[image: In this picture taken on December 27, 2017, a Mirage aircraft ofthe Pakistan Air Force (PAF) takes off at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complexafter an overhaul at the Mirage Rebuild Factory (MRF) in Kamra, west of thecapital Islamabad. PHOTO: AFP][image: In this picture taken on December 27, 2017, the Mirage RebuildFactory (MRF) is pictured as Mirage aircraft are overhauled by the PakistanAir Force (PAF) in Kamra, west of the capital Islamabad. PHOTO: AFP][image:In this picture taken on December 27, 2017, a Mirage aircraft of thePakistan Air Force (PAF) takes off at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complexafter an overhaul at the Mirage Rebuild Factory (MRF) in Kamra, west of thecapital Islamabad. PHOTO: AFP][image: In this picture taken on December 27,2017, technicians work on a Mirage aircraft during a full overhaul by thePakistan Air Force (PAF) at the Mirage Rebuild Factory (MRF) in Kamra, westof the capital Islamabad. PHOTO: AFP][image: In this picture taken onDecember 27, 2017, technicians work on a Mirage aircraft during a fulloverhaul by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) at the Mirage Rebuild Factory(MRF) in Kamra, west of the capital Islamabad. PHOTO: AFP][image: In thispicture taken on December 27, 2017, a Mirage aircraft of the Pakistan AirForce (PAF) prepares for a first test run at the Pakistan AeronauticalComplex after an overhaul at the Mirage Rebuild Factory (MRF) in Kamra,west of the capital Islamabad. PHOTO: AFP][image: In this picture taken onDecember 27, 2017, technicians work on a Mirage aircraft during a fulloverhaul by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) at the Mirage Rebuild Factory(MRF) in Kamra, west of the capital Islamabad. PHOTO: AFP][image: In thispicture taken on December 27, 2017, technicians work on the engine of aMirage aircraft being serviced by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) at theMirage Rebuild Factory (MRF) in Kamra, west of the capital Islamabad.PHOTO: AFP][image: In this picture taken on December 27, 2017, techniciansinspect a Mirage aircraft after the installation of air-to-air refuelingprobe as it undergoes an overhaul by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) at theMirage Rebuild Factory (MRF) in Kamra, west of the capital Islamabad.PHOTO: AFP]

ISLAMABAD: The sprawling complex at Kamra, west of Islamabad, reverbates atthe thundering take-off of a Mirage Rose-1, the latest ageing fighter jetto have been gutted and reassembled by the Pakistani Air Force (PAF).

Fifty years after the country bought its first Mirages, many planes in thevenerable fleet are still being patched up, overhauled and upgraded for usein combat, years after conventional wisdom dictates they should be grounded.

That includes one of the first two planes originally purchased fromFrance’s Dassault in 1967, which was in a hangar at Kamra after its recordfifth overhaul when *AFP* visited recently.[image: In this picture taken on December 27, 2017, technicians inspect aMirage aircraft after the installation of air-to-air refueling probe as itundergoes an overhaul by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) at the Mirage RebuildFactory (MRF) in Kamra, west of the capital Islamabad. PHOTO: AFP]

In this picture taken on December 27, 2017, technicians inspect a Mirageaircraft after the installation of air-to-air refuelling probe as itundergoes an overhaul by the PAF at the MRF in Kamra, Islamabad. PHOTO: AFP

The techniques they have developed are reminiscent of – but far morehigh-tech and lethal than – the improvised methods used to keep classicAmerican cars running on the streets of Havana.

“We have achieved such a capability that our experts can integrate anylatest system with the ageing Mirages,” says Air Commodore Salman MFarooqi, deputy managing director of the Mirage Rebuild Factory (MRF) atthe Kamra complex.

The Mirages, bought in the late 1960s to diversify the fleet, largelyconsisted of US-built planes: F-104 Starfighters, T-37 Tweety Birds andF-86 Sabres. The Mirage became a popular choice, with the Air Force buying17 different variants in later years, eventually owning the second-highestnumber of the fighter jets after France.[image: In this picture taken on December 27, 2017, technicians work on theengine of a Mirage aircraft being serviced by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF)at the Mirage Rebuild Factory (MRF) in Kamra, west of the capitalIslamabad. PHOTO: AFP]

In this picture taken on December 27, 2017, technicians work on the engineof a Mirage aircraft. PHOTO: AFP

They performed bombing missions during Pakistan’s war with India in 1971 –one of the shortest conflicts in history, lasting just 13 days and leadingto the creation of Bangladesh.

