PAF Base Sakesar

PAF Base Sakesar is a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Main Operating Base situated in the Soon Valley of Punjab province, 72 kilometers from Mianwali. Owned by the Ministry of Defense and operated by the Air Defense Command, the site was selected in 1954 for radar installations to provide surveillance for northeastern West Pakistan. Initial operations began in 1958 with Marconi Type-21 radars, and the station was formally established in 1961.

During the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War, the base functioned as a center for air defense and ground control operations in northern West Pakistan. In the 1971 conflict, the base directed defensive operations and sustained damage to its radar antenna during airstrikes. Under the PADS-77 modernization program in the late 1970s, the Air Defense Training School (ADTS) was relocated to Sakesar from PAF Base Korangi Creek. The base maintained a high alert status during the 1999 Kargil conflict and the 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff.

Current operations are focused on air defense surveillance. The base hosts No. 410 Squadron and operates as a Main Operating Base alongside PAF Base Malir. Infrastructure includes a Sector Operations Control Centre (SOC) and a Ground Controlled Intercept (GCI) station. The original AN/FPS-20 early warning radar was replaced by Chinese-manufactured YLC-2 radar systems. Technical facilities include a radome, installed in 2007 for environmental protection of radar equipment, and an archive gallery established in 2010.