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Pakistan Air Force Crumbling Away

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Pakistan Air Force Crumbling Away
by James Dunnigan
January 9, 2013


The Pakistan Air Force is losing nearly two percent of its 900 aircraft each year to accidents. This is more than ten times the rate of Western air forces. These losses are caused by aircraft that are too old and a budget that is too small to properly train pilots and maintain the aircraft. Most of Pakistan’s 520 fighters are over 20 years old. This includes 157 French made Mirage IIIs and 5s, 178 of 186 MiG-21s (the Chinese F-7 version), and 31 of 77 U.S. made F-16s. There have been some new aircraft put into service. Since 2000, Pakistan has received 46 F-16s and 100 Chinese made JF-17s (similar to the F-16). These planes are pretty safe. Older aircraft tend to crash more often.

Pakistan does not have enough money to buy enough new aircraft to replace all those becoming inoperable because of age. You can refurbish old aircraft and keep them flying for half a century or more. But Pakistan hasn’t got the money for that either. There’s also not enough cash for the spare parts and fuel needed for the training flights needed to keep the 3,000 Pakistani Air Force pilots capable of handling high-performance aircraft safely. In short, the Pakistani Air Force is facing a disaster. Each year more and more of their aircraft become inoperable and their pilots, unable to fly enough to maintain their skill, become less capable.

Neighboring India has more money for new aircraft and training. And, like Pakistan, it is using its Mig-21s much less. The most accident-prone aircraft in both countries is the MiG-21. India built 657 of these under license. This seemed like a good idea at the time. The MiG-21 was an impressive looking and relatively inexpensive jet fighter half a century ago. Only much later, when it became clear that the MiG-21 was not very effective in combat, was it realized that all those spiffy looking MiGs were more liability than asset.

The MiG-21 was difficult to fly and maintain. In the end the MiG-21 was too expensive to maintain and too dangerous to fly. India made a mighty effort to make their MiGs safer to fly but the accident rate was still obviously higher than that of Western aircraft (especially the few that the Indian Air Force operated). The MiGs were called "flying coffins" and gave the air force a lot of bad publicity. India was not the only one, besides the Russians, who had problems with Russian made warplanes. During the Cold War the U.S. had several dozen Russian aircraft they used for training their fighter pilots. Despite energetic efforts to keep these aircraft flying, their accident rate was 100 per 100,000 flying hours. That's very high by U.S. standards. The new F-22 has an accident rate of about 6 per 100,000 hours, mainly because it's new. F-15s and F-16s have an accident rate of 3-4 per 100,000 flight hours. India, using mostly Russian aircraft, has an accident rate of 6-7 per 100,000 hours flown (compared to 4-5 for all NATO air forces). Pakistan’s accident rate is at least three times that of India.

All combat aircraft have, for decades, been getting more reliable, even as they became more complex. For example, in the early 1950s, the U.S. F-89 fighter had 383 accidents per 100,000 flying hours. A decade later the rate was in the 20s for a new generation of aircraft. At the time the F-4, which served into the 1990s, had a rate of less than 5 per 100,000 hours. Combat aircraft have gotten more reliable and easier to maintain, despite growing complexity, for the same reason automobiles have. Better engineering and more sensors built into equipment makes it easier for the user and maintenance personnel to detect potential problems. Aircraft used the computerized maintenance systems, currently common on new aircraft, long before automobiles got them. Unless you have a much older car that still runs, or a real good memory, you don't notice the enormous increase in automobile reliability. But older pilots remember because such changes were a matter of life and death if you make your living flying an aircraft. And commanders know that safer aircraft means more aircraft to use in combat and more aircraft that can survive combat damage and keep fighting.

India is solving the MiG problem by retiring all the older (bought before the 1990s) MiGs. Only the 67 MiG-29s are being kept in service. These aircraft were among a new generation of Russian combat aircraft, appearing at the end of the Cold War, that were built to Western standards. This made a big difference in the accident rate but not nearly enough. The MiG-29 crashed a lot and was much more expensive to maintain, especially compared to contemporary Russian fighters like the Su-27. For decades Sukhoi was the second largest Russian military aircraft supplier, and after the Cold War ended Sukhoi aircraft became the most common. The MiG aircraft appear to be at the end of the line.
 
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Pakistan doesn't have the money to buy new aircraft but has the will and inclination to do so. Here in India we have the money to buy new aircraft but have little will and inclination to do so!! It takes decades for a deal to materialize! For us it's a 'sab chaltha hai' attitude!

What an irony!
 
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You guys don't have the money to buy new aircraft but have the will and inclination to do so. Here in India we have the money to buy new aircraft but have little will and inclination to do so!! It takes decades for a deal to materialize! For us it's a 'sab chaltha hai' attitude!

What an irony!

