How Pakistan could effectively cripple Indian’s air force with rocket artillery, and what is needed.

[vishwambhar]

People quite easily forget about Jaguar strike package which India has in hundreds..... if ever Pakistan tries to nullify Indian air bases with rocket artillery then 100 plus Jaguars, around 50 mirages well escorted with 100s of other IAF platforms along with LACM and ALCM Bramhos will make sure that there is nothing left in Pakistan that used to be called an airbase...

 

[The Raven]

People quite easily forget about Jaguar strike package which India has in hundreds..... if ever Pakistan tries to nullify Indian air bases with rocket artillery 100 plus Jaguars, around 50 mirages well escorted with 100s of other IAF platforms along with LACM and ALCM Bramhos will make sure that there is nothing left in Pakistan which used to be called an airbase...

Very true, IAF's numerical advantage has always been its greatest strength. But as some of your fellow compatriots have stated, it has suffered from very poor availability and sortie rates. Despite this, you would have thought the IAF would press its numerical advantage, but this was nowhere to be seen on 27/02/19, and even in previous conflicts. In the subcontinent, timing is everything. Whoever strikes preemptively gains the advantage, and the PAF has always adopted this "offensive defence" strategy. That's not to say it could be different in future conflicts. The nightmare for the PAF is if the IAF got its act together, acted preemptively and simply overwhelmed the PAF. As last year has shown, that's unlikely to happen on both sides given the number of sensors each country has looking at the other side. The PAF managed to surprise the IAF again by timing its offensive operations at the most opportune moment to its advantage. And so the game of chess will continuously be played out.

 

[KhanBaba2]

Once war starts, forward bases of both will be bombarded with rockets & missiles. The advantage will be with the one that can make the bases operational faster, that has more bases outside the range of the rockets and missiles and whose jets have more range and endurance.

 

[jaibi]

Do you realize how important this post is? You've pointed out something very interesting that has been the single most important development in modern warfare.

you can jam GPS signal with 10$ equipment from AliBaba.

 

[TsAr]

In Gulf War, there was always a saying on CNN that to find a launcher is like 'Finding a needle in a hay stack'.
So IMO, it seems a very difficult task.

Gulf war happened in 1990's, secondly lot of what was said on Cnn or any other channel was deliberate to make Saddam look very dangerous and lethal.....

 

[TOPGUN]

People quite easily forget about Jaguar strike package which India has in hundreds..... if ever Pakistan tries to nullify Indian air bases with rocket artillery then 100 plus Jaguars, around 50 mirages well escorted with 100s of other IAF platforms along with LACM and ALCM Bramhos will make sure that there is nothing left in Pakistan that used to be called an airbase...

Oh yes the mighty bollywood india lolz.

 

[KaiserX]

Long range MBRLs (A-100) and short range ballistic missiles (ghauris) to target indian air bases close to the LOC/border (pathankot being a good example). Hundreds of precision missiles lobbed at hangar would wreak havoc. Followed by a second wave of ucavs to destroy anything left over.

Medium/long range missiles such as hundreds of baburs, raads, and shaheens can be used for indian air bases further from the border for an initial shock and awe strike. Followed by a second wave of ground strike aircrafts (JF-17s/F-16's equiped with targeting pods for accuracy). Both waves should be no less than a few minutes apart meaning the aircrafts should strike by the time the first wave of initial missile strikes are completed.

Multiple waves of missile strikes should be conducted for both instances... somewhere around 2-3 along with a similar portion of air strikes following every missile strike. Would require around 12-15 Ballistic missiles per indian air base judging from the deadly strikes Iran did on american bases in iraq earlier this year. Word has it that Pakistani missiles are even more accurate due to Chinese assistant with gyroscophic tech.

Total of 500+ Cruise missiles and 500+ ballistic missiles would be needed. Not counting the sexy A-100s we have in stock. Best use case for the A-100 would be to total short range forward air bases to allow our missile resources to be used for longer range targets.

Every indian air base knocked out gives our air force more breathing space in the initial few days of the campaign.

People quite easily forget about Jaguar strike package which India has in hundreds..... if ever Pakistan tries to nullify Indian air bases with rocket artillery then 100 plus Jaguars, around 50 mirages well escorted with 100s of other IAF platforms along with LACM and ALCM Bramhos will make sure that there is nothing left in Pakistan that used to be called an airbase...

Your jaguars would be destroyed before they even got off the ground Why do you think Pakistan has invested billions over decades in ballistic and cruise missiles?

Your radars would be jammed by our electronic warfare weapons... you guys wouldnt know left from right or up from down like february last year.

 

[Basel]

Good points. GPS/Glonass guided rockets are only one attack vector Pakistan could use. Realistically, Pakistan would only take this type of action if it was attacked first (which you can't rule out with Modi in charge).

UAVs can also be used.

 

[KaiserX]

Would someone be able to provide a map of Indian air bases? Pakistans main focus should be knocking out as many indian air bases in north west india as possible. Bases in south and east india would be way to far from the combat theatre and by the time they arrived it would be exhausting for the pilots to face the PAF.

