ISLAMABAD ( ABRAR MUSTAFA )
On 16 August 2012 Terrorists attacked PAF base Kamra .
Their target waere the 3 Erieye AWACS stationed on the base.
What threat an AWACS would pose to a terrorist organisation? None.
For that reason we all know who paid for and arranged the terrorist attack.
The AWACS were a threat to India.
At the time PPP’s Asif Ali Zardari was on the thrones and PAF did not get 40% of their budget consistently. After allocation of the defense budget the money is released by Ministry of defense and it is done in phases. In Asif Ali Zardari era throughout his rule the PAF only got 60% of the budget. The other 40% was never handed over to PAF.
As a result PAF was under intense financioal crisis.
At the time of PAF base Kamra attack, the situation was so bad that sentries on guard did not have spare bullets. They only had less than one megazine each.
There were two sentries at the location from where terrorists entered the PAF base.
Both sentries did not fire as they felt its pointless. They simply dont have enough fire power to engage the terrorists.
By the time Re-inforcements arrived, the terrorists had already entered the hangers where Erieye AWACS were stationed.
All three AWACS stationed at the base were damaged by the terrorists. The terrorists wanted total destruction but that was prevented with sacrifice of two soldiers.
The base commander and the two sentries were sacked as a result.
Now the damage was done and Pakistan’s defence was compromised. The next phase was to try and recover what was left.
SAAB of Sweden the original manufacturers of the equipment were contacted. Their experts came to Pakistan and after inspection they declared all three Erieye AWACS systems a total loss.
There was extensive fire damage to the aircrafts and internally the wiring of the electronic systems of the AWACS was extensively damaged due to garande shrapnels and bullets fired at the aircrafts by the terrorists.
According to SAAB the cost of repairing the system will be nearly as much as buying a new one.
Pakistan simply could not afford to buy new AWACS systems and the damaged ones had to be repaired.
Two PHD officers were brought in for drafting a repair plan.
The work was started at PAC Kamra.
The organisation had no experience of performing repair on saab 2000 aircrafts or Ericsson radar systems which was the Erieye AWACS.
A very detailed inspection of the damage was carried out and a detailed plan was drawn. The manufacturers SAAB of Sweden were told about the plans and they were impressed with the lengths PAF went in research. They guaranteed certain aspects of help. Such as providing access to firmware, which was necessary to test individual electronic systems.
It was a matter of learning how to do, and then doing it.
No other Erieye system was ever damaged to that extent and a repair of such an extent was never attempted, not even by the manufacturer.
In the next three years, PAF repaired two of the Erieye systems and host planes.
The entire system was extensively tested and found complying to OEM standards.
SAAB had initially refused to certifying any repairs carried out by PAF, but after their experts looked at the standard of repairs done by PAF, they officially certified all the repairs.
This was a world’s first.
Nobody outside Sweden knew how to repair Erieye system. PAF became the first non Swedish entity to do so.
SAAB also certified PAC Kamra for all future repairs or modifications to SAAB 2000 airplanes and Ericsson Erieye AEW&C systems.
Any repairs or modifications done by PAC Kamra will be deemed at the same or higher level as if done by the manufacturer themselves.
The job was done at 5% of the price of buying new AWACS systems. Saving the country millions of dollars.
The experience gained will be used to modify three more SAAB 2000 aircrafts bought in April 2019 and inststall Ericsson Erieye AEW&C in Pakistan by PAC Kamra.
During repair and testing PAF had to perform extensive airframe and material testing. That experience is now being applied to all PAF aircrafts to ascertain airframe life and repair needed.
The repaired Erieye system took part in 27th February 2019 Air battle between Pakistan and India in which PAF shot down two Indian jets.
It was the same Aircraft India tried to destroy through terrorists, which came back and helped destroying Indian superiority complex.
With the addition of three new systems, PAF will have 11 AEW&C or AWACS systems.
This number will give PAF the capability of keeping two AWACS in the air 24/7.
A capability India does not have at the moment due to lesser number of AEW&C and larger area.
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