Pakistan - Quwa

Su-35 to Pakistan? Probably Not.

By Bilal Khan As with the Yak-130 story, there are reports floating around claiming that Pakistan may be interested in the Sukhoi Su-35, Russia’s current 4+/4.5 generation fighter. The short of my point is that it is very unlikely that Pakistan will pick…

The JF-17 IV: Tomorrow’s Weapon Systems

by Bilal Khan 2393Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan The previous part of Quwa’s JF-17 series outlined the major changes coming to the platform via the development of JF-17 Block-3. Whereas the JF-17 of today is a significant improvement for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in terms of being…

Pakistan and Yak-130? Not likely

by Bilal Khan 2393Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan There has been quite a bit of discussion on a recent news piece claiming that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is interested in the Yakovlev Yak-130 lead-in-fighter-trainer (LIFT) aircraft. It is no secret that LIFT aircraft such as the Yak-130,…

The JF-17 III: Major Changes Ahead on JF-17 Block-3

by Bilal Khan 2460Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan Previous articles on Quwa discussed why the JF-17 is a significant advancement for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). Not only is the JF-17 an effective multi-role platform that is poised to form the backbone of the PAF fighter fleet, but…

DoD awards contract to Bell for Pakistani AH-1Z

by Bilal Khan 2396Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan In April 2015 Pakistan submitted a request for the sale of 15 AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters alongside 1,000 AGM-114R Hellfire-II multipurpose air-to-surface missiles for $952mn U.S. The U.S Department of Defense has just awarded Bell to build the first two…

First Hints of AESA Radar on JF-17 Block-III?

by Bilal Khan 2395Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan DefenseNews published an interesting article the other day about a Chinese firm, NAV Technology, putting out a marketing document showing a fighter radar that is identical to the Israeli Elta ELM-2052 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. I am not…

Pakistan Interested in Yak-130?

by Bilal Khan 2401Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan In the aftermath of the recently concluded order of 4 Mi-35 attack/transport helicopters, there are a few media reports floating about purporting that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is "eyeing" the Yak-130 advanced jet trainer. The whole topic of 'lead-in-fighter-trainers' (or LIFT)…

With Mi-35 Pakistan Modernizes Fleet

by Bilal Khan 2416Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan In April the U.S Defense Security Cooperation Agency sent Congress a request to approve a near $1bn US sale involving AH-1Z 'Viper' attack helicopters and 1000 AGM-114R Hellfire II missiles to the Pakistan Army. Around this time the Pakistan Army…

The JF-17 II: Introducing BVR & Precision Strike

by Bilal Khan 2545Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan In my previous piece I took a high level look at the JF-17 program, and in broad strokes I identified the improvements it brought (and will continue) to bring to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). With this article, I am…

The Dangers of Ignoring the Navy

by Bilal Khan 2225Views 1Like

By Bilal Khan Muhammad Ali Ehsan, a retired Pakistan Army lieutenant-colonel posted a thoughtful piece on the Express Tribune the other day that I found quite interesting. Essentially a response to the Sino-Pak submarine deal (reportedly valued at $4 to $5 billion US),…