PN the most daring service arm? Come Bhai. PAF and the JF-17 project was by far the riskiest and daring thing any of our services have ever done in terms of procurement.
The PAF was the most daring, but right now, the PN is ahead.
1. The PN broke out of its comfort zone and selected a clean-sheet design from Turkey, and then opted for design training from Turkey and learn how to build a frigate without OEM KoMs. It'll own the rights to this frigate, so it can build them on its own without OEM support.
Due respect to the PAF on the JF-17, but you look back at it you see that they went with a stable, lightweight fighter design rather than co-fund the larger, high-risk J-10. Not only that, but the end result of the JF-17 has largely been that of a Chinese fighter with limited customization on our end.
It's as if we bought a Chinese jet off-the-shelf, and are co-producing it in Pakistan. Proof? What radar do the Block-I, Block-II and now Block-III use? Chinese. What BVRAAM? Chinese. What AShM? Chinese.
In 1999, the thought the PAF planners had at that time was to have full rights and capacity to customizing this fighter, and we even began to talk with South Africa on this front (to co-develop munitions). But instead, later PAF planners regressed in this vision, and went with whatever China had, even for their 'own' fighter.
It can be due to a lack of capacity on our end to absorb the full technology. So, why not build that capacity? Why did national funds go into buying the one Block-52+ squadron ($1.5 billion!) instead of enough R&D so that we can configure the JF-17 to our will as well as develop our own munitions for it? What happened?
The PAF might have had the vision initially, but it went into old, comfortable thinking later on.
The PN, in contrast, went with a ship design that's barely in service (MILGEM), then got it customized with VLS (a subsystem it never had), then asked for the design rights so it can arm it to its own will. So, that's why the PN is able to talk about putting a Chinese SAM along with Pakistani AShM/LACM to the MILGEM.
Where's PAF? Chinese KLJ-7A? Chinese PL-15? Not even a pilot project to co-develop an HMD/S with someone, I bet they're waiting for a Chinese solution there too. Nothing wrong with it, but definitely not daring.
2. The PN opted for a 'J-10-moment' by taking on its own jet-powered LRMPA project. To even integrate hardpoints and weapons on a passenger jet needs serious capacity, which Pakistan doesn't have. So, the PN is either going out on a limb and working with a partner who does have it, or it's building that capacity in Pakistan.
You can talk to the PAF right now, they'd
never do this unless they absolutely had no other option (i.e., no Chinese option). The PN could've waited or picked-up a workable Chinese option, but they opted to go the route of their own original solution (albeit with an undisclosed partner).
It's still a high-risk project, but again, the PN will likely go a step further and customize it with the subsystems and weapons of its choice. I wouldn't put it past the PN to try fitting the Ra'ad II ALCM to this LRMPA.
3. The PN's tried taking it even a step further with an in-house miniature SSK project, which opens them up to a whole other ball game, i.e., submarine design, testing, etc.
