Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa witnessed the ongoing multinational exercise ‘ACES Meet 2017’ at the Air Power Centre of Excellence (ACE) during his visit to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) base Mushaf Sargodha on Thursday.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), contingents of the Royal Saudi Airforce and Turkish Airforce also took part in the exercise. A total of eight countries are taking part in the exercises in the two-week long endeavour which began on October 16.
The chief of army staff (COAS) was briefed on the ACE training facility as well as the scope of exercise which aims to project mutual cooperation between the air forces and consolidate upon modern concepts in the domain of counter terrorism operations. Gen Qamar lauded the PAF contributions and sacrifices made in the fight against terrorism. He also hailed the operational readiness and expertise of the PAF.
Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman said the current global security situation coupled with the changing dynamics of warfare calls for enhanced partnership among armed forces.
“PAF ACE was established as a strategic initiative to develop a unique institution to share with friendly air forces the rare experiences PAF has gained in counter terrorism operations,” he explained. The air chief marshal said the air operations had to remain in sync with surface operations in order to make decisive gains on the ground.