The real irony is that thanks to Indo Pak hostility its the western arms merchants who laugh their way to the bank thanks to the fact that we cannot resolve our problems.
 
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Pakistan Air Force Crumbling Away
by James Dunnigan
January 9, 2013


The Pakistan Air Force is losing nearly two percent of its 900 aircraft each year to accidents. This is more than ten times the rate of Western air forces.

These losses are caused by aircraft that are too old and a budget that is too small to properly train pilots and maintain the aircraft.
Most of Pakistan’s 520 fighters are over 20 years old. This includes 157 French made Mirage IIIs and 5s, 178 of 186 MiG-21s (the Chinese F-7 version), and 31 of 77 U.S. made F-16s. There have been some new aircraft put into service. Since 2000, Pakistan has received 46 F-16s and 100 Chinese made JF-17s (similar to the F-16). These planes are pretty safe. Older aircraft tend to crash more often.

Pakistan does not have enough money to buy enough new aircraft to replace all those becoming inoperable because of age. You can refurbish old aircraft and keep them flying for half a century or more. But Pakistan hasn’t got the money for that either. There’s also not enough cash for the spare parts and fuel needed for the training flights needed to keep the 3,000 Pakistani Air Force pilots capable of handling high-performance aircraft safely. In short, the Pakistani Air Force is facing a disaster.

Each year more and more of their aircraft become inoperable and their pilots, unable to fly enough to maintain their skill, become less capable.

pilot becoming less capable due to lesser number of traing and flights is not what Windjammer uses to preach over PDF, he poses as the PAF pilots are the best trained and with most number of flying hours :lol:
 
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two percent of its 900 aircraft

Since when did we have 900 aircraft ???

100 JF-17s

When ???

Pakistan’s accident rate is at least three times that of India.

Can he give facts and figures to support his allegation and we should believe his one liner.

There’s also not enough cash for the spare parts and fuel needed for the training flights needed to keep the 3,000 Pakistani Air Force pilots capable of handling high-performance aircraft safely.

Is he really serious ??


Whoever the writer is, he knows nothing about PAF.

pilot becoming less capable due to lesser number of traing and flights is not what Windjammer uses to preach over PDF, he poses as the PAF pilots are the best trained and with most number of flying hours :lol:

That is a fact, PAF has never compromised on the training no matter what conditions they have been into. One of the reasons in the last one decade, PAF pilots have participated in numerous international exercises in Pakistan as well as outside.

And PAF flying hour per pilot is among the high ones.

My first post highlighting some of the distorted facts are sufficient to prove that the writer has no idea what he is talking about.
 
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PAF pilots training level is the best in sub-continent...we don't crash 500 aircrafts in 20 years nor do we "surrender" in air to enemy air forces...


In all previous air wars, PAF busted iaf's scrawny *** real bad :lol:

Even now, we have accounts of American pilots who fought against indians in Su-30s and Pakistanis in F-16s...Americans clearly gave edge to Pakistanis in F-16s ...

PAF facing money shortage? LAWL! Is this a joke or what?

So last year alone, PAF lost 18 aircrafts as per the article? :lol: We aren't talking about some third-rated sh!tty airforce here folks...we don't have monkeys flying migs...if you know what I mean :azn:
 
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two percent of its 900 aircraft

Since when did we have 900 aircraft ???

100 JF-17s

When ???

There’s also not enough cash for the spare parts and fuel needed for the training flights needed to keep the 3,000 Pakistani Air Force pilots capable of handling high-performance aircraft safely.

Is he really serious ??


Whoever the writer is, he knows nothing about PAF.



That is a fact, PAF has never compromised on the training no matter what conditions they have been into. One of the reasons in the last one decade, PAF pilots have participated in numerous international exercises in Pakistan as well as outside.

And PAF flying hour per pilot is among the high ones.

My first post highlighting some of the distorted facts are sufficient to prove that the writer has no idea what he is talking about.

So please close this thread...There is not to discuss when facts are wrong...
 
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pilot becoming less capable due to lesser number of traing and flights is not what Windjammer uses to preach over PDF, he poses as the PAF pilots are the best trained and with most number of flying hours :lol:

@Bhai Zakir, before you give yourself a nose bleed, that's an old article written by someone who probably can't distinguish a Space shuttle from a Spitfire....more closer to your fish-bowl, here's what your very own have to say . :cheesy:


Indian Air Force losing edge to Pakistan Air Force (Indian Defense Intelligence Report) Part 2.flv - YouTube
 
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Its like the author got up in the morning and decided to start writing something. Which is odd considering he does have credentials.
Yet here his article sounds more like a request to please put out something that makes little sense.

Inaccurate data and even more inaccurate conclusions. Considering that he is pointing out the Mig types(F-7) which actually have a lesser rate of accidents as compared to the older mirages.
PAF flight hours were the highest in years recently.. considering the number of high mark exercises held.
 
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