# Pakistan Army Aviation Corps

Administrative Corps of the Pakistan Army :
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The Pakistan Army Corps of Aviation is a military administrative and combined arms service branch of the Pakistan Army.
The Aviation Corps is tasked with configuration of all army aviation aircraft and provides principle close aerial combat support and aerial logistics for the Pakistan Army.

## Overview

Originally formed by the British Army Air Corps in 1942, the partition in 1947 of the former British Indian Army allowed the entire unit of the British Army's Air Corps to be transferred to the Pakistan Army. Initially, the Aviation Corps was part of the Pakistan Air Force but was commissioned in the Pakistan Army after its personnel were trained and certified in the United States in 1958.$^{:32}$ The Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering started to maintain the aircraft and helicopters given by the U.S. Army's Aviation Branch, opening its own aviation school in 1959.
Since the 1960s, the corps expanded in momentum, manpower, and its operational scope has widened. The Aviation Corps became a combat support branch when it inducted its first attack helicopters from Iran in 1970. The Aviation Corps is commanded by an active-duty two star major-general, who serves as its director-general and functions directly under the Chief of the General Staff at the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi, Punjab.

## Aircraft inventory

The Pakistan Army operates 314+ helicopters alongside several fixed-wing aircraft.
3 CAIC Z-10 attack helicopters of China were delivered for trial use so that orders could be made in the future.
15 Bell AH-1Z Viper with Hellfire missiles, equipment and support worth $952 million were on order but are on hold due to political tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan.
30 TAI/AgustaWestland T129 ATAK worth $1.5 billion is on order however production is still on hold due to the United States not giving export license for the engine, which is of American origin. New Turkish indigenous engine as a replacement is currently on trials.
After the United States failed to deliver the AH-1Z and the problems with the Turkish T129, the Pakistan Army again is showing interests in Chinese all-weather, multirole CAIC Z-10ME which is the advanced and upgraded variant of the CAIC Z-10.
| Aircraft/System | Origin | Role | Variant | Quantity | Note | Service period |
| Helicopters 314, 92 Attack ||||||||
| Bell AH-1 Cobra | United States | Attack | AH-1F | 50 | | 1985–present |
| Mil Mi-35 | Russia | Attack | Mi-35M3 | 4 | | 2018–present |
| CAIC Z-10 | China | Attack | Z-10ME | 3 | 17 on order. | 2023– |
| Eurocopter Fennec | France | Armed / Scout | H125M | 35 | | 2009–present |
| Mil Mi-17 | Russia | Transport Utility | Mi-171 | 48 | | 1996–present |
| Aérospatiale/IAR SA 330 Puma | France Romania | SAR Utility | 330L | 43 | | 1977–present |
| AgustaWestland AW139 | Italy | SAR Utility | AW139M | 7 | | 2017–present |
| Bell 412 | United States | MEDEVAC Utility | 412EPI | 31 | | 2004–present |
| Bell UH-1 Iroquois | United States | Utility | UH-1H | 1 | | 1970s |
| Aérospatiale Alouette III | France | Light Utility | SA 316B | 13 | | 1967–present |
| Aérospatiale Lama | France | Light Utility | SA 315B | 17 | | 1986–present |
| Schweizer 300 | United States | Trainer | 300C | 25 | | 1993–present |
| Enstrom F-28 | United States | Trainer | 280FX | 19 | | 2018–present |
| Bell 206 JetRanger | United States | Trainer | 206B | 18 | | 1975–present |
| Fixed-wing Aircraft ||||||||
| PAC MFI-17 Mushshak | Pakistan Sweden | Trainer | | 214 | | |
| Beechcraft Super King Air | United States | Reconnaissance | 350i | 3 | for SIGINT & ISR | |
| Beechcraft Super King Air | United States | Utility | 350ER | 6 | | |
| Harbin Y-12 | China | Utility | Y-12(II)/F | 4 | | |
| Turbo Commander | United States | Utility | 690C | 2 | | |
| Cessna 208 Caravan | United States | MEDEVAC | 208B | 13 | | |
| Cessna 206 Stationair | United States | MEDEVAC | T206H | 4 | | |
| Cessna Citation II | United States | VIP Transport | Citation Bravo | 1 | | |
| Cessna Citation V | United States | VIP Transport | Citation Ultra | 1 | | |
| Gulfstream IV | United States | VIP Transport | G450 | 1 | | |

### Retired Aircraft

* Auster 5 1947–1957
* Auster AOP.6 1947–1957
* Cessna O-1 Bird Dog 1957–1990
* Beechcraft U-8F Seminole 1963–1983
* Bell Model 47 1964–1990
* Bell OH-13 Sioux 1964–1990
* Mil Mi-8 1969–1998

## Notable accidents and incidents

* 2022 Pakistan Army helicopter incident
* 29 March 2022 – Eight UN peacekeepers, six Pakistanis, a Russian and a Serb, part of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were killed in a crash of a Puma helicopter operated by the Pakistan Army Aviation Corps while on a reconnaissance mission in the troubled eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Cause of the crash is yet to be ascertained.
* 2019 Pakistan Army military plane crash
* 2015 Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 crash
* 2009 Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 crash