Pakistan Air Force: Options And Challenges.

[nadeemkhan110]

Pakistan Air Force (PAF) F-16s. U.S. Air Force photo by Lawrence Crespo, Wikipedia Commons.

BY SAIMA ALI JULY 30, 2016

In today’s world, air supremacy plays a vital role in achieving Military Objectives. The Pakistan Military has always been mindful of its meager resources and preferred quality over quantity.

The Pakistan Air Force is considered one of the best in the world due to its qualitative selection and professional excellence. The maintenance of this equilibrium depends on the continuous upgrading of its fleet.

The Pakistan Air Force currently operates a fighter force comprising F-16s, Dassault Mirage IIIs and 5s, Chengdu F-7s, and JF-17s. F-16s, with their tactical nuclear delivery capabilities, play a particularly important role for Pakistan in bolstering its conventional abilities against India. The Indian lobby is trying to isolate Pakistan within Washington’s power corridors, which may jeopardize the sale of more F16 to Pakistan. If so, Pakistan should seek to purchase Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets that are far more advanced than the F-16s. The Russian-made jets could be a great asset for Pakistan Air Force.

The general comparison between the Russia’s Su-35 Fighter and America’s F-16 Fighting Falcon shows that with properly trained pilots and support from ground controllers or AWACs, the Su-35 is an extremely formidable threat to Western Aircraft.

Over the years, the F-16 has evolved from a lightweight visual range dogfighter into a potent multi-role warplane that flies a gamut of missions ranging from the suppression of enemy air defences to air superiority. Though it has been operational since 1980, the “Falcon” continues to evolve and will remain in service with the US Air Force and other militaries for decades to come.

But while the F-16 remains a potent fighter, potential adversaries have caught up—the latest Russian aircraft like the Sukhoi Su-35 can match or exceed the Falcon in many respects. The F-16 doesn’t have the latest upgraded massive active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar nor can the F-16 usually lob the AIM-120 missile from high speeds and altitudes.

The US Air Force F-16s are not currently fitted with an AESA and are at a severe disadvantage versus the Su-35 or other advanced Flanker derivatives. With an AESA, the F-16 could probably hold its own against the Su-35 at longer ranges—but it would still be a challenge. At shorter ranges, it comes down to pilot skill and the performance of each jet’s high off-boresight missiles. The advent of missiles like the R-73 and AIM-9Xhave turned visual range fights into mutually assured destruction scenarios.

While the Su-35’s thrust vectoring gives it an edge at very low speeds, it’s not an insurmountable problem for an expert F-16 pilot—who knows how to exploit his or her aircraft to the fullest—to overcome. The bottom line is that the Su-35 is an extremely capable aircraft. With regard to the F-16s or Su-35s, the matter of Pakistan of adding additional fighters to its current fleet might come down to mundane matters of what is financially feasible.

Currently, the Indian Air force (IAF) is far larger with about 740 combat aircraft versus the Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) approximate 400 aircraft, but everything is not as it seems.

What at first glance seems overwhelming odds against the PAF on closer examination does not seem as overwhelming. For instance, the IAF has far lower serviceability of its aircraft. Their pilot training as evidenced by Red Flag exercises with the US is also not yet up to par with the PAF and their maintenance crews are not as diligent. Their present Russian/Soviet technology is generally less reliable and less effective and a large part of their fleet of MiG-21s and MiG-27s are outdated.

PAF aircraft are either of Western stock or Chinese and are far more maintenance friendly. Pakistan has also been upgrading their aircraft massively and have incorporated a complex combination of technology from across the globe – from China to Brazil, from South Africa to the US. PAF pilot training is on par with the best in the world and its maintenance crews are trained on the level of Western maintenance crews.

The large number of IAF crashes because of low level of maintenance crew is indicative of this acute problem with one of the highest crash rates among Air Forces of the world. What compounds this problem is the age of large sections of the Indian fleet, which has large numbers of MiG-21s and MiG-27s that are, besides the Bisons, highly outdated and are sometimes referred to as “Flying Coffins” by their pilots.

Pakistan, on the other hand has a better pilot-to-aircaft ratio than the IAF — meaning it could sustain a greater sortie rate over a protracted conflict. PAF aircraft are also “pimped” in that they have been extensively modified. Thus, while on paper PAF is flying ancient Mirages that were bought second-hand from the Australians, when one actually examines any such model, one is surprised at how extensively they have been rebuilt – almost from scratch and the hardware is extremely lethal.

