No. 7 Squadron (Pakistan Air Force)

No. 7 Squadron Bandits
Active	June 1960 — Present [1]
Country	Pakistan
Allegiance	Pakistan
Branch	Pakistan Air Force
Role	Multi-role
Aircraft	Dassault Mirage III ROSE I
Engagements	1965 Indo-Pak War 1971 Indo-Pak War
Decorations	1965: 7× Sitara-i-Juraat 5× Imtiazi Sanads 1971: 8× Sitara-i-Basalats 2× Tamgha-i- Basalats
Aircraft flown
Attack	Nanchang A-5C (1982—1991)
Bomber	B-57 Canberra (1960—1982)
Fighter	Mirage IIIO (1991—1993) Mirage IIIO ROSE I (1997—Present)

During Falcon Air Meet 2010 a Mirage III ROSE of No. 7 sqn competes in the alert scramble competition.

No. 7 Squadron, named the Bandits, is a Pakistan Air Force fighter squadron.

History

The squadron was established as No. 7 Light Bomber squadron in June 1960, equipped with the Martin B-57 Canberra light bomber, commanded by Squadron Leader Ayaz A. Khan and assigned the airfield strike and deep interdiction roles. Based at PAF Base Mauripur, unit inventory comprised ten B-57B models and one dual seat B-57C model, which was nicknamed "Baba" and was kept airworthy despite being landed with nose-wheel up once and with all landing gear up twice.^[1]

Several aircraft were lost during the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak Wars as well as accidents. This combined with spares supply difficulties due to United States arms embargoes resulted in the unit's bombers being transferred to No. 2 Composite Squadron, along with the No. 7 squadron's commanding officer Wing Commander S. Tanveer Hussain in August 1982. The unit was disbanded until 22 November 1982 when the squadron was re-established as No. 7 Tactical Attack Squadron and equipped with the Chinese Nanchang A-5C attack aircraft. The formal re-equipment ceremony held on 27 December 1983 included a fly-past by two B-57 and three A-5C.^[1]

Serious problems were being faced with maintaining the Nanchang A-5C and in the second half of 1988 the squadron was again disbanded. Squadron equipment and personnel were transferred to other units. The problematic A-5C were sent to China for overhaul and the Bandits squadron was re-established after their return on 13 November 1989, returning to operational status in a very short time. The squadron's role was changed to that of an Operational Conversion Unit in May 1990. Despite pilots being converting to the A-5C, there were many aircrew fatalities caused by the relatively primitive ejection seat fitted to aircraft and the A-5 fleet was grounded. Aircrews were again transferred to other squadrons. The first batch of new zero-zero capable Martin-Baker ejection seats was delivered to PAF Base Masroor on 1 July 1991 and within 2 months the A-5C fleet began flying again.^[2]

It was later decided to re-equip the Bandits with Dassault Mirage IIIO fighters procured from Australia in 1991. The A-5C fleet was transferred to other A-5C squadrons at PAF Base Peshawar and experienced Mirage pilots, referred to as "the magnificent 7" in the squadron history book, were brought to No. 7 Squadron. The Mirage III training flights began on 24 November 1991 after the first three aircraft were delivered from PAC Kamra's Mirage overhaul facility. On 15 February 1993 the unit's equipment was swapped with that of the No. 22 Squadron, an Operational Conversion Unit for Mirage III/5 fighters. The Bandits continued operating Mirages but a role had not been assigned to them yet.^[2]

In 1997 the unit received the ex-Australian Mirage IIIO fighters which had been upgraded under Project ROSE. These ROSE I fighters had been installed with new avionics, including FIAR Grifo M3 radars which allowed the squadron's role to be changed from tactical attack to multi-role. Air-to-ground weapons delivery and other exercises were conducted and the squadron was deployed over Balochistan for air defence prior to Pakistan's nuclear tests in 1998.^[2]

No. 7 Squadron Bandits
Role	Operational	Aircraft	Notes
Deep interdiction and strike	1960—1982	B-57 Canberra
Tactical Attack	1982—1988	Nanchang A-5C
	1989—1990	Nanchang A-5C
Operational Conversion Unit	1990—1991	Nanchang A-5C
Tactical Attack	1991—1993	Dassault Mirage III Mirage IIIO
	1993—1997
Multi-role	1997—	Dassault Mirage IIIO ROSE I

Exercises

^[2]

• Saffron Bandit 92 - exercise held in November 1992.
• High Mark 93
• High Mark 95
• DACT camp 1995
• ISAC 96 - inter-squadron armament competition, squadron achieved 4th place overall.
• Falcon Air Meet 2010

Gallery

• The Bandits compete in the bombing competition at Falcon Air Meet 2010 in Jordan. Two 500 lb bombs are loaded on a Mirage III and a direct hit is achieved on the target.
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• The squadron competes in the Alert Scramble competition and a Bandit flies in formation with other participants at Falcon Air Meet 2010, Azraq, Jordan.
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  Alert Scramble Competition.

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  Alert Scramble Competition.

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  Alert Scramble Competition.

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References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "No. 7 Squadron (1948-1988)". Pakistan Military Consortium (www.pakdef.info). http://www.pakdef.info/pakmilitary/airforce/squadrons/sqdr7.html. Retrieved 13 June 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "No. 7 Squadron (1988-1998)". Pakistan Military Consortium (www.pakdef.info). http://www.pakdef.info/pakmilitary/airforce/squadrons/no7_2.html. Retrieved 13 June 2011.