No. 4 Squadron PAF

The No. 4 AWACS Squadron is a squadron of the Pakistan Air Force's Southern Air Command. It is currently deployed at Masroor Airbase and operates the ZDK-03 radar surveillance aircraft.^[1]^[2]^[3]

No. 4 Squadron
One of the 4 ZDK-03s of the 4 Squadron flying over Manora, Karachi
Active	1958 - 1969 2011 - Present
Disbanded	1969 - 2011
Country	Pakistan
Allegiance	Pakistan Armed Forces
Branch	Pakistan Air Force
Type	Squadron
Role	Airborne command and control
Part of	Southern Air Command
Airbase	PAF Base Masroor
Motto(s)	نگاہ وہ ہے کہ محتاج مہر و ماہ نہیں
Mascot(s)	A Hawk emitting rays from it's eyes
Engagements	Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 Operation Swift Retort
Aircraft flown
Utility helicopter	H-19D Chickasaw HH-43B Huskie
Patrol	SA-16 Albatross
Transport	Bristol Freighter ZDK-03 AWACS

Military unit

History

The No. 4 Squadron was raised at PAF Base Mauripur in January 1957 as a search and rescue flight of the No. 12 Composite Squadron consisting of two SA-16 Albatross hydroplanes. In 1959, it's fleet was expanded with additional SA-16s, Bristol Freighters, HH-43 and H-19D helicopters which enabled it to function as a separate squadron undertaking the roles of search and rescue, maritime recce and casualty evacuation.

On the outbreak of the 1965 Indo-Pakistani war, the squadron was put on maritime patrol operations working besides the Pakistan Navy tracking Indian ship movements in the Arabian Sea particularly the INS Vikrant aircraft carrier. Additionally, it undertook counter intelligence operations in Karachi with the army.

By 1968, the Freighters were retired and the SA-16s put in storage, however the helicopter fleet continued to fly till March 1969 when the squadron was number plated.^[1]^[2]

In 2011, the squadron was re-raised with 4 new ZDK-03s. Besides being assigned the role of airborne command and control it was also assigned maritime support duties to the Pakistan Navy. It later participated in various national and international military exercises. In 2019, the squadron flew round the clock surveillance missions as part of Operation Swift Retort.^[4]^[5]^[3]

In 2024, it was reported that the PAF was retiring it's ZDK-03 fleet, though the fate of the squadron remains remains unknown.^[6]

Exercises

Throughout its service the No. 4 squadron participated in several military exercises both at national and international levels.^[1]^[3]

National

Exercise Sea Spark
Exercise Burq
Exercise Ribat
Exercise Hawkeye
Exercise Mountain Ops
Exercise Sea Hawk

International

Exercise Midlink VII (9-21 November 1964)
Exercise Shaheen
Indus Viper
ACES Meet

Aircraft Flown

No. 4 Squadron
Type	Operational	Aircraft	Notes
Hydroplane	1957–1968	SA-16 Albatross
Fixed-Wing aircraft	1958–1960	Bristol Freighter
Helicopter	1958–1969	H-19D Chickasaw
Helicopter	1958–1960	HH-43B Huskie
AEW&C	2011–2024	ZDK-03

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "4 Squadron". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
^ ^a ^b Hussain, Syed (1982). History of the Pakistan Air Force, 1947-1982. p. 57. ISBN 9780196480459.
^ ^a ^b ^c Khan, Farhat; Hashmi, Qadeer (2024). History of the Pakistan Air Force (2014-2023): The Next Generation Air Force (1st ed.). pp. 257–259. ISBN 978-969-7518-01-2.
^ Ansari, Usman (2015-03-01). "Pakistan Re-equips Squadron With AEW&C Planes". Defense News. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
^ "PAF inducts Chinese-built warplane". The Express Tribune. 2015-02-27.
^ "Pakistan's Push to Replace Legacy Air Platforms". Quwa.org. 2024-05-24. Retrieved 2024-06-16.