But Mirages flew on, also carrying out reconnaissance missions in India,and intercepting and shooting down Soviet and Afghan planes that violatedPakistani airspace during the Soviet war. Usually the jet has two or threelife cycles, each spanning around 12 years.[image: 218042901983]

In this picture taken on December 27, 2017, technicians work on a Mirageaircraft. PHOTO: AFP

But overhauling them abroad was expensive for a developing country.

So, with the help of experts from Dassault, the air force decided if youwant something done for the right price, you’ve got to do it yourself.

*Makeover*

The Mirage Rebuild Factory was established at the Pakistan AeronauticalComplex (PAC) in 1978, and in the years since has saved ‘billions’ ofdollars for Pakistan, according to Group Captain Muhammad Farooq, in chargeof one of the maintenance hangars – though he said the exact figure wasdifficult to pin down.

The planes take some seven weeks to be overhauled and repainted, he said,adding that usually the MRF has the capacity for more than a dozen planes ayear. Its calendar for the next decade or so is already booked up.

At least eight different Mirage variants, including the Mirage 5-EF, MirageIII-DP and Mirage-III Rose-I, were in one of the maintenance hangers whenAFP visited. E

Engineers and technicians were dismantling cockpit instrument panels andlanding gear while undertaking a “non-destructive inspection”, essentiallyan X-ray to detect faults in the wings and air-frame.

Dozens of engines awaiting overhaul were piled in one hangar. Even planesthat had suffered accidents such as fires breaking out have been patchedback together at the facility.[image: In this picture taken on December 27, 2017, a Mirage aircraft ofthe Pakistan Air Force (PAF) prepares for a first test run at the PakistanAeronautical Complex after an overhaul at the Mirage Rebuild Factory (MRF)in Kamra, west of the capital Islamabad. PHOTO: AFP]

In this picture taken on December 27, 2017, a Mirage aircraft prepares fora first test run at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex after an overhaul atthe MRF in Kamra. PHOTO: AFP

Pakistan has also been buying up discarded Mirages from other countries tobring through the facility, said retired Air Marshal Shahid Lateef.

The most important technological improvement, developed with the help ofSouth Africa, is the ability to integrate air-to-air refuelling, Farooqisaid.

The “identification of friend and foe” (IFF) system, which detects when aMirage has been locked on to by the system of another plane, was also a keydevelopment, he said.

*Grand dames*

But even with the improvements and cost-saving measures, the ageing planesare becoming more difficult to maintain. “They have outlived their lives…after their overhauls [they] have become highly unreliable, we even metwith lots of accidents,” Lateef said.[image: In this picture taken on December 27, 2017, technicians work on aMirage aircraft during a full overhaul by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) atthe Mirage Rebuild Factory (MRF) in Kamra, west of the capital Islamabad.PHOTO: AFP]

In this picture taken on December 27, 2017, technicians work on a Mirageaircraft during a full overhaul. PHOTO: AFP

The best option to replace them would be the Rafale, as neighbour andarch-rival India – which has also flown and maintained Mirages for decades– is doing, signing a deal with Dassault in 2016.

The price tag is too much for Pakistan, however, retired Air CommodoreTariq Yazdani said. Instead Pakistan plans to replace them with the JF-17Thunder aircraft that it co-developed and co-produced with China, theoriginal manufacturer.[image: In this picture taken on December 27, 2017, technicians work on aMirage aircraft during a full overhaul by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) atthe Mirage Rebuild Factory (MRF) in Kamra, west of the capital Islamabad.PHOTO: AFP]

In this picture taken on December 27, 2017, technicians work on a Mirageaircraft during a full overhaul by the PAF. PHOTO: AFP

Even as it becomes more urgent to phase them out, Mirages’ status as thegrand dames of Pakistani military aviation cannot be dismissed, Yazdani,who has logged 1,500 hours flying them, told *AFP.*

It is a “very agile aircraft capable of penetrating deep into the enemy’sterritory without being detected by radar, which makes its sole missionto drop bombs on the enemy’s position – quite easy,” he said.

“It is an old aircraft,” said aviation writer Alan Warnes, author of twobooks on the Pakistani air force. “But Pakistani pilots have been flyingthis plane with the utmost accuracy and expertise.” – APP/AFP