The RPAF began with a paper share allotment of 2,332 personnel, a fleet of 24 Tempest II fighter-bombers, 16 Hawker Typhoon fighters, two H.P.57 Halifax bombers, two Auster aircraft, twelve North American Harvard trainers and ten de Havilland Tiger Moth biplanes.

[citation needed] China also supplied a squadron of Harbin B-5 bombers, but the PAF was not satisfied with them due to their lack of a modern bomb aiming system.

[19] On 22 November 1971, ten days before the start of a full-scale war, four PAF F-86 Sabre jets attacked Indian and Mukti Bahini positions at Garibpur, near the international border.

[20] On 3 December, India formally declared war against Pakistan following massive preemptive strikes by the PAF against Indian Air Force installations in Srinagar, Ambala, Sirsa, Halwara and Jodhpur.

[25] The IAF undertook strategic bombing of West Pakistan by carrying out raids on oil installations in Karachi, the Mangla Dam and a gas plant in Sindh.

In 1983, when the first batch of F-16s reached Pakistan, ACM Shamim informed Zia of the PAF's capability to respond to an attack on the nuclear research facilities at Kahuta.

[30][31] The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 in support of the pro-Soviet government in Kabul, which was being hard-pressed by Mujahadeen rebel forces, marked the start of a decade-long occupation.

One F-16 was lost in these battles during an encounter between two F-16s and six Afghan Air Force aircraft on 29 April 1987, stated by the PAF to have been an "own-goal" because it was hit by an AIM-9 Sidewinder fired from the other F-16.

The Pressler Amendment passed by the US Congress, in 1985, prevented the sale of arms equipment to Pakistan unless it could be verified that the goods would not be used to build or deliver nuclear weapons.

In April 1990, Pakistan signed a contract to purchase fifty used Mirage IIIO interceptors, which had recently been retired by the Royal Australian Air Force.

In 1992 the PAF again looked at the Mirage 2000, reviving a proposal from the early 1980s to procure around 20–40 aircraft, but again a sale did not occur because France did not want to sell a fully capable version due to political reasons.

The offensive was to be completed as quickly as possible to allow the refugees to return to their homes but the army's fleet attack helicopters were not sufficient to provide adequate support to the infantry.

[45][46] The PAF had been forced to use Google Earth for reconnaissance imagery until high resolution infra-red sensors were provided by the U.S. prior to the army's 2009 campaign in the Swat valley.

This was not confirmed by military or political leaders but Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Kayani, gave a public apology on 17 April.

[52] On 22 May 2011 it was reported that the PAF had retaliated against attacks by Afghan mortar and machine gun positions on the Pakistani posts at Miskinai and Sangpura in the Bajaur area.

[53] On 4 November 2023, nine militants from the Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan attacked the Mianwali Training Air base in Punjab Province, damaging three aircraft on the ground before being killed by PAF personnel.

Since the lifting of sanctions, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) became heavily active in evaluating potential military hardware such as new fighter aircraft, radars and land based air-defense systems.

[58] The Bush administration previously announced on 27 June 2008 it was proposing to sell Pakistan ITT Corporation's electronic warfare gear valued at up to $75 million to enhance Islamabad's existing F-16s.

[76][77] During talks with a delegation from the French Senate on Monday 28 September 2009, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani stated that the PAF had used most of its stockpile of laser-guided munitions against militants in the Malakand and FATA regions and that replacements for such types of equipment were urgently required.

[89] Previously, women had been employed by Pakistan's armed forces in non-combat roles only, such as the medical corps,[90] and the PAF had remained all-male throughout its history.

[91] However, in 2003 women were allowed to enroll in the aerospace engineering and other programs of PAF Academy Risalpur, including fighter pilot training programmes.

Certificates of honour were handed to the successful cadets by a "delighted" General Ahsan Saleem Hayat, vice chief of the Pakistan Army, who acknowledged that the PAF was the first of the Pakistani armed forces to introduce women to its combat units.

[95] In the summer of 2005 a PAF team of 20 airmen, including pilots, navigators, engineers, maintenance technicians and a C-130E was sent to the U.S. to take part in the AMC (Air Mobility Command) Rodeo.

[105] On 6 April 2010 the end of the first phase of exercise High Mark 2010 was celebrated with a firepower demonstration at the PAF's firing range facility in the deserts of Thal.

The 90-minute demo began with a sonic boom from a Mirage fighter flying past at supersonic speed, followed by various PAF combat aircraft attacking targets with a wide range of live weaponry.

The newly inducted JF-17 Thunder was shown hitting targets with bombs and the new Saab 2000 Erieye AEW&C and Il-78 MRTT were also displayed to the public for the first time during the demo.

[106] During High Mark 2010 a Chengdu F-7 and Mirage 5 fighter (flown by Squadron Leader Nadeem Iqbal and Wing Commander Syed Ata ur Rehman respectively) practised landing, refuelling and take-off operations from a Pakistani motorway.

It was reported that the PAF is in negotiations with the Ministry of Communications to set up all required facilities for Air Force operations on the motorways and highways of Pakistan.

9 Griffins Squadron and 100 PAF personnel to Nellis Air Force Base in the U.S. to participate in the international Red Flag exercise for the first time.

7 Bandits Squadron sent a team of its Dassault Mirage III ROSE fighters to Jordan to participate in the Falcon Air Meet 2010 exercise.