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Rafale vs. F-16 ۔ The real comparison is between the capabilities of the Pakistan air force and Indian air force


With the exception of NATO combat exercises, the F-16 and the Rafale have never met in any real air combat. So people are wondering if the Pakistan Air Force's 30-year-old version of the F-16 will be able to compete with India's latest Rafale.

My rational and logical answer is that in cricket, the ability of a batsman is more important than the quality of the bat and the skill of an aviator plays a decisive role in aerial warfare.

The measure of a country's superiority in this cold war era is the capability of its warplanes and the modernity of other weapons. Therefore, every major country is in the race to become a super-military power by building more powerful fighter jets and destructive weapons than others. In fact, the economy of all major countries today is largely dependent on the arms industry, its demand and sale in the world market.

The lucrative armaments industry in Europe and the United States is alive and billions of dollars can be earned from the arms trade by creating hot climate of war and border tensions around the world.

After the humiliating defeat in Ladakh, the United States and European countries are exacerbating fears of a sense of inferiority in India, urging it to buy more and more advanced weapons. Under this pretext, their arms business is growing. And the corruption kingdoms of Narendra Modi are creating opportunities for the government to make money from commissions

The world knows that India lacks the art and the courage to use its sophisticated weapons to harm others. But India, the greatest enemy of peace, is a master at conspiracy theories in other countries, such as the Mukti Bahini, PTT and anti-state terrorism patronage of Baloch insurgents.

The Rafale vs. F-16 is more of a competition between US and French armaments than a comparison of Pakistani and Indian aircraft. Where India, despite doubling its apparent military might, suffers from an incurable feeling of inferiority, fearing the terror of Pakistani missiles and the magical capabilities of pilots.

Design, engine and basic features

Rafale is a 4.5 generation double-engine fighter and F-16 is a fourth generation single engine aircraft. The wingspan of the Raphael is 10.90 meters and that of the F16 is 9.96 meters. The length of the Raphael is 15.30 meters and that of the F-16 is 15.06 meters. Therefore, in terms of volume, the two planes are almost identical.

The empty Rafale weighs 10 tons while the F-16 weighs 9.2 tons. Raphael can carry 24.5 tons of weapons. The F-16 has a payload capacity of 21.7 tons. Therefore, due to the large number of weapons in the Rafale, it seems to have an apparent advantage over the F-16 in air combat. But according to world observers, Pakistani fighter pilots are far ahead of Indian fighter pilots in air combating skills.

Comparison of speed and combat radius

In the strike capability the F-16 has a clear lead over Rafale. The combat radius of F-16 is 4220 km but Rafale’s is only 3700 km. Pakistani F-16 also has a lead over Rafale in speed. The Rafale has a top speed of 2130 km ph while the F-16 has a range of 2414 km ph. With a greater ceiling ability of 300 meters per second Rafale has an advantage over F-16’s 254 meters per second. However, the altitude of both planes is 50,000 feet.

Comparison of weapons

The Rafale is equipped with Mica air-to-air missiles, SCALP long-range missiles, laser-guided bombs, AM39 anti-ship missiles, GIAT-30 guns, meteor long-range air-to-air missiles and air-to-surface weapons. F-16 can hit 20 targets identified in 84 km radius and Rafale can hit 40 targets identified in 100 km radius

On the other hand, F-16 has Penguin anti-ship missiles, cluster bombs, runway destroyers, AIM 9 sidewinder short-range air missiles, AIM-120 mid-range air missiles, GPS-guided bombs and other deadly Arms. The F-16 can also has nuclear weapons, conventional drop-bomb capabilities and a 20mm Vulcan gun.

According to the bragging Indian media, Rafale is equipped with semi-stealth technology but the F16 doesn't have that capability. Therefore, the combination of India's SU-30 and the Rafale would be disastrous for the Pakistan Air Force.

