PAF Base Nur Khan

Background

PAF Base Nur Khan, formerly known as Chaklala Airbase, is a critical facility for the Pakistan Air Force. It serves as the headquarters of the Air Mobility Command and plays a key role in logistics, VIP transport, and strategic operations. The base is known to host aircraft such as the C-130 Hercules and ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) platforms.

History

The base was originally operated by the Royal Air Force as RAF Chaklala and, during the Second World War, parachute training flights were conducted.

The following squadrons were here at some point:

• No. 5 Squadron RAF between 15 October 1935 and 23 April 1938 with the Westland Wapiti
• Detachment from No. 10 Squadron RAF between 5 October 1945 and 5 June 1946 with the Douglas Dakota
• No. 62 Squadron RAF between 24 May 1943 and 3 January 1944 with the Dakota and Lockheed Hudson VI
• No. 99 Squadron RAF between 3 April and 14 June 1943 with the Vickers Wellington III & X
• Detachment from No. 194 Squadron RAF between 18 September 1943 and 8 February 1944 with the Dakota
• No. 215 Squadron RAF between 13 October 1942 and 12 March 1943 with the Wellington IC
• Detachment from No. 298 Squadron RAF between 9 December 1945 and 20 May 1946 with the Handley Page Halifax A.7
• No. 670 Squadron RAF between 1 April and 1 July 1946
• No. 672 Squadron RAF between 1 April and 1 July 1946

Once transferred to the then Royal Pakistan Air Force (RPAF), the base came into use as a transport hub, with the PAF's fleet of various transport aircraft operating from it.

In 1979, the base was home to both No. 15 Squadron PAF and No. 26 Squadron PAF with the North American F-86F Sabres and No. 6 Squadron PAF with the Lockheed C-130B/E Hercules & Lockheed L-100 Hercules.

After the Pakistan earthquake of 2005, 300 U.S. troops as well as U.S. aircraft were deployed to Chaklala to aid in relief efforts. According to an anonymous 2013 source, the U.S. had been allowed 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 in 1947, 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.

In January 2025, the newly formed No. 5 AJT Squadron (Griffins) of PAF College Chaklala, equipped with Karakoram-8 aircraft, was deployed to PAF Base Qadri in Skardu. Commanded by Wing Under Officer Sameer Shah also named as Shehzada Syed Sameer Ali Shah Ayasho and widely known as the "Prince of Punial", a member of the ruling House of Ayasho, the ruling family of Punial, the squadron was stationed to enhance High Altitude Rescue Operations. The move, directed by Northern Air Command, aimed to improve rescue missions in mountainous regions where Pakistan Army Aviation helicopters face difficulties, improving detection and rescue capabilities for stranded mountaineers.

2025 Indian airstrikes

During the 2025 India–Pakistan conflict, the Indian Air Force carried out precision cruise missile airstrikes on several key military targets in Pakistan which included technical infrastructure, command and control centres, radar sites and weapon storage areas.

On 10 May, the Indian Air Force carried out airstrikes on the Nur Khan Airbase, targeting runways and military infrastructure. According to Indian defense officials, the operation was intended as a "calibrated response" to cross-border attacks. According to an eye-witness and two Pakistani security officials, the attack on Nur Khan airbase saw at least two missile strikes as well as drone attacks. Pakistan’s military stated that its air defense systems intercepted most of the incoming missiles, and no critical assets were lost. However, according to a Reuters citing an official who visited the base the next day, the barrage hit two roofs and hit the hangar of a refueling plane. According to William Goodhind, a geospatial analyst at Contested Ground, two mobile control centers at the Nur Khan airbase were damaged. Further The Washington Post, also reported videos recorded from a parking lot nearby which "showed smoke billowing from the damaged area". According to Air Forces Monthly, the missiles struck the operations room of the 35th Composite Transport Wing, destroying two fuel trucks and collaterally damaging one Lockheed C-130 Hercules of the No. 6 Squadron PAF at the aforementioned hangar.

A ceasefire was proposed after these airstrikes. Within hours of India's missile-drone strikes on several Pakistani airbases, especially Nur Khan, reportedly prompted US intervention for a ceasefire agreement. The base is a strategic asset for PAF as "one of the central transport hubs" and "home to the air refueling capability" (No. 10 Squadron). The facility is also just over a mile from the headquarters of Strategic Plans Division responsible for Pakistan's nuclear arsenal which includes over 170 warheads. The New York Times also cited a former American official who stated, "Pakistan's deepest fear is of its nuclear command authority being decapitated" and that the Indian missile strikes were interpreted to be a warning for India's capability to do the same. According to Christopher Clary, an associate professor at the University at Albany, "So, an attack on the facility may have been perceived as more dangerous than India intended – and the two sides should not conclude that it is possible to have a conflict without it going nuclear". On 14 May, Reuters reported that Indian strikes on Nur Khan airbase had alarmed US officials, due to the base's proximity to Pakistan's Strategic Plans Division.

Squadrons

The Pakistan Air Force Squadrons at the base are No. 6, 10, 12, and 41, which are of the PAF's fleet.

No. 6 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 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.

In the 1965 India-Pakistan War the Antelopes dropped parachute commandos into Indian territory in a night-time mission involving three C-130B transports. Just before the 1965 war started, the squadron's commanding officer, Wing Commander Eric Gordan Hall, had the idea of making up for the PAF's deficiency in heavy bombers by modifying the Hercules to carry bombs. It was converted to carry 10,000 kg of bombs, which were rolled out on pallets from the rear ramp, and over 21 night-time bombing raids were flown against Indian forces approaching for the Battles of Chawinda and Pul Kanjari. Support missions for troops in the Northern Areas were continued after the war.

With the unstable political situation at the end of 1970 and the resulting civil unrest, the Antelopes moved a large number of troops to East Pakistan and assisted in flood relief operations there. India stopped the PAF flying over its territory in 1971, and the squadron had to fly to East Pakistan via Sri Lanka. Two of the unit's C-130 transports were deployed to Dhaka from March 71 until the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War began on 3 December 1971. They were used to evacuate soldiers and civilians from hostile areas of East Pakistan – in one sortie a single C-130 evacuated 365 people from Sylhet to Dhaka. During the 1971 war, No. 6 Squadron flew bombing missions from West Pakistan in the same manner as those flown during the 1965 war, and no transport aircraft were lost during these sorties.

No. 12 Composite Squadron in September 1953, the Squadron Consists of PAF's elite aircraft amongst which includes Phenom 100 and Gulf Stream IV.

No. 10 Squadron was established as the Tanker Transport (MRTT) Squadron ("Bulls") with delivery of the PAF's first Ilyushin Il-78 in December 2009 and operating from PAF Base Chaklala.

No. 41 Squadron, which consists of Cessna, Beech, and Y-12 amongst other aircraft.

Location

The base has surrounding facilities including the Frontier Works Organization Headquarters, Chaklala Railway Station and the Joint Services Headquarters (JSHQ). Two housing schemes Askaris VIII and IX are also located alongside Nur Khan road that extends to the main entrance of the base from Airport Road. The Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies, a research think tank founded by the Pakistan Air Force, is located next to Nur Khan Base.

References

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