Other than the secretive BVR AAMs, the PAF has extensively incorporated the strike element into its Mirages, at a level only matched by the IAF’s Mirage-2000s and Su-30 FLANKERs, and even then some of the equipment has no IAF equivalent.

Pakistan should continue its policy of quality over quantity as it is the only way to keep an equilibrium in its hostile environment and to secure the nation’s existence. Additionally, Pakistan should keep all options open as sovereignty and independence comes first, rather than becoming affiliated to a particular group or alliance.

Source: http://www.eurasiareview.com/30072016-pakistan-air-force-options-and-challenges-oped/

 

[Blue Marlin]

why dont you make more jf-17's to meet the faling demend and modify it to meet come certain areas.
250 jf-17's to replace the j-7's and mirage 3's excludignt the pg's which is 153+80=233 some of the jf-17 would be dual seaters for training in the lift role.
this leaves 85 mirages and the lost number in "requiered" f16(111,111-76=35)85+35=120 bird that need retireing and lets not forget the 50pg's which will be going mid 2020 which would take the numbers to170 and some f16 are very old and need to go as well post 2020.

 

[nadeemkhan110]

why dont you make more jf-17's to meet the faling demend and modify it to meet come certain areas.
250 jf-17's to replace the j-7's and mirage 3's excludignt the pg's which is 153+80=233 some of the jf-17 would be dual seaters for training in the lift role.
this leaves 85 mirages and the lost number in "requiered" f16(111,111-76=35)85+35=120 bird that need retireing and lets not forget the 50pg's which will be going mid 2020 which would take the numbers to170 and some f16 are very old and need to go as well post 2020.

PAF are making 20-24 JFT/ year so it will take time
and YES If there is any chance that we can Buy JFT directly from China.

but I think China is not using JFT

 

[PakEye]

Pakistan Air Force: Options And Challenges
Pakistan Air Force (PAF) F-16s. U.S. Air Force photo by Lawrence Crespo, Wikipedia Commons.
BY SAIMA ALI JULY 30, 2016
Source: http://www.eurasiareview.com/30072016-pakistan-air-force-options-and-challenges-oped/

Informatic article by Saima Ali But I can't find two very important points
One that IAF is purchasing upgrade kits for its SU-30 MKI upgrade to the level of SU-35
and
Second point that what is the answer of recent French Rafale deal ?
The question is what is the counter planning of PAF to maintain the balance of power.

 

[Allen Iverson]

One that IAF is purchasing upgrade kits for its SU-30MKK upgrade to the level of SU-35

Correction, India doesn't operates Su30MKK Variants. It operates MKI variants.. It is far more advanced in terms of Avionincs and jamming pods..MKK is operated by China..

 

[niaz]

Even if there were no sanctions or impediments in acquiring whatever Pakistan or the PAF desired; funding remains the main obstacle.

While Modi has promised Indian Military nearly $30-billion for defence hardware over the next 5 years; Pakistan’s’ allocation during 2016-2024 (8 years) is limited to $12-billion only.

I have seen so many posts criticizing why Pakistan keeps buying ‘junk’ F-16’s and other equipment from the US. People don’t realize that it is primarily because until the last F-16 deal, Pakistan has been getting US hardware at discounted prices.

Our difficulties arise from the lack of FE. Despite nearly $20-billion inward remittances, Pakistan’s current account deficit stands in excess of $10-billion per annum. Situation is likely to get worse after the IMF arrangement runs out at the end of 2016.

Economic strength is the most important factor in defence acquisitions and regrettably PAF options will remain restricted to whatever we can get from the US at cut prices and / or whatever we can afford to buy from China & Russia

 

[Sinnerman108]

The thread title would have been better as

PAF options very limited , challenges unlimited.

 

[Tripoli]

Even if there were no sanctions or impediments in acquiring whatever Pakistan or the PAF desired; funding remains the main obstacle.

While Modi has promised Indian Military nearly $30-billion for defence hardware over the next 5 years; Pakistan’s’ allocation during 2016-2024 (8 years) is limited to $12-billion only.

I have seen so many posts criticizing why Pakistan keeps buying ‘junk’ F-16’s and other equipment from the US. People don’t realize that it is primarily because until the last F-16 deal, Pakistan has been getting US hardware at discounted prices.

Our difficulties arise from the lack of FE. Despite nearly $20-billion inward remittances, Pakistan’s current account deficit stands in excess of $10-billion per annum. Situation is likely to get worse after the IMF arrangement runs out at the end of 2016.