But Indian media should remember the Operation Swift Retort and the humiliating horror of the Indian Air Force with Russian SU-30 and Sukhoi, French Mirage 2000 and the British Jaguar. Pakistan old version F-16, self-made JF-17 Thunder and the 50 year old Mirage taught them a historical lesson that will always be remembered

The history of Pakistani pilots performance is more than an excellent. The Israeli planes that were destroyed by Pakistani pilots in the Arab-Israeli war were also much more powerful than the Arab planes. And in the Afghan war, Pakistan’s old version fighter jets successfully competed the latest Russian war planes of that time.

Where will India bring in air warfare artists like Pakistani M. M Alam who shot down 5 Indian jets within less than a minute and expert aviators like Hassan Siddiqui and Noman Khan who shot down modern Indian planes with old Pakistani planes.

Rafale can be bought from France, Indian pilots can be trained from USA and Israel. But the passion and talent of Pakistani pilots are not for sale in any market. The spirit of sacrificing one's life and the heroism for motherland are not found at shops

FAROOQ RASHID BUTT





Rafael is the best fighter jet ever built because india has it so it is the best fighter jet in the entire universe.
 
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All that talk about radars.
Erieye vectoring Gripens to fire AIM120s using updates from Erieye. Its not revealed if PAF uses the same technique with combo of Erieye, F-16 and Aim120s however it is possible. Gripens didn't even use own radars whether AESA or PD.
View attachment 684022


I expect better out of a "Think Tank Consultant".

Meteor has 3 times the "No Escape Zone" of AIM-120C7.

PAF F-16Cs will have to survive multiple volleys of Meteors before they can fire back.
 
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With the exception of NATO combat exercises, the F-16 and the Rafale have never met in any real air combat. So people are wondering if the Pakistan Air Force's 30-year-old version of the F-16 will be able to compete with India's latest Rafale.

My rational and logical answer is that in cricket, the ability of a batsman is more important than the quality of the bat and the skill of an aviator plays a decisive role in aerial warfare.

The measure of a country's superiority in this cold war era is the capability of its warplanes and the modernity of other weapons. Therefore, every major country is in the race to become a super-military power by building more powerful fighter jets and destructive weapons than others. In fact, the economy of all major countries today is largely dependent on the arms industry, its demand and sale in the world market.

The lucrative armaments industry in Europe and the United States is alive and billions of dollars can be earned from the arms trade by creating hot climate of war and border tensions around the world.

After the humiliating defeat in Ladakh, the United States and European countries are exacerbating fears of a sense of inferiority in India, urging it to buy more and more advanced weapons. Under this pretext, their arms business is growing. And the corruption kingdoms of Narendra Modi are creating opportunities for the government to make money from commissions

The world knows that India lacks the art and the courage to use its sophisticated weapons to harm others. But India, the greatest enemy of peace, is a master at conspiracy theories in other countries, such as the Mukti Bahini, PTT and anti-state terrorism patronage of Baloch insurgents.

The Rafale vs. F-16 is more of a competition between US and French armaments than a comparison of Pakistani and Indian aircraft. Where India, despite doubling its apparent military might, suffers from an incurable feeling of inferiority, fearing the terror of Pakistani missiles and the magical capabilities of pilots.

Design, engine and basic features

Rafale is a 4.5 generation double-engine fighter and F-16 is a fourth generation single engine aircraft. The wingspan of the Raphael is 10.90 meters and that of the F16 is 9.96 meters. The length of the Raphael is 15.30 meters and that of the F-16 is 15.06 meters. Therefore, in terms of volume, the two planes are almost identical.

The empty Rafale weighs 10 tons while the F-16 weighs 9.2 tons. Raphael can carry 24.5 tons of weapons. The F-16 has a payload capacity of 21.7 tons. Therefore, due to the large number of weapons in the Rafale, it seems to have an apparent advantage over the F-16 in air combat. But according to world observers, Pakistani fighter pilots are far ahead of Indian fighter pilots in air combating skills.

Comparison of speed and combat radius

In the strike capability the F-16 has a clear lead over Rafale. The combat radius of F-16 is 4220 km but Rafale’s is only 3700 km. Pakistani F-16 also has a lead over Rafale in speed. The Rafale has a top speed of 2130 km ph while the F-16 has a range of 2414 km ph. With a greater ceiling ability of 300 meters per second Rafale has an advantage over F-16’s 254 meters per second. However, the altitude of both planes is 50,000 feet.

