No. 27 Squadron PAF

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.

History

The 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 was Wing Commander Shafqat Mushtaq, the first Senior Engineering Officer was Squadron Leader Najam-ul-Hasnain, and the first Engineering Officer was Flight Lieutenant Absar Omer.

Operational history

War on terror

After 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.
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 enforcement's offensive.