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Pakistan F-16 Discussions 2

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Is it me or for the past couple of years we have been seeing a lot of F-16s flying with 4 AIM-120's each? Why not use JF-17's and SD-10s (which can be readily bought unlike AIM-120) for these missions and conserve the flight hours on these missiles?

If what I'm speculating is true then the following may be true:
1. PAF expects to get more AIM-120s in the near future
2. PAF expects to retire/replace F-16s soon - yes, I know what I said.
 
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Is it me or for the past couple of years we have been seeing a lot of F-16s flying with 4 AIM-120's each? Why not use JF-17's and SD-10s (which can be readily bought unlike AIM-120) for these missions and conserve the flight hours on these missiles?

If what I'm speculating is true then the following may be true:
1. PAF expects to get more AIM-120s in the near future
2. PAF expects to retire/replace F-16s soon - yes, I know what I said.
I was thinking the samething when I saw the picture and hadn't read your post.

Another reason could be because we were conserving them so much since we got them that now they have a lot of on-wing time remaining, lets say given our average Viper flight times in a year, if they have 10 years of wing time left, PAF expects that by that time Aim-120 c-5s will be superseded by better AAMs in the sub-continent.

I dont think retiring F-16s is a consideration, by that time we will either be hoping for the next iterations of AMRAAMs or at worst new/ refurbished c-5s.
 
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Is it me or for the past couple of years we have been seeing a lot of F-16s flying with 4 AIM-120's each? Why not use JF-17's and SD-10s (which can be readily bought unlike AIM-120) for these missions and conserve the flight hours on these missiles?

If what I'm speculating is true then the following may be true:
1. PAF expects to get more AIM-120s in the near future
2. PAF expects to retire/replace F-16s soon - yes, I know what I said.
The F-16A/B MLUs are reaching their manufacturer-advised airframe age too, but I don't think the PAF need worry about replacing them that soon. For example, Canada is keeping its F/A-18C/Ds for the long haul too (50 years from 2032). So, it's doable. But with each passing year, the value of upgrading the A/Bs drops as the remaining life diminishes (unless there's a new SLEP available).

I think the PAF is hoping to replace the F-16A/Bs with a twin-engine NGFA -- e.g., the TFX or J-35/J-21 -- starting from the early-to-mid-2030s. Basically, the F-16s and Mirage ROSEs form our offensive edge, and they're also our oldest aircraft. I imagine a large twin-engine fighter with internal bays would be the PAF's ideal view of an offensive air-to-air and air-to-surface operations.
 
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The number of F-16s in PAF is around 75, and for once I am glad that PAF did not get many more of these F-16s. I believe that with time, these F-16s will be slowly disposed off. The main reasons are limitations to upgrades to the existing systems due to US unwillingness, along with Political, and strategic.

The days of F-16s in PAF will come to end, and I will be one of the blokes celebrating this, and saying thank God !
 
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The number of F-16s in PAF is around 75, and for once I am glad that PAF did not get many more of these F-16s. I believe that with time, these F-16s will be slowly disposed off. The main reasons are limitations to upgrades to the existing systems due to US unwillingness, along with Political, and strategic.

The days of F-16s in PAF will come to end, and I will be one of the blokes celebrating this, and saying thank God !
Yep, but given the critical role they play (and their legacy), I imagine the fighter next-up will be an NGFA from China or Turkey. I think -- despite being a carrier-ops design -- even the J-35 could be of interest because it'd offer salt-erosion-proofing, so it'd be of value for our maritime ops.
 
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PAF has around 75 F16 of different blocks, assuming all are bvr capable including the adf version.

we bought 500 aim 120, so that means each ac has 6.66 missiles.
so in a shooting war after a week their wont be any bvr missiles available for our f 16 fleet. all that assuming we still have 500 aim 120
 
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