Economic strength is the most important factor in defence acquisitions and regrettably PAF options will remain restricted to whatever we can get from the US at cut prices and / or whatever we can afford to buy from China & Russia

Sir what would you suggest as a short term solution. The gap between the us and the enemy has widened too much.
Something must be done. We have to pay off our debts, build up the economy from almost scratch. Improve our diplomatic front. There is so much to do. Is there no short term way to keep the country afloat, militarily speaking?

 

[wiseone2]

Sir what would you suggest as a short term solution. The gap between the us and the enemy has widened too much.
Something must be done. We have to pay off our debts, build up the economy from almost scratch. Improve our diplomatic front. There is so much to do. Is there no short term way to keep the country afloat, militarily speaking?

if you have beat an adversary seven times larger you have to be technologically advanced.
pakistan is probably behind india in a lot of areas.

 

[araz]

Sir what would you suggest as a short term solution. The gap between the us and the enemy has widened too much.
Something must be done. We have to pay off our debts, build up the economy from almost scratch. Improve our diplomatic front. There is so much to do. Is there no short term way to keep the country afloat, militarily speaking?

The short term solutions are already beeing implemented. Pakistan needs to desperately improve its fiscal management, and energy and water management. if we dont we will not require the indian army to walk in but will die of starvation and thurst with floods in between. The CPEC must be initiated post haste to start bringing more revenues in. The revenue needs to be infused into building the infrastructure for energy provision which is starving our industry out.The housing system needs revamping as the bigger cities are seeing massive growth with no spending on the infrastructure build up. This is a disaster waiting to happen.
A

 

[Darth Vader]

One Long Term Benefit of Thunder i see Now is There are To many Birds Mirages , F 7 When ever these Birds are Out Pakistan Can take full benefit of this While It Will be Easy , Maintenance will be a lot easier , faster , and Cast Less For Pakistan Pakistan Divert this infrastructure , Man force which is already in Operation to Thunders
And one Thunder is more capable than these Birds , Just one thing How much access of thunder is given to engineers who are working on other birds , are the developing them in advance ?

 

[Imtiaz_Sarwar]

Pakistan Air Force (PAF) F-16s. U.S. Air Force photo by Lawrence Crespo, Wikipedia Commons.

BY SAIMA ALI JULY 30, 2016

In today’s world, air supremacy plays a vital role in achieving Military Objectives. The Pakistan Military has always been mindful of its meager resources and preferred quality over quantity.

The Pakistan Air Force is considered one of the best in the world due to its qualitative selection and professional excellence. The maintenance of this equilibrium depends on the continuous upgrading of its fleet.

The Pakistan Air Force currently operates a fighter force comprising F-16s, Dassault Mirage IIIs and 5s, Chengdu F-7s, and JF-17s. F-16s, with their tactical nuclear delivery capabilities, play a particularly important role for Pakistan in bolstering its conventional abilities against India. The Indian lobby is trying to isolate Pakistan within Washington’s power corridors, which may jeopardize the sale of more F16 to Pakistan. If so, Pakistan should seek to purchase Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets that are far more advanced than the F-16s. The Russian-made jets could be a great asset for Pakistan Air Force.

The general comparison between the Russia’s Su-35 Fighter and America’s F-16 Fighting Falcon shows that with properly trained pilots and support from ground controllers or AWACs, the Su-35 is an extremely formidable threat to Western Aircraft.

Over the years, the F-16 has evolved from a lightweight visual range dogfighter into a potent multi-role warplane that flies a gamut of missions ranging from the suppression of enemy air defences to air superiority. Though it has been operational since 1980, the “Falcon” continues to evolve and will remain in service with the US Air Force and other militaries for decades to come.

But while the F-16 remains a potent fighter, potential adversaries have caught up—the latest Russian aircraft like the Sukhoi Su-35 can match or exceed the Falcon in many respects. The F-16 doesn’t have the latest upgraded massive active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar nor can the F-16 usually lob the AIM-120 missile from high speeds and altitudes.

The US Air Force F-16s are not currently fitted with an AESA and are at a severe disadvantage versus the Su-35 or other advanced Flanker derivatives. With an AESA, the F-16 could probably hold its own against the Su-35 at longer ranges—but it would still be a challenge. At shorter ranges, it comes down to pilot skill and the performance of each jet’s high off-boresight missiles. The advent of missiles like the R-73 and AIM-9Xhave turned visual range fights into mutually assured destruction scenarios.

While the Su-35’s thrust vectoring gives it an edge at very low speeds, it’s not an insurmountable problem for an expert F-16 pilot—who knows how to exploit his or her aircraft to the fullest—to overcome. The bottom line is that the Su-35 is an extremely capable aircraft. With regard to the F-16s or Su-35s, the matter of Pakistan of adding additional fighters to its current fleet might come down to mundane matters of what is financially feasible.

