Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews/Ben Vogel Feb 12, 2016 The biggest airport in  Pakistan  is being built by the  China  Communications Construction Company at Gwadar in Baluchistan as part of the USD46 billion  China - Pakistan  Economic Corridor linking western  China  to the Arabian Sea. Construction of New Gwadar International Airport is set to begin imminently. The USD250 million project is expected to last 30 months on a 4,000-acre site that sits 25 km northeast of the existing airport. The airport is one element of a wider Chinese-backed strategy for Gwadar, including development of the deepwater Gwadar Port and a road-building programme. Chinese Overseas Ports Holding Company Ltd took over the port in October 2015 after signing a 40-year lease for more than 2,000 acres of land. While New Gwadar International International Airport is primarily a Chinese project, the  Pakistan  Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) is upgrading airfield infr...

Neelam Mathews Dec 1 2013 India's Border Security Force enters its 49th year today. The last year has been full of challenges says the Director General, Subhash Joshi. The govt has sanctioned a 5 year modernization plan worth approx Rs 4200 crores alongwith infrastructure and new units. It is raising 3 battalions this year and air and water wings being upgraded.  Biggest challenge for the BSF is border infiltrations.To a query whether forthcoming elections would pose a problem on borders, he said fencing on the western border was almost complete and on the Bangladesh border some issues on the fencing re landscape were involved. BSF is also building an   embankment , "an old project",  a 179-km stretch of the border in Jammu to prevent ceasefire violations by Pakistan. "It was felt we need better defenses in this sector...the land is being acquired...when handed to BSF, the construction agency will be requested..., " said Joshi. "We were told it...

Neelam Mathews Dec 17, 2012 Credit-Guardian Pakistan's  Interior Ministry has issued a red alert for all airports in the country and directed them to further boost their security. The red alert was issued in the wake of attack at Peshawar airport on Saturday night during which ten terrorists were killed.

Neelam Mathews Dec 14, 2012 Two Etihad flights- one bound for Mahe in Seychelles (EY 622) and the other for Lahore (EY 421) escaped mid-air collision over Pakistani air space as the Radar Control System in Pakistan’s Pisni area was shut for maintenance and the audio frequency system was unreachable because of bad weather, according to a Pakistani website that quoted a TV news report without naming the channel. Aerospace Diary could not confirm this. It was the airlines' Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS) that alarmed the pilots about the situation.

Neelam Mathews Oct 3, 2012 The meeting of the India-Russia Inter-governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) which was to be held on Oct 4 has been deferred due to the “inability of the Russian Co-Chair of the Commission and the Defense Minister Serdyukov to travel to India as scheduled.  It has been conveyed by the Russian side that the Russian Defense Minister was required to stay in Russia for his urgent participation in a program of the Russian President,” says the MoD release  The meeting will now be held on Oct.10. It is believed Pakistan Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani will be in Moscow on Oct 5. India is expected to raise delivery schedule of the delayed 45,000- ton aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov (INS Vikramaditya) that encountered engine malfunctions during recent trials.

Posted by- Neelam Mathews Sept 17, 2012 Pakistan has conducted a test fire of the indigenously developed multi tube Cruise Missile Hatf-VII (Babur), with a range of 700km. Babur Cruise Missile is a low flying, terrain hugging missile,  that Pakistan claims, has stealth features. Equipped with Terrain Contour Matching (TERCOM) and Digital Scene Matching and Area Co-relation (DSMAC), it can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads. The missile was launched from the Multi Tube Missile Launch Vehicle,  which significantly enhances the targeting and deployment options of Babur Weapon system. 

Posted by- Neelam Mathews August 30, 2012 A t the entrance of the Dining Hall of the National Defense Academy at Khadakwasla, there is a table set for one, with the chair tilted forward. This table is set for the Armed Forces Personnel who are Prisoners of War and forgotten, in the hope that they will return one day. There are still 54 POWs missing in Pakistan captured alive including CO of 47 Sqn, Wg Cdr "High Speed" Gill. It is unlikely that they are still alive, we are told. The government should look into this ASAP.   The Placard on the table reads: “ The table set is small, for one, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner against his oppressors. The single rose displayed in a vase reminds us of the families and loved ones of our comrades-in-arms who keep their faith awaiting their return. The Red Ribbon tied so prominently on the vase is reminiscent of the red ribbon worn upon the lapel and breasts of thousands who bear witness to th...

Neelam Mathews Aug 16, 2012 Militants armed with grenades and suicide vests infiltrated Pakistan's Minhas air base in Kamra  near the Aeronautical complex, located in Attock, north Punjab.All seven were killed. Over 30 planes were parked, there including state-of-the-art JF-17 Thunder fighter jets. Kamra is located about 70 kms from the Pakistani capital Islamabad. Kamra Aeronautical Complex is where Pakistan assembles and overhauls JF-17 Thunder fighter jets in collaboration with China. According to reports, at least 11 Chinese engineers were working at the Kamra Aeronautical Complex. In 2009, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance of the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex. 

