Lahore: An unusual incident recently took place in Pakistan’s Punjab province, not far from the Sargodha region, where an external fuel tank from a Pakistani Air Force fighter jet fell from the sky mid-flight. The event was part of a training mission with three fifth-generation fighter planes. The local authorities reported that while there were no human casualties, some cattle sustained damage.
Such an incident has occurred in Pakistan before. Just a few months earlier, in April 2023, a fighter jet lost its fuel tank over an area close to the city of Rawalpindi, creating fear and panic. There have also been reports of less serious incidents; in 1997, a fuel tank dropped in the residential area of Karachi, resulting in six fatalities. However, the frequency of these incidents raises the question: are these merely technical malfunctions, or are we witnessing a gradual decline in the quality of Pakistan’s aviation fleet?
A key range extension technique used by fighter jets is the addition of external fuel tanks, referred to as “drop tanks.” These tanks, however, do weigh down the aircraft quite a bit, and so if pilots need to go quick, they can dump them during combat or during an emergency to reduce weight for superior speed and manoeuvrability. But when these tanks start falling randomly, it becomes a serious safety hazard.
The increasing frequency of disconnection of external fuel tanks from PAF jets points to either poor maintenance procedures or a sign of declining aircraft status. The Pakistani Air Force uses mainly F-16s, JF-17s, and old Mirage jets, most of which have been in service for decades. Such incidents, experts warn, are likely to continue if structural elements are not well maintained and inspected regularly.
In the past, drop tanks were first used in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and were commonly used mainly during World War II. by the Allies. American pilots even converted these tanks into homemade bombs for combat use. American pilots in Vietnam modified U.S. Air Force-derived drop tanks and filled them with a proprietary blend of fuel to create CBU-7ABS napalm bombs. Still, the U.S. ended up stopping the use of napalm weapons due to international backlash.
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