Last week, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) kicked off Indus Shield 2024, a large-scale multinational air exercise involving as many as 24 other countries, including key partners like China and Turkiye as well as a growing roster of states from the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.
This is the second iteration of Indus Shield, which the PAF launched in 2023. Compared to Indus Shield 2023, this year’s exercise has drawn the participation of 10 additional countries.
According to a PAF press release, Indus Shield 2024 is taking place across two locations at the same time. The PAF also highlighted the overarching goals of the exercise, such as enhancing interoperability between the participants, strengthening partnerships, and employing air-to-air and air-to-surface tactics.
However, looking at Indus Shield as only a large-scale drill undercuts many of the incentives the PAF has in running such programs. In fact, for the PAF, the main objective of Indus Shield may be strategic.
The PAF is a large and well-equipped air force in its own right. From fielding modern fighter aircraft with contemporary technologies – such as active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars – support assets like airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, drones, and systems like tactical data-links (TDL), the PAF offers a wealth of both expertise and support in many key air warfare technologies.
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Ultimately, there is little doubt that raising its own prestige is one of the PAF’s goals with Indus Shield. Currently, it seems that the PAF wishes to run Indus Shield on an annual basis, which is a sizable investment, especially if it invites additional countries to participate or observe.
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