Comparison of weapons

The Rafale is equipped with Mica air-to-air missiles, SCALP long-range missiles, laser-guided bombs, AM39 anti-ship missiles, GIAT-30 guns, meteor long-range air-to-air missiles and air-to-surface weapons. F-16 can hit 20 targets identified in 84 km radius and Rafale can hit 40 targets identified in 100 km radius

On the other hand, F-16 has Penguin anti-ship missiles, cluster bombs, runway destroyers, AIM 9 sidewinder short-range air missiles, AIM-120 mid-range air missiles, GPS-guided bombs and other deadly Arms. The F-16 can also has nuclear weapons, conventional drop-bomb capabilities and a 20mm Vulcan gun.

According to the bragging Indian media, Rafale is equipped with semi-stealth technology but the F16 doesn't have that capability. Therefore, the combination of India's SU-30 and the Rafale would be disastrous for the Pakistan Air Force.

But Indian media should remember the Operation Swift Retort and the humiliating horror of the Indian Air Force with Russian SU-30 and Sukhoi, French Mirage 2000 and the British Jaguar. Pakistan old version F-16, self-made JF-17 Thunder and the 50 year old Mirage taught them a historical lesson that will always be remembered

The history of Pakistani pilots performance is more than an excellent. The Israeli planes that were destroyed by Pakistani pilots in the Arab-Israeli war were also much more powerful than the Arab planes. And in the Afghan war, Pakistan’s old version fighter jets successfully competed the latest Russian war planes of that time.

Where will India bring in air warfare artists like Pakistani M. M Alam who shot down 5 Indian jets within less than a minute and expert aviators like Hassan Siddiqui and Noman Khan who shot down modern Indian planes with old Pakistani planes.

Rafale can be bought from France, Indian pilots can be trained from USA and Israel. But the passion and talent of Pakistani pilots are not for sale in any market. The spirit of sacrificing one's life and the heroism for motherland are not found at shops

FAROOQ RASHID BUTT

It's sometimes not required to cover all the topic regarding a comparison but a few intriguing factors that stand out. Reading alot more before posting helps. There are certain members who have been lurking on PDF's posts for many years, and then one day they just start posting on topics since they have grasped necessary information out of interest. There is a lot of information on weapons, equipment, armament, tactics, strategy, doctrines etc on PDF. Nationalism and patriotism fuels emotions which is spectacular, however unbiased analysis helps too, with pros and cons of systems being compared. In my experience, this forum is a gateway for learning a thing or two everyday. If you want to engage learned and enlightened members of the forum, then you may need to look more deeper into aircrafts and weapons since your article covers basic information as seen when a news article in DAWN or The NEWS is published by journalists.
 
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Tested against which EW pod capable of breaking lock?



Better than anything PAF has for sure. UK designs and builds the EW system for the F-35 as an example of it's capability in this area. France and Sweden also have world leading EW tech.

Meteor has been a accepted into the airforces of European countries such as UK, France, Germany and Sweden.

UK has purchased AIM-120D for it's F-35Bs and will integrate the Meteor by the middle of this decade to gain both extra capability and independence from USA.
 
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Better than anything PAF has for sure. UK designs and builds the EW system for the F-35 as an example of it's capability in this area. France and Sweden also have world leading EW tech.

Meteor has been a accepted into the airforces of European countries such as UK, France, Germany and Sweden.

UK has purchased AIM-120D for it's F-35Bs and will integrate the Meteor by the middle of this decade to gain both extra capability and independence from USA.
Just copy pasting stuff again and again doesn't help. Understanding basics is important.
For the "kill zone" theory, the missile has to lock first. The EW pod will either not let it lock or keep breaking the lock.
Better than anything PAF has for sure.
PAF has such EW pods for F-16.
 
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Just copy pasting stuff again and again doesn't help. Understanding basics is important.
For the "kill zone" theory, the missile has to lock first. The EW pod will either not let it lock or keep breaking the lock.

PAF has such EW pods for F-16.

