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21.11.2008 23:48:21
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Современность; ВВС;
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Пакистан покупает на Украине четыре заправщика Ил-78
Сегодняшняя новость из Jane's Defence Weekly, со ссылкой на прямое заявление главкома ВВС Пакистана маршала авиации Танвир Махмуда Ахмеда. Поставка первого намечена в середине 2009 г., остальных - в течении шести-девяти месяцев после первого.
Pakistan probes airborne refuelling system in ground test
Farhan Bokhari JDW Correspondent
Islamabad
The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has successfully completed the ground testing of an airborne refuelling system and expects to receive the first of four airborne refuelling aircraft from Ukraine by mid-2009, the chief of the PAF has told Jane's .
News of the PAF's progress towards acquiring its first-ever airborne refuelling capability will be watched with interest by India: Pakistan's main rival in South Asia. Analysts have said that until recently the Indian Air Force considered itself ahead of Pakistan, in terms of both quantity and quality.
However, they added that Islamabad's decision to acquire such capabilities and plans to purchase new fighters from China such as the JF-17 and the J-10 - along with orders for new F-16s from the United States and mid-life upgrades of older F-16s - represent a determined effort to at least narrow if not close the gap with India.
"We are hoping that by the middle of 2009, our first airplane, modified, tested, will be available in the country. The other three will follow within the next six to nine months," Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed told Jane's on 17 November. ACM Ahmed said the platform will be based on the Il-78 transport aircraft and "are being modified from cargo planes to air tankers" under the supervision of PAF officials in Ukraine.
Once the first Il-78 arrives in Pakistan, ACM Ahmed said, in-flight refuelling trials will be carried out on two older Mirage aircraft that have been modified for the purpose and have already been tested on the ground.
Acquisition of an airborne refuelling system would significantly enhance the endurance of the PAF's fighters. The JF-17, which was jointly developed with China, "is already believed to include an airborne refuelling capability", according to a Western defence analyst. A pair of J-10 fighters, displayed at Airshow China in Zhuhai in early November, both had aerial refuelling probes.
ACM Ahmed said the four Il-78 air tankers represent a pilot project that is intended to bring the capability to Pakistan for the first time. "We will need to expand in due course when we have greater fiscal availability," he said, referring to constraints imposed by the global financial crisis.
С уважением, Exeter