Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, has inaugurated a state-of-the-art Center of Integrated Air Defence Battle Management (CIADBAM) on Wednesday. While addressing the inauguration ceremony, the Army Chief said that there was need for greater cooperation, integration, and synchronization to tackle complex and fluid future battlefield challenges which has been fulfilled with establishment of the Center. According to the Pakistan Army media wing, Commander Army Air Defence Command, Lieutenant General Hamood-Uz-Zaman Khan briefed the COAS regarding Air Defence battle management procedures and complete functioning of newly built CIADBAM. COAS appreciated the Army Air Defence Command which has grown extraordinarily over the years and was ready to take on any misadventure by the enemy in aerial frontiers of Pakistan. Army Chief expressed satisfaction over professionalism, and operational readiness of the Air Defence units of Pakistan Army which are equipped with sophisticated, highly accurate and lethal long range weapon systems. In fact, Pakistan Air Force is a dedicated force for safeguarding the aerial frontiers of the country having latest aircrafts, helicopters, and fully integrated air defence command and control centers to thwart the external threats. However, Army air defence protects the vital assets from enemy air raids whenever enemy air crafts/ missiles enter the country while evading Country’s early warning system. Army air Defence haunt down the enemy aircrafts through its gunfire while PAF aircrafts chase the enemy jets in the air space of the country. The importance of strong Air Defence was seriously realized by the world during world war II and the Pakistan Army experienced its importance and effectiveness of a strong air Defence system during the Kashmir conflict in 1948. Pakistan Army inherited only two partially equipped and ill-organized anti-aircraft units at the time of creation of Pakistan. After the Kashmir conflict in 1948, Pakistan Army acquired sufficient air defence weapons for its inventory therefore the performance of Army Air Defence was incredible during the wars of 1965 and 1971. According to reports, Army Air Defence gunners shot down 32 Indian aircrafts in 1965 and hunted down other 39 Indian invading jets during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971. A dedicated Army Air Defence formation was created by the Pakistan Army in March 1989.
The present-day Army Air Defence is a regular combatant formation of Pakistan Army which is equipped with state-of-the-art air defence systems, sophisticated weaponry including anti-aircraft guns, surface to air missiles (SAM), radars, high altitude long range anti-aircraft weapons etc. The Army Air Defence provides protection to fighting units from enemy air attacks in the battlefield, defends the strategic defence installations, important military and civilian infrastructure, vital lines of communication including road networks and bridges, airports, and population centers from air raids by the enemy air crafts during the war.
According to reports, the establishment of Center of Integrated Air Defence Battle Management (CIADBAM) will provide an integrated environment for synchronized and effective articulation of Air Defence battle from top tier of command down to individual weapon systems in the battlefield. The induction of the CIADBAM system has increased the capabilities of Army Air Defence many fold. Presently, Pakistan Army is actively working to modernize its infrastructure through reconstitution of previously existing assets, restructuring of its formations and induction of latest weapon systems in its inventory. It would be right to say that latest equipment and weaponry double down the performance and valor of the soldiers in the battlefield.
