The No. 27 Squadron, nicknamed Zarrars, is a tactical attack squadron from the No. 34 Wing of the Pakistan Air Force's Northern Air Command. It is currently deployed at Rafiqui Airbase and operates the Dassault Mirage-VEF ROSE-III aircraft. [1][2][3][4]
| No. 27 Squadron Zarrars | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the squadron | |
| Active | 2007 - Present |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Allegiance |  Pakistan Armed Forces |
| Branch |  Pakistan Air Force |
| Role | Tactical Attack |
| Part of |
|
| Airbase | PAF Base Rafiqui |
| Nickname(s) | Zarrars |
| Motto(s) | دو نیم ان کی ٹھوکر سے صحرا و دریا (Persian for 'The desert and the river from their stumble') |
| Aircraft | Dassault Mirage 5F ROSE-III |
| Engagements | |
| Insignia | |
| Patch |  |
History
editThe squadron was formally raised on 19 April 2007 at PAF Base Rafiqui and equipped with the upgraded Dassault Mirage-5EF ROSE-III combat aircraft. The first Officer Commanding (OC) was Wing Commander Shafqat Mushtaq and the first Senior Engineering Officer was Squadron Leader Najam-ul-Hasnain.[5][6][7]
Operational history
editWar On Terror
editAfter the spillover of militants & terrorists from Afghanistan into the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province during the US invasion, The Zarrars were tasked to carry out air strikes throughout the former FATA & NWFP regions. In FATA, it took part in Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham and Operation Rah-e-Nijat supporting the army and local law enforcement.[4]
As part of Operation Burq in 2009, the squadron carried out heavy air strikes on TTP positions in Swat valley in support of the army and local law enforcment's offensive.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "No. 27 Squadron". PakDef.info. Archived from the original on 2008-12-26.
- ^ "No. 27 Squadron PAF". GlobalSecurity.org.
- ^ a b Khan, Farhat; Hashmi, Qadeer (2024). History of the Pakistan Air Force (2014-2023): The Next Generation Air Force (1st ed.). pp. 285–286. ISBN 978-969-7518-01-2.
- ^ a b Hashmi, Qadeer. The History of the Pakistan Air Force 1999-2013. p. 304.
- ^ "New Fighter Squadron added to Pakistan Air Force". Pakistan Times. April 4, 2007. Archived from the original on July 7, 2007.
- ^ "PAF gets fighter squadron". Dawn. 20 April 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
- ^ "No. 27 Squadron "Zarrars"". PakDef.info. Archived from the original on 2008-12-26.