PAF Base Bholari
| Bholari Airbase | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
پی اے ایف بیس بھولاری | |||||||||
| Part of Southern Air Command | |||||||||
| Jamshoro District, Sindh Near Bholari in  Pakistan | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
  Bholari Airbase Location of Bholari airbase in Pakistan  Bholari Airbase Bholari Airbase (Pakistan)  Bholari Airbase Bholari Airbase (Asia) | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 25°14′35″N 68°02′11″E / 25.24306°N 68.03639°E | ||||||||
| Type | Air Force base | ||||||||
| Code | PK-0070 | ||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defense | ||||||||
| Operator |  Pakistan Armed Forces | ||||||||
| Controlled by |  Pakistan Air Force | ||||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||||
| Website | Pakistan Air Force | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1942 | ||||||||
| Built for |  Royal Indian Air Force Pakistan Air Force | ||||||||
| Built by |  British Raj (foundation) Bholari Development Board (later upgradation) | ||||||||
| Architect | Project Bholari | ||||||||
| In use | 1942-1945 2015-Present | ||||||||
| Battles/wars | Operation Swift Retort | ||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||
| Garrison | 41 Tactical Wing | ||||||||
| Occupants | 18 OCU "Sharp Shooters" 19 OCU "Sherdils" 53 AEW&C Squadron "Hawks" | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: none, ICAO: none | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Reference(s): [1][2] | |||||||||
Pakistan Air Force Base, Bholari is a PAF Airbase located near the town of Bholari, Jamshoro District in Sindh Province, northeast of Karachi. It is one of Pakistan's most modern main operational bases which was inaugurated in December 2017.[3] Construction of the base started in December 2015.[4] As of now No. 19 Sqn PAF (equipped with the F-16 Block-15 AB) and No. 18 Sqn PAF (equipped with the JF-17 A/B Block-2) are based there.[5][6][7] The base is also home to the SAAB 2000 AEWACs aircraft.
In 2020 the base hosted Exercise Shaheen IX, a joint Pakistani-Chinese aerial exercise.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ "PAF Bholari data". Airport Map.
- ^ Khan, Farhat; Hashmi, Qadeer (2024). History of the Pakistan Air Force (2014-2023): The Next Generation Air Force (1st ed.). ISBN 978-969-7518-01-2.
- ^ Bhat, Col Vinayak (20 April 2018). "Pakistan's newest airbase in Sindh province suspected of storing nuclear weapons". ThePrint. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- ^ "Pakistan Air Force Inaugurates Main Operating Base In Sindh Province". www.defenseworld.net. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- ^ Kamran, Raja. "PAF Inaugurates New Air Base in Bholari". Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- ^ "PAF opens new operational base at Bholari". 26 December 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
- ^ "PAF's Bholari base inaugurated". 26 December 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
- ^ "China-Pakistan Air Forces to hold joint exercises - Times of India". The Times of India. 7 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.