Pakistan Defense News

ISLAMABAD — Two senior Pakistani army officers were among those killed in a weekend IED attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) in the restive area along the Afghan border. The attack comes as peace talks with the TTP are being pushed by the government. Maj. Gen. Sanaullah Khan, Lt. Col. Tauseef Ahmed and Lance Naik Irfan Sattar were killed Sept. 15 when an IED targeted their convoy in the Upper Dir district near the Afghan border. Khan was commander of 17 Division, operating in Swat, formerly a stronghold of the TTP before they were ejected by the army in 2009. The general was returning from visiting troops in the region. Earlier IED attacks the same day on posts along Miranshah Road near Mir Ali in North Waziristan, a terrorist stronghold, killed a soldier and a member of the paramilitary Frontier Corps. An attack on members of the Khassadar — the government-allied tribal militia — in the early hours of the morning killed one and injured four. The attack that...

NEW DELHI — Ahead of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington Sept. 27, the Indian Defence Ministry’s highest body on Friday cleared the acquisition of six C-130J Hercules transport aircraft from the US. The aircraft are being purchased on a government-to-government basis at a cost of more than US $1 billion. The clearance to top the existing six C-130J aircraft with another six was made at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council. The Lockheed Martin-built aircraft have been effective in rugged terrain, including mountains, for transporting troops and cargo, an Indian Air Force official said. “We are very happy with the performance of the Hercules, and the aircraft does everything which IAF wants,” the official said. The Air Force has stood up a new squadron for flying the C-130J. Squadron 77 is nicknamed the “Veiled Vipers” with a motto “strike to kill.” Last month, the Air Force landed the C-130J at the Daulat Beg Oldie airstr...

ISLAMABAD — China and Pakistan last week began a three-week air exercise titled Shaheen 2 (Falcon 2) in Hetian Prefecture of China’s northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The exercise, which lasts until Sept. 22, is the second in a series of such exercises, the first of which was held in Pakistan in March 2011. Shaheen 2 will be the first time an air force of another country will be participating in such an exercise in Chinese airspace. The Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) first reported the exercise was to take place, citing the Chinese Defense Ministry. The Air Force here did not reveal any further details, such as participating aircraft, or if there had been any changes to the size, scope or format of the exercise since 2011. However, an APP report last week stated Chengdu F-7PG and Mirage aircraft had traveled to China to participate in Shaheen 2. It also stated: “The prime objective of the exercise is to excel in the air combat capability with focus on air...