Currently, the Indian Air force (IAF) is far larger with about 740 combat aircraft versus the Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) approximate 400 aircraft, but everything is not as it seems.

What at first glance seems overwhelming odds against the PAF on closer examination does not seem as overwhelming. For instance, the IAF has far lower serviceability of its aircraft. Their pilot training as evidenced by Red Flag exercises with the US is also not yet up to par with the PAF and their maintenance crews are not as diligent. Their present Russian/Soviet technology is generally less reliable and less effective and a large part of their fleet of MiG-21s and MiG-27s are outdated.

PAF aircraft are either of Western stock or Chinese and are far more maintenance friendly. Pakistan has also been upgrading their aircraft massively and have incorporated a complex combination of technology from across the globe – from China to Brazil, from South Africa to the US. PAF pilot training is on par with the best in the world and its maintenance crews are trained on the level of Western maintenance crews.

The large number of IAF crashes because of low level of maintenance crew is indicative of this acute problem with one of the highest crash rates among Air Forces of the world. What compounds this problem is the age of large sections of the Indian fleet, which has large numbers of MiG-21s and MiG-27s that are, besides the Bisons, highly outdated and are sometimes referred to as “Flying Coffins” by their pilots.

Pakistan, on the other hand has a better pilot-to-aircaft ratio than the IAF — meaning it could sustain a greater sortie rate over a protracted conflict. PAF aircraft are also “pimped” in that they have been extensively modified. Thus, while on paper PAF is flying ancient Mirages that were bought second-hand from the Australians, when one actually examines any such model, one is surprised at how extensively they have been rebuilt – almost from scratch and the hardware is extremely lethal.

Other than the secretive BVR AAMs, the PAF has extensively incorporated the strike element into its Mirages, at a level only matched by the IAF’s Mirage-2000s and Su-30 FLANKERs, and even then some of the equipment has no IAF equivalent.

Pakistan should continue its policy of quality over quantity as it is the only way to keep an equilibrium in its hostile environment and to secure the nation’s existence. Additionally, Pakistan should keep all options open as sovereignty and independence comes first, rather than becoming affiliated to a particular group or alliance.

Source: http://www.eurasiareview.com/30072016-pakistan-air-force-options-and-challenges-oped/

A very misleading and incomplete article. Does the author know how much a SU-35 costs ? And does Pakistan have the financial resources to buy such planes. What are the chances of Russia putting an embargo on Pakistan during a conflict ? These are some of the serious issues which require deep thought and cannot be brushed aside. Only then can a complete unbiased view of the topic will emerge.

 

[sur]

Is this a remote controlled toy or a real one!!?

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=591456584368732

 

[Deepika Maheshwari]

You perhaps need heavier aircrafts capable of deep strikes and medium class. Guess few J-20s and J-10Cs will fit the bill nicely. J20 for deep penetration strike kind of missions and J10s to counter rafale and likes. Bonus is that J10C will be one fourth the cost of rafale and j20 will give you 5th gen capabilities. Downside is both are newer platforms, so unproven.

 

[Centurion2016]

The article trys to pacify the widening gap by claiming the 40 year old mirages have been rebuilt ... and are in excellent condition. He then goes on about a professional service that is well trained and has good maintenance record.

well this well trained well maintained air force had only 13 operational F16s in 1999 out of a fleet of 40 due to a combo of usa sanctions and lack of planning ... Despite the fact that their leader and chief of staff Mushraff decided to start a war over kargil.

The same air force was helpless in defending the Pakistani army that where decimated by precision high altitude bombing by jaguars and mirages.

Finally don't use overall ratios of 700 v 400 as relative strength indication . The reason being PAF ratio of obsolete fighters runs at 70% whers as india,s runs at 40%

ie PAF has 125 F16/Thunders v IAF 400 su30mki/mirage2000/mig29smt/k

The rest don't matter in other words the remaing fighters ie PAFs 270+ mirage 5 anf F7 and IAF 250 mig21/27 WILL be a much reduced role in any conflict

I would also add that this myth of PAF being more professional or better prepared is another myth

in case you have not noticed the Indians train every single year with RAF Typhoon pilots, French rafale pilots and USA red flag pilots. They also have a permanent fleet of F16 fighters in india thanks to singopore airforce for DACT training.

PILOT TO PILOT the indian has a annual flying budget of 4 times his PAF counterpart.

This is why we see indian air force training their su30mki in every part of the world annually far more often then PAF.

EVEN TRAINING and readiness is dependant on money $$$$$