During Polish political turmoil after World War II, Wladyslaw Turowicz along with 30 other Poles joined Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on a contract of 3-years. While most of Polish airmen left Pakistan, he preferred to stay back.
Turowicz served as chief aeronautical engineer in PAF and played a vital role in Pakistan’s missile and rocket program. After his retirement as Air Commodore in 1967, he also served as Executive Director of SUPARCO through 1970.
Died in car accident in 1980, he was conferred some of the top national and military awards of Pakistan including Sitara-e-Pakistan, Tamgha-i-Pakistan, Sitara-i-Khidmat, Sitara-i-Quaid-e-Azam, and Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Military).
The Polish-Pakistani aviator is greatly revered in Pakistan for his immense contributions to Pakistan defense as the country hosts its 10th edition of International Defense Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS 2018), that kicked off on November 27.
A total of 522 exhibitors from 50 countries and 262 delegations from 51 countries, including the United States, Russia, China, France, Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, South Korea, Turkey, UAE, Jordan, and Ukraine are attending the event.
The expo is also supplemented by International Defense Seminar – an interactive forum, facilitating meetings and networking sessions among high profile delegates, policy makers, diplomats, and defense procurement experts.
Conceived after Pakistan Naval Defense Show in 1999, IDEAS 2018 is demonstrating thousands of conventional-to- the most sophisticated weapons and military equipment and the technology of tomorrow.
IDEAS is a biennially-held exhibition that has pulled large number of national and international defense organizations and delegations from all around the world – providing an effective defense platform to the buyers and sellers.
Rosoboronexport, the only Russian state defense equipment manufacturing organization is showcasing their more than 200 products in the exhibition. In 2018, the company delivered weapons to over 40 countries of the world.
Pakistan will also be displaying the country’s indigenously built state-of-the-art military hardware such as main battle tanks, missiles, fighter and training aircrafts, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), armored personnel carriers (APCs), and drones.
The exponential growth of IDEAS has realized as much as $300 million of Pakistan’s defense exports, mainly supported by JF-17 Thunder fighter jets and Mushshak (The Proficient) and its upgraded version, Super Mushshak (The Agile) aircrafts.
Brigadier Mumtaz Waheed, Director Coordination of Defense Exports Promotion Organization (DEPO) along with some other national defense officials revealed the numbers in a curtain-raiser event of IDEAS 2018.
Nigeria and Myanmar are some of the buyers, reportedly have placed orders for JF-17 Thunder combat aircrafts. Egypt, Malaysia, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey have also shown their interests in Pakistan’s low cost, highly effective fighter jet.
The top military officers from Iran and Malaysia attended the exhibition for the first time and shown advanced interest in the country’s warplane, while holding talks with the officials Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC).
Mushshak and Super Mushshak are currently being successfully operated by Pakistan army, Pakistan air force, Iran, Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), Syria, Oman, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and South Africa.
The exhibition also marked the arrival of two Russian naval ships for port calling during IDEAS 2018. Pakistan has already received four Mi-35 choppers from Russia to replace part of its aging military fleet of US AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters.
The prior IDEAS 2016 hosted 427 including 294 foreign companies from 36 countries and 88 delegations from 40 countries including the United States, Russia, France, Spain, Italy, China, Turkey, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
This stirring event is organized by Defense Export Promotion Organization (DEPO), supported by Pakistan Armed Forces, endorsed by Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), and managed by Badar Expo Solution (BXSS).