf

Wing Commander Kamal Uddin Ahmed

Wing Commander M Waliullah

Wing Commander M Hamidullah Khan (Bir Protik)

Wing Commander Mir Ali Akhtar

Wing Commander Syed Nurul Huda

Wing Commander Ferdous Imam

Wing Commander Ahmed Bodrul Hossain

Wing Commander Khan Abdur Rahman

Wing Commander A R M Habibur Rahman

Wing Commander Shafiul Islam

Wing Commander Ismail Hossain Siraji

Squadron Leader Bodrul Alam (Bir Uttam)

Squadron Leader H M Shoaib

Squadron Leader Liaqat Ali Khan (Bir Uttam)

Squadron Leader M Fazlur Rahman

Squadron Leader Nurul Kader

Squadron Leader Hossain Ahmed

Squadron Leader M Mazharul Haque Chowdhury

Squadron Leader AKM Akhtaruzzaman Khan

Squadron Leader Lal Mahmud Khan

Squadron Leader Kazi Mofizul Islam

Flight Lieutenant Mir Mahmudul Huq

Flight Lieutenant M N Abdur Nur

Flight Lieutenant Q S M Iqbal Rashid

Flight Lieutenant Firoz Ahmed Akhtar

Flight Lieutenant A K Sultan Ahmed

Flight Lieutenant M Amirul Islam

Flight Lieutenant Motiur Rahman (Bir Shreshto)

Flight Lieutenant A A M Saqlain

Air Vice Marshall K M Aminul Islam

Air Vice Marshall M Khademul Bashar (Bir Uttam)

Group Captain M A Quddus

Squadron Leader Enamul Kabir

Squadron Leader Sheikh Mojibur Rahman

Squadron Leader MD Kamruzzaman

Flight Lieutenant M A Razzak

Air Marshall A S M Ziaur Rahman

Air Commodore Kazi Delwar Hossain

Non combatant staff

Group Captain A K Khandker PAF-BAF – Was assigned as the Deputy Chief of Staff at the end of July 1971 under Lieutenant Colonel Abdur Rab who remained in Comilla during the war. His primary responsibility consisted of liaison with local Indian officials and defense personnel at Kalyani, Calcutta.

Distinguished personnel

• Group Captain M. G. Tawab PAF-BAF Was in West Pakistan during the liberation war but returned to the newly formed Bangladesh in 1974 and became Air Vice Marshall and also became Chief of Air Staff in 1975.
• Group Captain Safiul Azam PAF-BAF( Legendary Eagle Of The Sky )

Organizational structure

The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) has its HQ at Dhaka Cantonment. HQ has 3 branches, Operations & Training (Ops. & Trng.), Administration and Special Duties (Admin. & SD) and Material & Maintenance (M & Mte). Each branch is headed by officers who are considered as Principal Staff Officer (PSO)and known as Assistant Chief of Air Staff, e.g. ACAS (Ops & Trng). Under each PSO there are various Directorates headed by Directors of Group Captain Rank. Under each Director there are Deputy Directors (DD) and Staff Officers (SO).

• Office of the Chief of Air Staff (COAS)

• Air Secretary's Branch (Air Cdre Mashiuzzaman Serniabat ,psc)
• Chief Inspectorate (Gp Capt Murshed Hasan Siddiqui ,psc)
• Directorate of Air Intelligence (Gp Capt SM Shahnewaz ,psc)
• Judge Advocate General (Wg Cdr Ataur Molla)

• Operations & Training Branch

• Directorate of Air Defence
• Directorate of Air Operations
• Directorate of Air Traffic Services
• Directorate of Air Training
• Directorate of Education
• Directorate of Flight Safety
• Directorate of IT
• Directorate of Meteorology
• Directorate of Plan
• Directorate of Recruitment

• Administrative and Special Duties Branch

• Directorate of Provost Marshal
• Directorate of Administrative Co-ordination
• Directorate of Finance
• Directorate of Medical Services
• Directorate of Personnel
• Office of the Chief Engineer
• Directorate of Works
• Directorate of Welfare and Ceremony

• Material and Maintenance Branch

• Directorate of Logestics (Air Cdre M Abdul Hossain, psc)
• Directorate of Armament and Weapons (Gp Capt Faruque,psc)
• Directorate of Communication & Electronics (Gp Capt Abdus Samad Azad, psc)
• Directorate of Engineering (Gp Capt Nazrul Haque, psc)
• Directorate of Project (Gp Capt Mofidur Rahman, afwc ,psc)

