Pakistan buys Mirage Jets from Libya
Pakistan Times Foreign Desk Report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has turned to old ally Libya to purchase a fleet of Mirage fighter jets and spare parts, credible sources said.

"Libya had a fleet of Mirages which was grounded for over a decade. We have purchased that fleet at a very reasonable price," Air Commodore Sarfraz Khan said on Monday. "The deal has been finalised, the shipment has started."

Khan did not reveal the price or the number of craft in the fleet, but press reports say the purchase included 50 jets and 150 engines.

The Jets

All the jets will be scrapped for spare parts to maintain Pakistan's existing fleet of mirages. "The Pakistan Air Force [PAF] is going to reduce the Mirages to spares and use them in maintaining our already existing fleet."

Some defence research organisations say that the PAF currently operates 180 Mirage jets.

Yet Khan put the number at "more than 100," but he said Pakistan was the biggest user of the French-manufactured Mirage III and V models.

The Fleet

Pakistan first purchased the fighter jets in 1968. Its current fleet is composed of Mirages purchased from Australia and freshly produced models from France.

Mirage IIIs are high-speed, all-weather, delta wing, long-range fighter-bombers, used by the Pakistan Air Force as a multi-role fighter.

The Mirage V

The Mirage V was designed as a ground-attack and reconnaissance aircraft. It is also used by the PAF in an anti-ship role armed with Exocet anti-ship missiles.

The Mirage is considered one of the world's most elegant aircraft, with a wing span of 8.22 meters [26 feet] and top speeds of up to 2,350 kilometers per hour.

The Libyan Air Force had been dormant for several years due to sanctions over its nuclear program. The sanctions were lifted by the United States last year after Libya revealed the full extent of its nuclear program to the UN atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA].●