AIN Defense Perspective » May 4, 2012 by  Neelam Mathews The first launch of the Agni V missile took place on April 19. May 4, 2012, 1:55 PM India launched its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time on April 19. The Agni V weighs 50 metric tons, is 17 meters long and has a range of 5,000 km. Development has cost $480 million. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) says it will conduct two more validation tests before starting production. The missile is expected to be introduced by 2016, said a defense official. The first Agni V had a one-metric-ton dummy payload. Compared with the previous four missiles in the Agni series, which had two-stage solid-fuel propulsion, the Agni V has three-stage propulsion to give it more reach, better accuracy and greater speed. “The indigenously developed composite rocket motors performed well in the ...

Posted by- Neelam Mathews April 2, 2012 The Pakistan government has approached the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to appoint experts for inquiry into the Airblue plane crash following the Peshawar court expressing dissatisfaction over the previous inquiry report. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had sent a letter to ICAO.A senior law officer of CAA, Ubaidur Rehman Abbasi, informed the bench that they were awaiting outcome of their request made to ICAO. The ministry of defense had last month issued a notification for appointing a board of accident inquiry into Airblue flight accident, which crashed on July 28, 2010, at Islamabad leaving 152 persons dead. The notification said that the board should exercise powers, conferred o it under the Civil Aviation Rules 1994, and furnish report to the ministry of defense within 30 days.

By Lisa Curtis and Derek Scissors, Ph.D. (Heritage Foundation) Posted by- Neelam Mathews Jan 20, 2012 China ’s concerns over Pakistan’s future stability will likely limit the extent to which it will help Pakistan out of its economic difficulties. While China has an interest in maintaining strong security ties with Pakistan, the economic relationship is not very extensive and the notion that Chinese ties could serve as a replacement for U.S. ties is far-fetched. Instead of wringing hands over Chinese influence on Pakistan, the U.S. should seek cooperation from Beijing in encouraging a more stable and prosperous Pakistan—which will benefit all parties involved.   In the wake of the U.S. raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound last May and deteriorating relations between Islamabad and Washington, Pakistani leaders have sought to play up their country’s relations with China, touting Beijing as an alternative partner to Washington. However, China’s concerns about the future stabilit...

U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan- Ambassador Marc Grossman January 20, 2012 Transcript of media interview First of all, thank you all very much for coming out this morning. May I also thank the Government of India for all of the hospitality that we have been shown during the day today. I am on a trip that has taken me so far first to Turkey, then to Saudi Arabia, to the United Arab Emirates, and here today to India. I had the opportunity today to call on the Foreign Secretary and I appreciated that very much. I also look very much forward to seeing my counterpart S.K. Lambah here in a few minutes, and then I have the honor to be received this afternoon by the National Security Advisor.  We have made this trip in support of Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation and so after New Delhi this evening we are going to Kabul.  I will have the opportunity to visit with the leadership of the Government of Afghanistan and particularly President Karza...

News Neelam mathews The Pakistan Air Lines Pilots Association (PALPA), President Captain Sohail Baloch has said the Airblue Airbus 321 flight that crashed and killed 152 on board near Islamabad could be attributed to pilot fatigue. The aircraft lost communication with the control tower following bad weather. The impact height is said to be around 3000 ft. and crash site is 35 to 40 degree off runway 30. Airblue flight 202 took off from Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on early Wednesday morning and was expected to land at Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad. Airblue has 3 A321s- one down now - and 2 A319s. “The pilot may be suffering from accumulated fatigue because they are not given adequate leave,” Baloch told a private news channel. Baloch said the route was not a no-fly zone, as was being speculated. The plane exceeded the safety distance due to bad weather. He said “this decision was taken by the pilot who could not determine the appropriate landi...

PROGRAMS NEW DELHI — The U.S. Navy on April 30 transferred the first two of eight P-3C Orions to Pakistan as part of its Foreign Military Sales program. The Pakistan navy will have received all eight aircraft by 2012. The aircraft will provide Pakistan with the capability to conduct maritime patrol in littoral and deep-water environments, the U.S. Navy says. “This represents the expanding strategic partnership between Pakistan and the U.S. and will fill an important gap in our country’s maritime security by helping us more effectively monitor sea lanes and provide for maritime traffic in the Arabian Sea,” Pakistan Ambassador to the U.S. Husain Haqqani said during a ceremony at NAS Jacksonville, Fla. Brig. Gen. Thomas Masiello, deputy assistant secretary of state for plans, programs and operations at the U.S. Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, praised the non-NATO ally, saying, “Pakistan commands the multinational coalition of Combined Task Force 150 in its maritime security ...