Pakistan conducts land and air exercises near Bahawalpur

The Pakistan Army and Pakistan Air Force are conducting a joint military exercise in the Khairpur-Tamiwali area near Bahawalpur in Punjab.

Designated “Raad-ul-Barq” (“The Thunder of Lightning”), the head of Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt. Gen. Asim Bajwa described the exercise as a “comprehensive [and] integrated exercise encompassing all weapons [and] calibers at our best combat readiness.”

As per Radio Pakistan, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Rashad Mahmoud, and the respective Chief-of-Staffs of the Pakistan Army, Navy, and Air Force are present to observe Raad-ul-Barq.

Notes & Comments:

Raad-ul-Barq is Pakistan’s second major exercise to have been conducted in November. The first drill took place earlier in the month to validate the Pakistan Army’s network-enabled warfare capabilities.

With the inclusion of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Raad-ul-Barq has broadened the scope to include aerial assets, not just in the form of PAF fixed-wing combat aircraft, but also Army attack helicopters. The Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC) Z-10 has also been spotted (serving alongside the AH-1F/S Cobra). Tanks, rocket launchers and short-range air defence systems, such as the FM-90 surface-to-air missile system, were also present.