Because that plane firing the missile will add a few hundred miles, because a missile can be taken as non conventional weapon hence retaliation by other side by non conventional weapon. Missile fired can self destruct but cannot come back. Now by your post whole world does not understand, having the best missile technology and still building planes?
OK.....its pretty obvious you have NO idea what you are writing about!!! You should ALWAYS pay attention to the topic before just typing gibberish. We are talking about a WAR, the MISSILES will be fired from the first second and probably 100's a day in the air, around the oceans and on the ground. This is ALL conventional. No body would know when a conventional missile would include a Flash light, meaning a threshold was reached. If that's the case, then there is no secrecy, the enemy should JUST watch out for missile number 55 as that's when the war shifts from conventional to Flash lights!!! And these assumptions your post outlines, make NO sense.
Back to the topic now. I am still maintaining my opinion that the JFT Block III would have the AESA (which would then be retro'd back to Block II and I also), the block III would have more hard-points and wings-span. So you could lift more heavy duty stuff. Having two (MAY be three?) missiles per plane with two BVR's is an option with a heavier power plant and more hard-points. So let the block III roll-out. You can turn it into however you like.
Another variant of the JFT can also be quickly designed if there is a need for the strike roles. The point that you guys are ALL ignoring is, what the PAF thinks of, in terms of a strategy per their threat perception, will actually happen. And from the little I know, the stance is that we NOW know, how to build a pretty effective car. There are some features we'd like to add to it. Now if we need to expand the chassis a little bit and put a V6 engine in it, instead of a V4, we should be able to, or use this tech, to make a mini-truck chassis in the future. So why go buy what you CAN build with the JFT tech, locally, cheaper and with all development and support inside your country?
You should INSTEAD buy what will get you an edge or equal capability to the SU-30's and Rafale's, and that isn't the JH-7A. That is the J-xx or SU-35, and later the J-31. The Chinese will export this out to Pakistan in the next couple of years. Just watch this.
They are really waiting on their heavier engines to come out and from the little I know, two engines are already being rolled out soon. So why not just get the real capability you need, vs. capability that you think you need, but you are not understanding the fact that you can fulfill it internally.
For the strike role and with the ability to defend itself deep inside enemy territory F-16, F-18, Mig -29, Su-30, and Mirage -2000 are about the best available 4th generation multirole aircrafts. 4.5Th generation consists of Rafael, Typhoon, F-15E, and F-16 block 60, F-18 Super Hornet, Su-35, Grippen and J-10/20.
Let us not forget that our perceived adversary (Indian Air Force) would have SU-30, Mirage -2000 & Mig-29 intercepting the bombers. Admittedly, Tornado GR4 can carry greater load at higher speeds for longer distance; however when intercepted by Su-30 & Mirage 2000-5; can a Tornado defend itself better than F-16 block 52? I would strongly disagree.
Jf-17 - 10 to12 squadrons, F-16 – 6 to 7 squadrons. Balance 2 -3 squadrons of Chinese J-31.
IMHO PAF planners are on the right track.
Great post and very valuable insight. Glad to see others think and preach exactly what I've been saying too. Can you have JH-7A or B or any strike platform and expect deep penetration and results facing 200+ SU-30's, combined over 100 Mig-29's (upgraded) and Mirages (upgraded also)....the answer is, your strike platform has little chance to get to the target, let alone come back home. So that leaves you using standoff munitions, vs. risking $ 20 - 45 million worth of a jet (depending upon which one you are using).
JFT may not be all the way there, but it is local, and has great potential to be further upgraded at a fraction of the cost, and be inducted in numbers. You can't beat the value it provides.
I agree on the numbers, JFT's block II and III standards (in the future, all of them will be upgraded), -16's (excellent jet, if more block 52 can be purchased, it can tackle SU-30 and Rafale) and J-31 (will give you most bang for the buck, the unseen can take out multiple intruding jets before showing up on sensors. AND now, if the money is available after all these, you could get something else such as a J-xx, FC-20, or even SU-30 if need be. The J-xx series will become available to Pakistan in the next 2-3 years.