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PAF Base Sakesar

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Coordinates: 32°32′34″N 71°55′43″E / 32.5428°N 71.9287°E / 32.5428; 71.9287
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PAF Base Sakesar
Urdu: پی اے ایف بیس سکیسر
Sakesar, Soon Valley, Punjab province in Pakistan
PAF Base Sakesar is located in Punjab, Pakistan
PAF Base Sakesar
PAF Base Sakesar
Location of Sakesar Base in Pakistan
PAF Base Sakesar is located in Pakistan
PAF Base Sakesar
PAF Base Sakesar
PAF Base Sakesar (Pakistan)
PAF Base Sakesar is located in Asia
PAF Base Sakesar
PAF Base Sakesar
PAF Base Sakesar (Asia)
Coordinates32°32′34″N 71°55′43″E / 32.5428°N 71.9287°E / 32.5428; 71.9287
TypeMOB
Site information
Owner Ministry of Defense
Operator Pakistan Air Force
Controlled byAir Defense Command
Open to
the public		Partially
Site history
Built1960 (1960)
Built forPakistan Air Force
Built by Pakistan
Battles/wars
Garrison information
OccupantsNo. 410 Squadron

Pakistan Air Force Base Sakesar abbreviated (PAF Base Sakesar), Urdu: پی اے ایف بیس سکیسر, is a radar base of the Pakistan Air Force situated in the center of Pakistan. Established at the highest point of the Soon Valley, the base is located 72 kilometres (45 mi) from Mianwali. The area including the base itself is a tourist attraction known for its lush green and cool environment.[1][2][3][4]

History

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Early years

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The base's history traces back to 1954 when the Pakistan Air Force selected the Sakesar hill top for a future high powered radar installation site. The base's location and height was favorable for providing radar surveillance to West Pakistan's airspace in the northeast. Initially, two Marconni Type-21 radars were deployed in 1958 and in 1961 PAF Station Sakesar was officially established with Wing Commander Amanullah Khan serving as the first station commander. The base's primary air defense squadron, the No. 410 Squadron PAF which by then was operating a single AN/FPS-20 Early Warning Radar acquired from the USA under the 1954 US-Pakistan Mutual Defense Treaty. The FPS-20 had been operationalized in 1960 along with a GCI Station and Sector Operations Control Centre (SOC) replacing the old British Marconi Type-21 radars thus providing enhanced radar coverage to PAF aircraft flying in its Area of Responsibility (AoR).[1][2][4]

1965 Indo-Pakistani War

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Main article: 1965 Indo-Pakistani War

Under the command of Wing Commander M. Zackaria Butt and personal supervision of then AOC Air Defense Air Commodore Masroor Hossain, the base played a key role in Pakistan's aerial battles during the 1965 war. Being the main hub of air defense and ground control operations alongside PAF Station Badin, the base's control centers oversaw all of PAF combat operations in the northern section of West Pakistan.[1]

Sakesar also remained the main target for the Indian Air Force which executed a number of failed ground attack runs in an attempt to destroy the base's single FPS-20 radar but to no avail as the base was well defended by Anti-aircraft guns and well hidden within the surrounding terrain. Notable ground controllers of the base during the war included Squadron Leader Anwar Ahmed Khan and Flight Lieutenants S. Waheed Nabi, Farooq H. Khan and Ejaz A. Khan.[1][5]

1971 War

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Main article: 1971 Indo-Pakistani War

Sakesar was under command of Group Captain Rehmat Khan during the 1971 war and actively took part in combat operations throughout the conflict. The initial days of the war saw heavy IAF airstrikes targeting Sakesar. An attack by a pair of Indian Hawker Hunters on 5 December 1971 which executed two strafing and bombing runs damaged the radar antenna. Though, the ground controller Flight Lieutenant Zarrar Shafique had promptly vectored two F-6 Farmer fighters of the PAF's No. 25 Squadron which shot the hunters down. Later that evening another lone Hunter jet managed to attack Sakesar inflicting further damages. While Indian fighters couldn't achieve their objective of destroying Sakesar's radar due to heavy anti-aircraft and PAF fighter activity, they managed to damage it to some extent such that the radar had to be turned off for 3 days before it was repaired.[1][6]

1972-2002

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Air Commodore Sadoon Pervaiz Memon (right) serving as the Base Commander of PAF Sakesar.

Under the PAF's air defense PADS-77 modernization and restructuring program, the base saw various major re-alignments in the late 1970s which included the shifting of Air Defense Training School (ADTS) from PAF Base Korangi Creek to Sakesar.[2]

Wartime alerts

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The base remained on high alert during the Kargil conflict in 1999 but more notably in the PAF's Operation Sentinel during the 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff. The vintage FPS-20 of No. 410 Squadron which by now was obsolete was replaced with a YLC-2 Radar which was provided by China under emergency circumstances as US sanctions under Pressler amendment were still in effect.[3]

Present Day

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The base currently serves as a Main Operating Base of the PAF's air defense along with PAF Base Malir. A Radome was installed for the base's radars in 2007 to protect them from harsh weather. In 2010, an Archive Gallery was set up at the base's Officer's Mess to preserve Sakesar's history.[3][4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "PAF Base Sakesar". PakDef.info. Archived from the original on 2009-01-01.
  2. ^ a b c Gohari, MJ (2001). The Story of the Pakistan Air Force 1988-1998: A Battle Against Odds. Shaheen Foundation. ISBN 9698553002.
  3. ^ a b c Hashmi, Qadeer (2014). History of the Pakistan Air Force 1999-2013 (1st ed.). p. 299.
  4. ^ a b c Khan, Farhat; Hashmi, Qadeer (2024). History of the Pakistan Air Force (2014-2023): The Next Generation Air Force (1st ed.). p. 288. ISBN 978-969-7518-01-2.
  5. ^ Fricker, John (1979). Battle for Pakistan: The Air War of 1965. Ian Allen. ISBN 0711009295.
  6. ^ Tufail, Kaiser (2020). Against All Odds: The Pakistan Air Force in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War. Helion & Company. ISBN 978-1913118648.
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