To give fresh impetus to Pakistan Navy's fighting capability one Fokker aircraft and two Alouette helicopters were inducted into Pakistan Naval Aviation on Saturday. According to an ISPR (Navy) press release here on Saturday these aircraft were formally made part of PN Fleet in an impressive ceremony held at Pakistan Naval Aviation Base PNS Mehran.
Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Muhammad Afzal Tahir, was chief guest on the occasion. Pakistan Navy has modified this Fokker aircraft with state of the art sensors and weapons for use in maritime operations. Newly inducted Fokker was acquired from PIA, which had grounded its Fokker Fleet in 2000.
The contract with PIA also included two additional Fokker aircraft for spare support and transfer of associated maintenance facilities. The event also marked the induction of first batch of two Alouette helicopters. Pakistan Navy contracted a private firm in UK for acquisition of six Alouette helicopters for use in maritime operations. These helicopters will operate from ships and can be employed for multiple roles.
The remaining four helicopters will also arrive in Pakistan by last quarter of the current year. Addressing the ceremony, Admiral Tahir said that the prevailing geopolitical scenario and security environment warrants that Pakistan Navy, besides ensuring wartime preparedness, is also ready to undertake wide range of operations during peace time either independently or as part of coalition.
In this respect, the Naval Chief continued, one major ongoing activity is uninterrupted participation in coalition maritime campaign plan by Pakistan Navy. Chief of the Naval Staff said that with the induction of new platforms, Pakistan Navy would undergo a major change and rise to all future challenges with continued dedication and highest degree of professionalism.
He apprised that in next few years PN Air Arm strength would almost be doubled with the induction of more P3Cs, Alouette helicopters and force multiplier AEW aircraft. He also pointed out that another significant project would be to acquire fixed and rotary wing UAVs to add to Navy's surveillance capability. The ceremony was concluded with a spectacular fly past by newly inducted Fokker and Alouette aircraft. Besides others, the ceremony was attended by Commander Pakistan Fleet Vice Admiral Noman Bashir.
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