PAF Base Qadri
| PAF Base Qadri | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
قادری ایئربیس | |||||||||
| Skardu, Baltistan in Pakistan | |||||||||
A board bearing the base's name. | |||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Type | Forward operating base | ||||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||||
| Operator | Pakistan Air Force | ||||||||
| Controlled by | Northern Air Command | ||||||||
| Open to the public | Yes | ||||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
PAF Base Qadri Shown within Gilgit Baltistan PAF Base Qadri PAF Base Qadri (Pakistan) | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 35°20′30″N 75°31′21″E / 35.34167°N 75.52250°E | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1949 | ||||||||
| Built by | Pakistan Air Force | ||||||||
| In use | 1949 - present | ||||||||
| Battles/wars | |||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||
| Current commander | Air Commodore Jamal Khan | ||||||||
| Garrison | Skardu | ||||||||
| Occupants | 488 Mission Control Center 909 MRR Squadron | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: KDU, ICAO: OPSD | ||||||||
| Elevation | 2,230 metres (7,316 ft) AMSL | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Pakistan Air Force Base Qadri or more simply PAF Base Qadri, (Urdu: پی اے ایف بیس قادری) is a main operating base of the Pakistan Air Force's Northern Air Command located near the city of Skardu in the Baltistan region of Pakistan.[1][2][3][4] The airbase is named in honor of the late Air Commodore Abdul Hameed Qadri, a veteran of Soviet Afghan war and recipient of the Sitara-e-Basalat.[5]
History
It was originally built in 1949 as an emergency airstrip together by the Pakistan Air Force and the Balti locals in the area to establish a logistic supply line to Pakistani troops engaged with Indian military in post war skirmishes. It continued to function as PAF Skardu, a satellite of PAF Base Minhas. As time passed, the PAF felt the need for a base in Northern Pakistan as it could only employ F-16s from PAF Base Sargodha and PAF Base Minhas to carry out effective aerial operations over the northern parts of the country.[5]
In 2002, the base commander of Minhas airbase was killed after his Chengdu F-7P Skybolt crashed.[6] PAF Skardu was renamed PAF Qadri in his honor in 2003. By this time, it was hosting Exercise Mountain Camp annually.[5]
In the late 2010s, the camp received major infrastructure upgrades and its status was changed to an FOB+ with its role and task revised accordingly.[7] TPS-77 and SPADA-2000 squadrons were also deployed there for air defense.[5]
During the 2025 India–Pakistan conflict, as part of Operation Sindoor, on 10 May 2025 India conducted air and missile strikes on Pakistani airbases including PAF Base Qadri and claimed to have damaged it.[8]
See also
References
- ^ Khan, Mona (2017-03-24). "PAF chief warns against any aggression; all forward airbases made operational". Geo News.
- ^ "Air Chief Visits a Forward Operating Base" (PDF) (Press release). DGPR Pakistan Air Force. 2017-05-24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-03.
- ^ Altaf, Arhama (2020-07-25). "Air Chief visits Skardu to witness operational activities at PAF Base". Bol news.
- ^ "Air chief witnesses operational exercise at PAF Base QADRI". Daily times. 2020-07-25.
- ^ a b c d Khan, Farhat; Hashmi, Qadeer (2024). History of the Pakistan Air Force (2014-2023): The Next Generation Air Force (1st ed.). pp. 235–237. ISBN 978-969-7518-01-2.
- ^ Malik, Yaqoob (2002-07-20). "PAF Minhas Base commander dies in plane crash". Dawn.
- ^ "Pak upgrading Skardu airbase". The Pakistan Military Monitor. 2024-05-09.
- ^ "Transcript of Special briefing by MOD on OPERATION SINDOOR (May 10, 2025)". Ministry of External Affairs of India.