Ok if you really think that any EW that PAF has can defeat the Rafale’s AESA and Meteor combo, then please live in your blissful ignorance.

The Meteor is designed to defeat even more advanced airforces than PAF. PAF is 10-20 years behind the UK and France.

I am done with this unless you bring some evidence of world-beating tech that PAF has which is better than world leading aerospace powers like UK and a France.
 
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UK has purchased AIM-120D for it's F-35Bs and will integrate the Meteor by the middle of this decade to gain both extra capability and independence from USA.

There is no independence from the USA when it comes to the F35. You only have to look at the logistics system and how it controls the F35 to see that !!

UK wants to maintain its own defense industry and that is why we are doing Meteor integration, alongside Tempest.
 
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With the nagorno karabakh conflict one must adapt.
Pakistan by investing in drones cam take anybindian initiate away.
Swarming front line airfields in the early hours of any battle with small highly agile loitering munitions will decimate any enemy advantage. I think instead of just focusing on a traditional airforce we need to adapt quickly and be fluid in deployment of new tech
Future conflict can be turned into a nightmare for a large enemy that requires huge resources to get going
 
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There is no independence from the USA when it comes to the F35. You only have to look at the logistics system and how it controls the F35 to see that !!

UK wants to maintain its own defense industry and that is why we are doing Meteor integration, alongside Tempest.

I meant in terms of missile availability. This way UK does not have to ask the US for more AIM-120D if it needed more.

UK has the most “independence” when it comes to F-35 as it designed and built 15% of the plane.
 
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Ok if you really think that any EW that PAF has can defeat the Rafale’s AESA and Meteor combo, then please live in your blissful ignorance.

The Meteor is designed to defeat even more advanced airforces than PAF. PAF is 10-20 years behind the UK and France.

I am done with this unless you bring some evidence of world-beating tech that PAF has which is better than world leading aerospace powers like UK and a France.
American :laugh:

PAF's F-16s are American and use American EW pods, in this case ALQ-211. F-16 and its systems have been made considering future in mind which is why it has evolved into newer blocks since 80's. The sensors and weaponry has also been upgraded to latest.


The EW pods used by PAF's F-16s are in Post#22

Anyways you learnt something new today. Adios.
 
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American :laugh:

PAF's F-16s are American and use American EW pods, in this case ALQ-211. F-16 and its systems have been made considering future in mind which is why it has evolved into newer blocks since 80's. The sensors and weaponry has also been upgraded to latest.


The EW pods used by PAF's F-16s are in Post#22

Anyways you learnt something new today. Adios.


This is 1990s US tech.

UK has built the best EW system in the world in the form of the AN-ASQ 239 for the F-35. They would have used that as a baseline for the Meteor, which is a UK led project btw.
 
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The author of the article is as mature as a 15 year old Indian. I can find so many similarities between nonsense youtube videos posted by Indians and this article. The F-16 is a 4th gen fighter whereas Rafale is a 4.5+ Gen Fighter.

And just because the F-22 and F-35 haven't seen battles, it does not mean that those aren't formidable fighters which have raised the bar to another level altogether.
 
.

With the exception of NATO combat exercises, the F-16 and the Rafale have never met in any real air combat. So people are wondering if the Pakistan Air Force's 30-year-old version of the F-16 will be able to compete with India's latest Rafale.

My rational and logical answer is that in cricket, the ability of a batsman is more important than the quality of the bat and the skill of an aviator plays a decisive role in aerial warfare.

The measure of a country's superiority in this cold war era is the capability of its warplanes and the modernity of other weapons. Therefore, every major country is in the race to become a super-military power by building more powerful fighter jets and destructive weapons than others. In fact, the economy of all major countries today is largely dependent on the arms industry, its demand and sale in the world market.

The lucrative armaments industry in Europe and the United States is alive and billions of dollars can be earned from the arms trade by creating hot climate of war and border tensions around the world.

