1978 May 14                  - Mirage Rebuild Factory (MRF) inaugurated at Kamra.

1978 July 23                  - Air Chief Marshal M. Anwar Shamim takes over as the Chief of the Air Staff.

1979 June 27                 - First convocation of the award of BSc.degree held at PAF Academy, Risalpur.

1979 October 10            - Senior Technician Daulat Khan becomes the World Amateur Squash Champion.

1980                             - F-86 aircraft retired from PAF service.

1980 September 20        - PAF Intermediate College, Peshawar upgraded to degree level.

1980 November 8           - F-6 Rebuild Factory (F-6 RF) inaugurated at Kamra.

1982 May 17                 - Central Air Command (CAC) established at Sargodha.

1983 January 14            - 40 General Dynamics F-16 "Fighting Falcon" aircraft inducted. Based at 38th Tactical Wing, Sargodha Air Base.

1983 February 13          - Chinese A-5 ground-attack aircraft inducted

1983 March 6               - Air Headquarters moved to the capital, Islamabad; elements temporarily remaining at Peshawar, redesignated as Rear Air Headquarters.

1983 July 10                - PAF Book Club established.

1983 November 20        - An Afghan pilot defects and lands his Su-7 at Dalbandin Airfield.

1984                           - No.22 Squardon (Mirage OCU) Commisioned.

1984 February 12         - PAF Base Minhas established

1984 March 27            - Institute of Flight Safety (IFS) established.

1984 April 2                 - PAF Base Pasni commissioned.

1984 April 31               - Independent Electronics Branch (IEB) established.

1984 September 22     - Defecting Afghan pilots land theirAn-26s at Miranshah Airfield.

1984 November 8        - Flight Cadet (Under Officer) H.M. Saleem wins the "Best Pilot Trophy" at the PAF Academy, twenty-seven years after his father Air Commodore S.M. Saleem.

1985 January 22          - PAF Bases Mirpur Khas and Vehari commissioned.

1985 March 6              - Air Marshal Jamal A. Khan takes over as Chief of the Air Staff.

1985 July 13               - Two defecting Afghan Mi-24 "Hind" gunship helicopters land at Miranshah
Airfield.

1986 May 17              - PAF F-16 shoots down an Su-22 of the Afghan Air Force (AAF) and Pakistan becomes the second country after Israel to  put F-16s into military action.

1986 September 1        - PAF Staff College renamed as 'Air War College, PAF'.

1986 October 12`          - A defecting Afghan pilot lands his Mig-21 at Kohat airfield.

1987                            -  Boeing 707 aircraft inducted for VIP flight.

1987 February 11         - PAF Base Rajanpur commissioned.

1987 March 30             - PAF F-16 shoots down an intruding Afghan An-26 near Miranshah area.

1987 April 16                - PAF F-16 shoots down an intruding Afghan Su-22 near Tull area.

1987 October 15          - Blue uniforms introduced to replace khaki.

1987 October 21          - Warrant Officer Jansher Khan wins World Open Squash Championship.

1987 December 31       - A third son of Squadron Leader Zaheer Ahmed becomes a PAF pilot.

1988                           - Martin B-57 bombers retired from PAF service.

1988 March 9              - Air Chief Marshal Hakimullah takes over as Chief of the Air Staff.

1988 May 17              - PAF F-16s shoot down two Russian Su-22s over Parachinar area during Afghan war.

1988 August 4            - PAF F-16 shoots down Russian Su-25 in Miranshah area during Afghan war.

1988 September 12     - PAF F-16s shoot down two intruder Russian Mig-23s during Afghan war.

1988 November 1         - PAF F-16 shoots down an intruder Russian Su-22 over Tull area during Afghan war.

1989                           - Pakistan signs contract with General Dynamics of USA for 71 F-16s.

1990                           - Chinese F-7P (modified Chinese Mig-21 version upgraded to suit PAF requirements) inducted. Total order for 200 aircraft.

1991 November 8         - Air Chief Marshal Farooq Feroze Khan takes over as Chief of the Air Staff.

1993                           - Lockheed T-33 trainer aircraft retired from PAF service.

1994 February 5           - First F-7P aircraft roll out after overhaul at Pakistan Aeronautical Complex
(PAC), Kamra.

1994 November 9         - Air Chief Marshal M. Abbas Khattak takes over as Chief of the Air Staff.

1995 January 25          - Pakistani-Chinese jointly produced Karakorum-8 (K-8) twin-seat jet trainer/light-weight fighter aircraft inducted. K-8 to be fully manufactured at PAC, Kamra. K-8 also being made available for export market.

1996                         - 40 reconditioned Mirage III-Es purchased from Sagem of France at the rate of US $ 3 million each and inducted into the PAF.

1997                       - 28 paid-for PAF F-16s remain impounded by  the US in a storage site in the Arizona desert due to the Pakistan-specific Pressler Amendment. Pakistan seeking to sell these aircraft to third country in order to recover its money. US charging Pakistan high storage costs for these aircraft. US Government blocks production of additional 32 F-16s for PAF.

                            - Work under way for the joint production0 by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and Chinese Aeronautical Corporation (CATIC) of Super-7 FC-1 multi-role air-superiority fighter aircraft by China and Pakistan.

                          - Negotiations under way with Dassault Breguet of France for supply of 40 Mirage2000-5 aircraft. Approval given by French Government for sale. (Note: PAF had selected the Mig-29 and Su-27 but sale could not go ahead after Russia refused to sell due to its close ties with India, a country which would be on the receiving end of these combat aircraft in case of war. PAF still considering possibility of purchasing these aircraft (Su-27 and Mig-29) through a third country like the Ukraine or China.

1997 August 14          - PAF's 50th 'Golden Jubilee' Anniversary.

1997 November 6        - Air Chief Marshal Pervaiz Mehdhi Qureshi takes over as the Chief of the Air Staff.

1997 November 23      - A big flying demonstartion held at Fatima Jinnah Park, Islamabad including a visit  by Red Arrows to mark Pakistan's 50th anniversary.