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Saturday, January 24, 2026
TopicPAF

Topic: PAF

A Pakistani daughter on getting to know IAF MiG pilot who shot down her father’s F-104 in 1971

Every year we celebrate 1965 but 1971 broke our hearts, our spirits, says Lesley Ann Middlecoat, daughter of Wing Commander Mervyn Leslie Middlecoat of PAF.

Aizad Baksh Awan, the first IAF pilot to train Afghan Air Force cadets

When the second IAF squadron was being sanctioned in Feb 1941, AB Awan was picked to raise and command it. But he felt slighted when he was overlooked for promotions.

PAF fighter pilot dies as F-16 crashes during Pakistan Day rehearsals

Wing Commander Noman Akram was the Commanding Officer of Sargodha-based 9 Squadron, which participated in Pakistan’s response to the Balakot air strikes.

Before Balakot, a pilot-navigator duo of IAF’s bomber fleet showed up Pakistan in 1971 war

K.K. Dutta was the Navigation Leader in 16 Squadron commanded by MVC Padmanabha Gautam. This is the story of their Canberra bomber missions.

1965 Sargodha attack: How IAF hit Pakistan’s most protected base & destroyed 10 aircraft

Sargodha was probably the most well-defended air base in Asia. It was also Pakistan's most strategic base as it had the highest density of PAF's assets.

1965 India-Pakistan war: How IAF’s heroes slayed PAF’s superior Sabre fighter jets

IAF's lightweight Gnats took on PAF's sleek Sabres & busted myth that they were invincible. The mettle of the 'Sabre Slayers' remains a legend to this day.

After Balakot, Pakistani & Indian air forces are now fighting war of uniform patches

A special patch meant to be worn by PAF pilots showed the JF-17 as a Chinese dragon with the MiG-21 in its grasp. Indians responded with ‘Falcon Slayers’ patch.

With Balakot, India both gained & lost an opportunity to push Pakistan to act against terror

All the weapons India is frenetically importing can offer no effective deterrence in the absence of political will.

Pakistan’s guided tour of journalists to Balakot air strike spot is a pointless exercise

ThePrint view on the most important issues, instantly.

Three live bombs fired by Pakistani fighter aircraft are still lying at LoC

In the 27 Feburary dogfight, the Pakistan Air Force fired a total of 11 H-4 bombs and 4 or 5 AMRAAM missiles, but not one could hit a target.

On Camera

Controversial dog-walker IAS Sanjeev Khirwar is back in Delhi. What happened to his wife?

In 2022, athletes claimed they were asked to wind up training early at Thyagraj Stadium so that the IAS couple could walk their dog. Then came the memes and public outrage.

IndiGo profit plunges 78% as Dec meltdown with 3k flight cancellations takes a toll

Net income for InterGlobe Aviation Ltd slipped 78 percent to Rs 5.5 billion for the three months ended Dec 31 compared with the year-ago period.

Rafale saga: 25 yrs of detours, deadlocks & political hesitation. Now IAF getting what it always wanted

Instead of buying more Mirages outright in early 2000s, the requirement was tweaked in favour of a medium-weight, multi-role fighter with Mirage-like performance. 

Pakistan se azaadi. Grow up India, stop giving it prime real estate in your psyche

Pakistan not only has zero chance of catching up with India in most areas, but will inevitably see the gap rising. Its leaders will offer its people the same snake oil in different bottles.