After the humiliating defeat in Ladakh, the United States and European countries are exacerbating fears of a sense of inferiority in India, urging it to buy more and more advanced weapons. Under this pretext, their arms business is growing. And the corruption kingdoms of Narendra Modi are creating opportunities for the government to make money from commissions

The world knows that India lacks the art and the courage to use its sophisticated weapons to harm others. But India, the greatest enemy of peace, is a master at conspiracy theories in other countries, such as the Mukti Bahini, PTT and anti-state terrorism patronage of Baloch insurgents.

The Rafale vs. F-16 is more of a competition between US and French armaments than a comparison of Pakistani and Indian aircraft. Where India, despite doubling its apparent military might, suffers from an incurable feeling of inferiority, fearing the terror of Pakistani missiles and the magical capabilities of pilots.

Design, engine and basic features

Rafale is a 4.5 generation double-engine fighter and F-16 is a fourth generation single engine aircraft. The wingspan of the Raphael is 10.90 meters and that of the F16 is 9.96 meters. The length of the Raphael is 15.30 meters and that of the F-16 is 15.06 meters. Therefore, in terms of volume, the two planes are almost identical.

The empty Rafale weighs 10 tons while the F-16 weighs 9.2 tons. Raphael can carry 24.5 tons of weapons. The F-16 has a payload capacity of 21.7 tons. Therefore, due to the large number of weapons in the Rafale, it seems to have an apparent advantage over the F-16 in air combat. But according to world observers, Pakistani fighter pilots are far ahead of Indian fighter pilots in air combating skills.

Comparison of speed and combat radius

In the strike capability the F-16 has a clear lead over Rafale. The combat radius of F-16 is 4220 km but Rafale’s is only 3700 km. Pakistani F-16 also has a lead over Rafale in speed. The Rafale has a top speed of 2130 km ph while the F-16 has a range of 2414 km ph. With a greater ceiling ability of 300 meters per second Rafale has an advantage over F-16’s 254 meters per second. However, the altitude of both planes is 50,000 feet.

Comparison of weapons

The Rafale is equipped with Mica air-to-air missiles, SCALP long-range missiles, laser-guided bombs, AM39 anti-ship missiles, GIAT-30 guns, meteor long-range air-to-air missiles and air-to-surface weapons. F-16 can hit 20 targets identified in 84 km radius and Rafale can hit 40 targets identified in 100 km radius

On the other hand, F-16 has Penguin anti-ship missiles, cluster bombs, runway destroyers, AIM 9 sidewinder short-range air missiles, AIM-120 mid-range air missiles, GPS-guided bombs and other deadly Arms. The F-16 can also has nuclear weapons, conventional drop-bomb capabilities and a 20mm Vulcan gun.

According to the bragging Indian media, Rafale is equipped with semi-stealth technology but the F16 doesn't have that capability. Therefore, the combination of India's SU-30 and the Rafale would be disastrous for the Pakistan Air Force.

But Indian media should remember the Operation Swift Retort and the humiliating horror of the Indian Air Force with Russian SU-30 and Sukhoi, French Mirage 2000 and the British Jaguar. Pakistan old version F-16, self-made JF-17 Thunder and the 50 year old Mirage taught them a historical lesson that will always be remembered

The history of Pakistani pilots performance is more than an excellent. The Israeli planes that were destroyed by Pakistani pilots in the Arab-Israeli war were also much more powerful than the Arab planes. And in the Afghan war, Pakistan’s old version fighter jets successfully competed the latest Russian war planes of that time.

Where will India bring in air warfare artists like Pakistani M. M Alam who shot down 5 Indian jets within less than a minute and expert aviators like Hassan Siddiqui and Noman Khan who shot down modern Indian planes with old Pakistani planes.

Rafale can be bought from France, Indian pilots can be trained from USA and Israel. But the passion and talent of Pakistani pilots are not for sale in any market. The spirit of sacrificing one's life and the heroism for motherland are not found at shops

FAROOQ RASHID BUTT

Good article to keep PAF/Nation moral high however there are some points require further explanation.

1-PAF F16 radar range and anti jamming capability against Rafale.
2-Meteor and AIM 120 comparison.
3-Defensive capabilities of both jets.

Hope you shall further elaborate these points.
 
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