PAF Base Nur Khan
| PAF Base Nur Khan | |
|---|---|
| Summary | |
| Airport type | Military |
| Owner | Pakistan Armed Forces |
| Operator | Pakistan Air Force |
| Serves | Chaklala, Rawalpindi |
| Location | Rawalpindi, Punjab |
| Commander | Air Commodore Haseeb Gul TI(M) |
| Occupants | |
PAF Base Nur Khan (previously known as PAF Base Chaklala) is an active Pakistan Air Force airbase located in Chaklala, Rawalpindi, Punjab province, Pakistan. It also forms part of the Benazir Bhutto International Airport. Fazaia Intermediate College, Nur Khan is also located in the base.
The base was originally operated by the Royal Air Force as R.A.F. Chaklala and, during World War 2, parachute training operations were conducted there.
Once transferred to the then Royal Pakistan Air Force the base came into use as a transport hub, with the PAF's fleet of various transport aircraft operating from it.
During the Pakistani earthquake of 2005, 300 troops of the United States as well as U.S. aircraft were deployed to Chaklala to aid in relief efforts. According to an anonymous source, the U.S. has a permanent military presence at Chaklala since late 2001 for handling logistics efforts and other movements in relation to the war in Afghanistan.
In 2009 the PAF's first of four Il-78 aerial refuelling tanker aircraft was delivered to PAF Base Chaklala and the No. 10 MRTT (Multi Role Tanker Transport) squadron was established there.
The name of the base was changed in 2012 from PAF Base Chaklala to PAF Base Nur Khan in remembrance of its first Base Commander, Air Marshal Nur Khan. Nur Khan was also the second Pakistani chief of the Pakistan Air Force and a veteran of several conflicts fought by Pakistan.
The squadron was formed without any aircraft or equipment on 14 August 1947 at Maripur, Karachi, under its first commanding officer, Flight Lieutenant M. J. Khan. On 16 August 1947, Air Officer Commanding Air Vice Marshal[who?] visited the squadron and commissioned it for heavy airlifting and airborne operations. The PAF acquired a Douglas DC-3 Dakota aircraft on 22 October 1947 and later obtained Bristol Freighter, Tiger Moth, and Auster AOP.9 aircraft. On 29 June 1948, a detachment of the squadron provided a guard of honour at Mauripur for Governor-General Muhammad Ali Jinnah on his arrival from Quetta. On 9 September 1948, three Dakota aircraft performed a flypast at the Quaid-e-Azam's funeral ceremony
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