fatman17
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That's the point! If these additional F16s (afaik initially 2 x squads were planned) came in time they would have been good for a longer period of time, but now with the delays, the operational limitations wrt to tankers, AWACS linking, or no possibility of customisations, makes Chinese fighters better for PAFs future and they can offer the same or even better performance within the next 2 to 3 years. So why would PAF waste more money on additional F16 B52s, instead on J10Bs, which should be a more capable too?
Even the addition of second hand Block 50s hardly makes sense anymore, when JF 17 B2 is about to arrive and when we add the possibility of J21 towards the end of this decade, PAF really has better options.
So these B52s "now" bridges the time till the olders are upgraded and the JF 17s are inducted, for the next few years and with the addition of J10B and JF17 B3 they will be outdated until they might get AESA upgrades.
u r entiled to your view.
F16 is a late 70's design and after nearly 35 years remains a front-line fighter and will so for at least 2 decades. upgrades and MLU's can do wonders to the airframe and fighter performance. the LM production line has many back-orders esp. if Taiwan gets new aircraft.
F16 program remains critical for the PAF, even with the upgrades you have mentioned for the chinese platforms.