Command structure

Shoulder/sleeve insignia	Appointment	Rank and name	Star plate
	Chief of the Air Staff	Air Marshal Shah Mohammad Ziaur Rahman ndc, afwc, psc	‎
	Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations & Training)	Air Vice Marshal Abu Esrar ndu, acsc
	Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Administration)	Air Vice Marshal Muhammad Enamul Bari ndu, psc
	Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Maintenance)	Air Commodore Mazhar, psc
	Air Officer Commanding, BAF Base Khademul Bashar	Air Commodore Naeem Hasan
	Air Officer Commanding, BAF Base Kurmitola	Air Commodore Ehsanul Gani Choudhury
	Air Officer Commanding, BAF Base Zahurul Haq	Air Commodore Sanaul Huq
	Air Officer Commanding, BAF Base Matiur Rahman	Air Commodore M Anwarul Haque Sardar
	Base Cdr, BAF Base Paharkanchanpur	Group Captain Saif Siddiqi
	Air Officer Commanding, BAF Base Cox's Bazar	Air Commodore Anisur Rahman

Branches (officer)

Branches of Bangladesh Air Force are:

Accounts

Administration and Training

Air Defence Weapon Controller

Air Traffic Control

Education

Engineering

General Duty (Navigator)

General Duty (Pilot)

Legal

Logistics

Meteorology

Trades (airmen)

Trades of Bangladesh Air Force are:

Aircraft Engineering

Electrical and Instrument Engineering

General Engineering

Mechanical Transport Engineering

Armament Engineering

Radio Engineering

Ground Signalling

Radar Operating

Life Saving Equipment

Photography

Air Traffic Control

Education

Cypher

Meteorological

Medical

Secretarial

Supply

General Service

Mechanical Transport Operator

Provost

Catering

Musician

Aircrew

Installations

View of BAF Information and Selection Centre, Dhaka

BAF Headquarters is located in Dhaka Cantonment. There are numerous bases set up all over the country. BAF Base Khademul Bashar Dhaka, BAF Base Zahurul Haque Chittagong and BAF Base Matiur Rahman Jessore are named after National as well as Air Force heroes. Other major bases are BAF Base Kurmitola Dhaka and BAF Base Pahar Kanchanpur Tangail. There are also several independent units and detachments in places like Moulavibazar Radar Unit (MRU), Bogra Radar Unit (BRU), No. 74 Squadron Bangladesh Air Force at Chittagong & No.71 Sqadron Bangladesh Air Force at Dhaka & Shamshernagar (Sylhet). Recently a new Forward Operations Base (FOB) at Coxs Bazar has been established.

Bangladesh Air Force Academy is the commissioned officer training academy for all branches of Bangladesh Air Force. It is located at BAF Base Matiur Rahman in Jessore.

Ranks

Officer ranks

(in descending order) Bangladesh Air Force

	Air Chief Marshal	Air Marshal	Air Vice-Marshal	Air Commodore	Group Captain	Wing Commander	Squadron Leader	Flight Lieutenant	Flying Officer	Pilot Officer

Junior Commissioned Officer and Non Commissioned Officer ranks

(in descending order) Bangladesh Air Force

	Master Warrant Officer	Senior Warrant Officer baf	Warrant Officer baf	Sergeant-baf	Corporal baf	Leading Aircraftman	Aircraftman
	Master Warrant Officer	Senior Warrant Officer	Warrant Officer	Sergeant	Corporal	Leading Aircraftman	Aircraftman

Aircraft inventory

BAF An-32 Cline

Main article: List of Aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force

Type of aircraft	Number of aircraft	Unit assignment	Notes
Multi role combat aircraft	77	Squadrons: 5, 8, 21, and 35
Operational Conversion Unit	14	Squadrons: 5, 8, 21, and 35
Counter-insurgency	8	Squadrons: 25	Also used in advanced jet conversion role.
Transport aircraft	7	Squadrons: 3 and 101st Special Flying Unit	An-32 has dual transport/bomber role.
Helicopter	41	Squadrons: 1, 9, 31, and 101st Special Flying Unit	All armed.
Intermediate jet trainer	11	Squadrons: 15
Rotary wing trainer	4	Squadrons: 4
Primary fixed wing trainer	25	Squadrons: 11

