Central Air Command (Pakistan)


The Central Air Command is one of five operational commands of the Pakistan Air Force, reporting to the Air Headquarters at Islamabad. CAC is headquartered at PAF Base Lahore.
CAC is commanded by a senior PAF officer known as the "Air Officer Commanding" or "AOC", who is of Air Vice Marshal rank.

History

During the Indo-Pakistani wars like the 1965 War and the 1971 War, Indian attacks and invasions were focused towards the central parts of Pakistan. Hence to centralize operations in the theatre, Central Air Command was established by the PAF in July 1982. While initially headquartered in the building of Combat Commander's School at PAF Base Sargodha, it was shifted to a new location at the base of the Kirana Hills Site where it stayed for 20 years. In 2007, the command was transferred to its current location at PAF Base Lahore where it received a new office at the old terminal of the Lahore Airport by November 2018.

Components

The command controls various PAF bases which have squadrons equipped with F-16s, JF-17s, Mirage IIIs, Mirage Vs and DA-20ss. It also commands the largest Dassault MirageIII/V fleet in the world.

Published sources