Wings of Brotherhood – A Fighter Pilot’s Memoir Across Pakistan, Bahrain, and Beyond by Daastan
Wings of Brotherhood: A Journey Between Two Air Forces, published by Daastan, is a rare and gripping Pakistan Air Force memoir that takes readers into the cockpit and command centers of military history. Written by Wg. Cdr. (Retd.) Badrul Hassan Khan, this book spans over four decades of service, conflict, diplomacy, and legacy. It captures a life shaped by duty, transformation, and resilience.
From his early days flying the Tiger Moth and F-86 Sabre to surviving a mid-air emergency ejection, Khan’s narrative brings the intensity and danger of fighter flying to life. But beyond aerial maneuvers, the memoir delves into pivotal events like the missteps and political confusion before the 1965 war, the disillusionment during the 1971 war, and the emotional burden of losing comrades during routine training missions. These are not just war stories instead they’re institutional reckonings from someone who lived them.
The book also explores his covert tenure at ISI Karachi, where the skies were traded for surveillance, counterintelligence, and quiet risk. Later, Khan was deployed to Bahrain, tasked with a nearly impossible mission: build an air wing from the ground up. No infrastructure, no pilots, no doctrine, and yet, through strategic planning and global collaboration, a fully functioning air defense unit was born.
What gives the book lasting power is its voice. Names like Air Marshal Noor Khan, M.M. Alam, and Flt. Lt. Hameed Anwar appear not as distant heroes, but as colleagues and inspirations. Woven through this professional account are deeply personal moments: a marriage weathering distance, a son urging his father to write, a lifetime of wisdom captured in reflection.
Meticulously crafted with the support of his son and published by Daastan, Wings of Brotherhood is for aviation lovers, military historians, and anyone curious about what legacy truly looks like when written in both flight logs and family memory.
The book is available at Amazon and also in Pakistan at Qissa – A Bookstore by Daastan
Disclaimer:
This is a sponsored post. The Reporters does not necessarily endorse or agree with the views and content presented in this post.