Future modernization program

BAF has an ongoing modernization program that includes plan to introduce 20-32 4+ generation fighter aircraft. The chief of air staff of Bangladesh air force, Air Marshal Shah Mohammad Ziaur Rahman has revealed this long-term procurement plan in Defense IQ 2011 International Fighter Aircraft Conference in London. According to him, the aircraft are being evaluated primarily are Mig-29CMT and Lockheed Martin F-16. The Sukhoi Su-30 and SAAB JAS-39 Gripen are also in evaluation. The order should materialize within 10–15 years according to him. In the meantime one squadron of stop-gap light fighter Chengdu F-7BGI has been ordered and to be delivered in 2012. These aircraft are of new variant are equipped with advanced avionics shall include HOTAS Contol, three MFD display and HUD. The aircraft shall also be equipped with both air-to-air and GPS guided munitions. The existing Mig-29 in inventory shall also be upgraded to Mig-29SMT standard. The air force will also acquire a squadron of Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT)(YAK-130& Aero-159ALCA), to replace the existing L-39 inventory. http://jdw.janes.com/public/jdw/asiapacific.shtml

UN mission deployment

More than 600+ BAF personnel, including officers & airmen, 10 BAF helicopters and are currently deployed to various UN Missions. Another C-130 transport aircraft is providing support to UN mission in Africa. With the deployment of C-130 aircraft and its personnel, Bangladesh became the largest troops contributing country in UN Peace Keeping Missions.

Guided weapons

Name	Version	Type	Used by	Notes
PL-2		Infrared guided Air-to-air missile	F-7MB, A-5C
PL-5	E	Active infrared guided Air-to-air missile	F-7MB, A-5C
PL-7		Infrared guided Air-to-air missile	F-7MB, A-5C	PRC version of the French Matra Magic R.550 missile.
PL-9	C	Infrared guided Air-to-air missile	F-7BG
Vympel R-27		Infrared guided (R-27T), semi-active radar guided (R-27R), and active radar guided (R-27AE)	MiG-29
Vympel R-73		Infrared guided air-to-air missile	MiG-29
LT-2		Laser-guided bomb	F-7BG, F-7MB, A-5C
LS-6		Satellite-guided bomb	F-7BG, F-7MB, A-5C
FM-90		Surface-to-air missile	Ground Based Air Defense	BAF introduce Ground Based Air Defense

Small arms

Name	Type	Caliber	Origin	Notes
Type 92	Semi-automatic pistol	9mm	China	Standard issue sidearm.
Sarsilmaz Cobra Special Tactical	Semi-automatic shotgun	12 gauge	Turkey	Standard BAF issue shotgun.
BD-08	Assault rifle	7.62mm	Bangladesh	Produced under license by BOF.
BD-08	Light machine gun	7.62mm	Bangladesh	Produced under license by BOF.
RPD	Light machine gun	7.62mm	Soviet Union
MGL Mk1	Grenade launcher	46mm	South Africa	In service with BAF Ground Security Unit.

Markings

The basic dimensions of the Bangladesh Air Force badge, motto, ensign, and roundel are similar to that of the Commonwealth nations. Their basic colours are blue, green and red.

List of the Chiefs of Air Staff, Bangladesh Air Force

Air Vice Marshal Abdul Karim Khondoker

(April 10, 1972 – August 17th 1975)

Air Vice Marshal Muhammad Ghulam Tawab

(August 18th 1975–1977)

Air Vice Marshal Khademul Bashar

(1977–1977)

Air Vice Marshal Abdul Gafoor Mahmud

(1977–1978)

Air Vice Marshal Sadruddin Mohammad Hossain

(1978–1982)

Air Vice Marshal Sultan Mahmud

(1982–1987)

Air Vice Marshal Momtaz Uddin Ahmed

(1987–1991)

Air Vice Marshal Altaf Hossain Chowdhury

(4 June 1991 – 3 June 1995)

Air Marshal Jamal Uddin Ahmed

(3 June 1995 – 4 June 2001)

Air Vice Marshal Rafiqul Islam

(4 June 2001 – 7 April 2002)

Air Vice Marshal Fakhrul Azam

(8 April 2002 – 7 April 2007)

Air Marshal Shah Mohammad Ziaur Rahman

(08 April 2007 – onward)

See also

• Bangabandhu Aeronautical Centre
• Bangladesh Army
• Bangladesh Navy

External links

• Official Website of Bangladesh Air Force
• Bangladesh Air Force Overview
• Bangladesh Air Force Gallery
• Official Gallery of Bangladesh Air Force
• Bangladesh Air Force Order of Battle Courtesy of Scramble

• Bangladesh Defence