Hi,
Your argument seems like the participants are living in ETHER and impotency has no effect over loss---. There is always the human factor at stake when you go into any competition---where only thing that you can represent is ' how many different ways you can be pummelled into submission '---those competitions have never been known to be learing experience for anyone---rather a lesson in futility.
I am just basing this discussion on the F22 and the F 7 pg's---I am pretty sure that there were other fields that pak would have learnt somethings and that is well and good---.
Yes the point is that you learn from a programmatic and mission planning standpoint. Otherwise it is useless for anyone to participate in an exercise where F-22s are involved. Air to Air is one aspect of the exercise. Participants get insight into mission planning and execution against various types of threats from air and ground. As I have said before, for any PAF pilot that is valuable learning given that we currently do not face any 5th generation aircraft.
It is just like putting your SKODA against the FERRARI racing team and then saying,' we are here to learn even though you will beats the pants off us '---oh gee---.
Inappropriate example given the fact that the format and intent of these exercises is not just one-on-one DACT or one type against another, rather teaching pilots how to conduct complex missions where air to surface missions are just as important as air to air roles.
For learing experience for F 7 pg fighters, they can be pitched against anything else except the F22, F35, F 15, Typhoon's, su 30's---.
They flew with and against old and new F-16s and Mirages. Seems like a perfect opportunity.
You know why they have different leagues in sports---so that similiar teams can compete against each other---you know why they don't have competition amongst the teams in dissimiliar leagues---because they know that the superior team would pummel the inferior team to kingdom come---the psychology of humiliating defeat would be so great that the losing team will be emotionally pulverized.
It would help to understand the format and methodology used in such training exercises before simplistically assuming that its a case of a sqn of F-22s against the hapless F-7PGs. PAF does not spend millions of dollars to send their aircraft and aircrews to get their arses handed to them. There is a reasoning, logic and approach to such training exercises.
if this system was so great and there was such a great learning experience, then light weight boxers would be fighting against the heavy weight boxers---getting pummelled---but they did indeed learn a valuable lesson if they lived through it---DON'T MESS WITH THE BIG DOG.
Do not know about you, but I grappled (Greco-Roman) in my past and it always made sense to go up against a heavier wrestler in practice than your weight just because it made the real match in the same weight class a bit more manageable.
The exercises conducted are more technical in nature to be compared with the sparring of pugilists and grapplers, however the benefits of training against a very difficult adversary is a great way of learning to get better.