May Allah be our guide to glory!

Publisher and Managing Editor IKRAM SEHGAL wrote this article for “THE AVIATOR”, Pakistan Army’s Aviation Journal.

The Army Aviation of thirty years ago was different to  what I have seen in recent years. It makes a  remarkable comparable study. As a Corps, the elan and  morale are far greater than what we had when we were,  simply an ad hoc gathering of eagles. If I considered  myself lucky then to be in the company of a fine  blend of officers, it would be a far greater privilege  now to be in the company of those who make up the Army  Aviation Corps of today, particularly those pilots I  saw operating in the brutal environment of the highest  battleground in the world — Siachin!

Army Aviation has become a multi-dimensional asset of  the Army, one whose enormous potential has still to be  exploited fully. As a pilot in the Army Aviation  during the major transition years when the first major  changes were taking place (1968-1971), it was clear to  me that other than General (then Col) Babar none of  our seniors really grasped its utility as a  battle-winning factor. Our seniors had mind sets; some  were suspect in their choice of a particular type of  an aircraft. Instead of being a prime platform in the  third dimension, both the fixed wing and rotary wing  aircraft were made into air taxis for senior officers.

As Army Aviation has grown in size and quality the  expectations of the field Army have also increased  manifold. To maintain our status as an indispensable  member of the Combined Arms Team we will have to work  out every step very carefully. While Aviation is certainly a passenger/equipment carrier for command and control  purposes during  battle, we must remain analytical of the mission versus the type of aircraft so that we achieve best  results from every minute flown.

The edge of low operating cast of the fixed wing  aircraft over the helicopters demand that helicopters  be only used in an environment where it becomes beyond  fixed wing aircraft to deliver. This would ensure the  optimum utilization of the costly helicopter fleet.  Makeshift runways are possible on country roads  agriculture fields and dried riverbed, etc. With  Pilatus, Twin Otter, Caribou, Y-12, Cessna Caravan etc  type aircraft a full brigade can be in place within  hours. Give any commander this force multiplier  capacity to lift troops and concentrate them into the  proximity of a vital point of balance in battle and he  has the battle winning edge. More so at a cost far  less than that of helicopters, in fact far less than  one Armoured Brigade!

Whenever the next war takes place the PAF will be hard  pressed fighting a battle for survival, putting in  every effort to get favourable air situation. It will  have no time or very little to spare for ground  forces. For a few days our ground forces will be  without air cover or very little of it. During this  period from Punjab south to the desert and right down  to the Rann of Kutch, we need aerial gun platforms  that can shoot down aircraft, knock out tanks and  destroy artillery concentrations. What about adapting  the K-8 Jet Trainer aircraft exclusively for this  purpose? An endeavour can be made to arm the existing  fleet with guns, rocket pods, flare and chaff  dispensers to make Army Aviation “a poor man’s air  force”. Any future induction must also have this  factor as a merit. Composite Army Aviation squadrons  of fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft should be able  to immediately support ground forces, the Army must be  self-reliant for this crucial period.

Operating from well dispersed “advanced landing  grounds” (ALGs); a well armed Army Aviation will be a  major threat to both the enemy’s ground and air  forces. For the enemy commanders it will pose a  challenge that will make him divide the human and  material resources at his chosen part of impact. If  nothing, the poor man’s air force becomes cost  effective when it will render the enemy  ultra-apprehensive about the slow low flying aircraft  having the capability of shooting. Given the recent  geopolitical changes and the opportunity it affords,  it is time to think about upgrading our combat fleet  as well.

Army Aviation must think forward, no one ever won a  war by being defensive. Wars are won by making the  enemy psyche defensive and thus vulnerable to the  dictation of our plans, at a time and place of our choosing. Aviation is a game of logistics and he will win who is more innovative and more flexible at the  same time — someone able to project his mind beyond the  normal capacity, beyond his own horizons. But nothing  will matter if one forgets the greatest weapon of all,  the human being who flies the aircraft; in the end it  is he who is the ultimate battle winning factor. The  Karakoram Highway (KKH) is an example of the force  multiplier Aviation gave to the Engineers Corps in  achieving this almost impossible task. Siachin is  another classic example, a symbol of heroic Aviation  efforts as well as bad military planning. In such  trying circumstances, a pilot must have an inner  strength to give him the strength to face acute  loneliness in an hostile environment with only God and  his machine to keep him company, as his only source of  solace and comfort. The pilot’s dimension is that of a  gladiator except that he is in the aerial mode of the  fourth dimension, he is an air gladiator and the area  of operations his Coliseum.