Multinational counter-terrorism air exercise ‘Aces Meet-2017’ concluded

The first multinational counter-terrorism air exercise was cocluded at a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) operational airbase on October 27, with Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman as the chief guest.

The two-week exercise codenamed ‘Aces Meet-2017’ involved contingents from the Turkish Air Force and the Royal Saudi Air Force, including combat pilots and ground technical crew with their fighter aircraft. Officials from eight friendly countries participated in the exercise as observers.

The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), is the aviation branch of the Saudi Arabian armed forces. The RSAF maintains the third largest fleet of F-15s after the American and Japanese air forces.

The backbone of the RSAF is currently the Boeing F-15 Eagle, with the Panavia Tornado also forming a major component. The Tornado and many other aircraft were delivered under the Al Yamamah contracts with British Aerospace (now BAE Systems). The RSAF ordered various weapons in the 1990s, including Sea Eagle anti-ship missiles, laser-guided bombs and gravity bombs. Al-Salam, a successor to the Al Yamamah agreement will see 72 Eurofighter Typhoons delivered by BAE.

The Turkish Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The Turkish Air Force can trace its origins back to June 1911 when it was founded by the Ottoman Empire, however, the air force as it is known today did not come into existence until 1923 with the creation of the Republic of Turkey.

The Turkish Armed Forces initiated a $160 billion (excluding the yearly military budget) modernization program. $45 billion is earmarked to go to the overhaul of the Turkish Air Force. As part of this program, Ankara aims to commission new combat aircraft (consisting of TAI TFX and Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II) and helicopters (consisting of heavy lift, attack, medium lift and light general purpose helicopters).

According to Flight International (Flightglobal.com) and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Turkish Air Force has an active strength of 60,000 military personnel and operates approximately 668 manned aircraft (2014).

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport and logistics capability to Pakistan. The PAF employs approximately 65,000 full-time personnel (including approximately 3,000 pilots) and currently operates 883 aircraft.