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Ukraine to Upgrade PAKISTAN AIR FORCE IL-78 Multipurpose Airborne Refueling Tanker Aircraft:
More Blessings for the great PAKISTANI Nation, as Ukraine’s State owned Defense Giant, Ukrspecexport has confirmed on Thursday, June 4, 2020 that it had cut the deal with PAKISTAN AIR FORCE to upgrade and modernize PAF’s Il-78 Aerial Refueling Tanker Airplane.
The Defense Company of Ukraine has further stated that the total value of the contract pegged at $30 million and it will also include PAF’s two more Il-78 aerial refueling tanker planes.
However, right now the contract only signed for the one Il-78 aircraft and the further contract for the two Il-78 Tanker Aircraft would be proceeded after the upgradation of the first aircraft. The further contract would also be dependent on the results of the previously upgraded tanker plane.
Ukraine’s state-owned Defense Company, Ukrspecexport to Modernize and Upgrade PAKISTAN’s Il-78 Aerial Refueling Tanker Airplane for USD 30 million pic.twitter.com/hwJStEZMZs
— PAKDEFENSE.OFFICIAL (@PAKDEFENSE_COM) June 5, 2020
Ukraine State owned Defense Company Ukrspecexport has further said that all the work for the modernization and upgradation of PAKISTAN’s Il-78 Aircraft to be completed by the Nikolaev Aircraft Repair Plant under Ukroboronprom.
It is worth mentioning that PAKISTAN AIR FORCE has initially procured four numbers of Il-78 aerial refueling tanker planes from Ukraine back in 2000’s.
Ukraine has made the delivery of the first IL-78 tanker plane to the country in December 2009. The delivered IL-78 tanker plane is also equipped with the revolutionary UPAZ re-fueling pods, which PAKISTAN AIR FORCE has used to support heavy-lift transport tasks.
Furthermore, PAKISTAN AIR FORCE has also used the tanker plane to support the Strike squadron of its Mirage Fighter aircraft equipped with the revolutionary Retrofit Strike Element (ROSE).
A PAKISTAN AIR FORCE IL-78 Aerial Refueling Tanker Plane is spotted at 360th Aircraft Repair Plane in Ryazan City of Russia back in 2017, which has set off rumors and speculations that Russia has carried out some special purpose work on PAKISTANI tanker plane.
PAKISTAN AIR FORCE is looking to upgrade the IL-78 aircraft with both hose-and-drogue and boom aerial refueling to support the F-16 and Mirage strike squadrons.
Moreover, PAKISTAN AIR FORCE IL-78 Aerial Refueling Tanker Planes also poised to support the in-flight refueling capability of PAKISTAN’s Next Generation JF-16 Block-I and Block-II Aircraft indigenously built at PAKISTAN’s state owned PAKISTAN Aeronautical Complex (PAC) Kamra.
