Nasr
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Ghazwa - brilliant posts. What you are saying is actually true. It doesn’t matter If SA did get the HMS first - the Soviets beat the US hands down on HMS and HOBS by a decade or more.
So, if we allow our egos to settle down and ignore the semantics, the soviets did have the lead on countless technologies and Russia still has the lead on some.
We shouldn’t be overawed with the US, a common trait due to the colonial legacy.
A detail - Germans developed new WVR missiles after seeing what the MiG-29s had and the Western world followed. Don’t know why they didn’t learn from SA, maybe due to SA’s isolation.
Yes well we need to step out of the mentality that Western tech is the "end all, be all, cure all," of the world ... it's not! Countries seeking to modernize their military should go about with the strategy that neutralizes any susceptibility to Western sanctions. Best course is to go into joint ventures with non-Western countries. Russians and Chinese have proven to have the ability in surpassing or matching Western tech. And also, it's not just the military hardware that counts, it's also the training and ethos of the pilots, soldiers and sailors. PAF pilots proved that during the Arab-Israeli wars.
Same rational; why did the west or soviets not learn from us when we started to field mine proof vehicles from mid80s onwards; only in the 2nd 2005; they woke up because casualty rates in the golrified junks called Humvees etc was peaking at 12/day. This is not the only 2 cases, similarly for comms - it was not until mid 2000 they woke up and gave merit for hopping which we had in the field since the 60s - soviets tried and did a rudimentary work on it. many many more.... most laughable is the advanced muzzle brakes being tested now only by the US.. really it was in the G5/G6s starting in late 70s!
Yes and that's what perplexed me when PAF was buying Mirages from various countries. They could have had joint venture with South Africa not just with regards to Mirages, but also BVR/WVR missiles and etc.
It all boils down to reliable partners and so far for Pakistan, China has proven to be a lasting partner in all respects. Pakistan should be building on that and exploring new partner ventures with the likes of Russia and South Africa. Use the JF-17 Thunder template and explore ways forward with other countries (including China & Russia) to have similar success.