Islamabad: Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has concluded the two-week long air exercise with Saudi Royal Air Force (RSAF) and the United States Air Force (USAF) at PAF base Mushaf.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and US air forces actively participated in the ‘Aces Meet 2021-1’ exercise with their aircraft and large contingents while Bahrain, Egypt and Jordan air forces attended as observers. Pakistan Air Force’s F-16 and JF-17 fighter jets and Saudi Air Force’s Tornado aircraft took part in the exercise.
Role of air power in counter-terrorism operations
The exercise was aimed at maximising the combat readiness of participating units by providing them realistic, multi-domain training focused on counterterrorism operations. The drills helped build partnerships and interoperability among allies.
“PAF is happy to share its experiences and expertise in the field of counter-terrorism operations with RSAF & USAF”, PAF base Mushaf Commander Air Commodore Ali Naeem Zahoor said at the closing ceremony of the multinational exercise on April 8. The exercise offered a mutual learning opportunity for all participants and its success has “consolidated our resolve that we stand by each other as allies and friends” he stated.
Pakistan and Saudi air force collaboration
Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf Saeed Al-Malki, Saudi military attaché Major General Awad bin Abdullah Al-Zahrani and US Air attaché Colonel Wallin David and observers from Bahrain, Egypt and Jordan also attended the closing ceremony.
Saudi Ambassador Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Malki thanked Pakistan for organising the exercise that, he said, helped strengthen the bond of cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, especially in the military domain.
All the participants described the Aces Meet exercise as a valuable learning experience. Lt Col Fayeh bin Abdulrahman Al-Roqi, commander of the RSAF group, said it was “one of the most important exercises” in which operational strategies are developed “to simulate the realities of the battlefield to adapt to different combat situations.” Saudi Air Force team participated in the drills with a number of RSAF’s Tornado combat aircraft and air, technical and support crew.
Pakistan enjoys close cooperation with many countries in the Middle East and frequently participates in joint training and exercises. PAF has a longstanding close relationship with the RSAF as Pakistan helped train the first Saudi fighter jet pilots in the 1960s.
PAF’s Aces exercise
Pakistan hosted the first Aces exercise in 2017 in which PAF, RSAF and Turkish Air Force participated with their aircraft and team. It focused on developing air power to contribute effectively to the counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism campaigns. PAF established the Airpower Centre of Excellence (ACE) in 2016 to transform its capabilities to meet future challenges and to strengthen relations with friendly air forces through experience sharing. Pakistan has the seventh largest air force in the world with an active fleet of 1364 aircraft, according to the 2021 world air forces report.