 

[notorious_eagle]

Let me substantiate these points. You are talking about Phalcons and Swordfish being effective platforms yet the truth of the matter is that it's not just about the platform themselves but their numbers, availability rate, sortie rate among other factors that influence the outcome.

Couldn't agree more on this

India has 3 Phalcons and 2 Netra to cover a country as big as India. In comparison, Pakistan has 8 AWACS, a number more 37% more than what India has, for a country that is geographically less than 40% the size of India. I want to let the numbers sink in. In addition, because the Phalcons are mounted on Il-78, their availability rate is on average around 50% compared to SAAB fleet which manages an availability rate of over 70% (I list conservative numbers). Therefore, a far lower number of AWACS can be deployed on duty by IAF vis-a-vis PAF. IAF lacks the ability to mount 24 hour AWACS surveillance over just 2 points of interest (it takes 3 planes per point of interest to mount 24x7 surveillance). Therefore, they were reduced to 12-hour surveillance shifts to the two places they were monitoring. I hope you are able to appreciate the differences here.

I understand that, but the Phalcon is an extremely potent AWAC. IAF currently has 3 in service, not to mention IAF has potent ground radars such as Sword Fish in service. IAF was well aware that PAF would react as PM IK had made it clear that Pakistan has no choice but to react. If the Phalcons were not in the air 24/7, as they can be refueled as well, then that is utter incompetence on the part of IAF. This was not a platform problem but rather a planning problem.

Another example, India had a fleet of Su-30's patrolling on CAP and yet they could not engage the F-16 or fire a missile at them. They alternated between going hot and cold at the edge of F-16 radar lock range. The reason is that R-77 lacks the range required by a whopping 30 km. R-77 was a great missile, till the C-5 was introduced in the subcontinent. The Su-30 radar, internal electronics and AAM today are nearly the same that was nearly 15 years ago. The MiG 21 bisons on duty lacked a basic feature of all modern aircraft possess - a software-defined radio (SDR) that is resistant to jamming.

When travelling at those speeds, handicap of 10-20km can be overcome. The SU30MKI's radars, electronics and avionics are still extremely potent and very relevant to this day. PAF F16's are Block 52's, not Block 70's and the SU30MKI's have a superior radar to that of the F16's. This was clearly superior employment and aggressive tactics on part of PAF. It is somewhat disappointing on part of the IAF as it has a decade more experience then the PAF in training for BVR sorties, but the tactics employed by the IAF were well short of what the expectation was. It was not too long ago that PAF was training to perfect its Anti BVR tactics and fight the IAF at a distance of 30-40km due to the BVR handicap.

These are small but very representative samples of the capability gaps that have emerged in the military. There is no need to hold punches back and call things for what they are because Pakistan is not a military threat to India. Pakistan's military capability is built to ensure that it imposes high costs on India to deter India from launching a war, it is not enough to win a war against India. Therefore, I believe there is a need for transparency and honesty in policy circles which would lead to significant reform in India. Honest conversations in the MoD and polity at large led to the biggest military reform in India since 1947 - the creation of the CDS.

When any country has 200 nukes pointed towards your country, it is not a military threat but an existential threat.

One, India is deliberately building infrastructure on the border with China and buying gear that will allow it to rapidly shift deployment from one theater to another. Adequate force capability on the Indian side will ensure China and India never actually get in a shooting war. There are larger factors at play - ranging from force balances, economics, to geopolitics.

Looking at the current balance of power, India is currently not equipped to fight a two front war. India can invest in resources that would allow it to deploy forces from one theater to another, but unfortunately both your fronts will be engaged.

 

[Blacklight]

Do you realize how important this post is? You've pointed out something very interesting that has been the single most important development in modern warfare.

GPS III SV03 is the latest of up to 32 next-generation GPS III/GPS III Follow-On (GPS IIIF) satellites the company has designed and is building to help the Space Force modernize today’s GPS constellation. Lockheed Martin says that GPS III is the most powerful and resilient GPS satellite ever put on orbit, with three times greater accuracy and up to eight times improved anti-jamming capabilities over any previous GPS satellites in the constellation. GPS III is also the first GPS satellite to broadcast the new L1C civil signal, which is shared by other international global navigation satellite systems, like Galileo.
https://www.satellitetoday.com/inno...vers-gps-iii-satellite-ahead-of-april-launch/

you can jam GPS signal with 10$ equipment from AliBaba.

and that is why most systems have INS backup

 

[Old School]

The question is what strategic advantages are to be gained by undertaking this sort of strikes. Does crippling ( if successfully executed) those FOBs equals to crippling the IAF as a whole ? I doubt because FOBs serve very different objectives in the full spectrum of military deployments. This method of saturation strikes on FOBs rather suits non state militias which largely depend on winning propaganda wars (inflicting sudden but not significant damages) rather than winning an actual war.
PA as a professional military has clear missions and objectives by it's modus operandi which are very different than something similar to what non state actor militias requires.

 

[Blacklight]

This writing is my short opinion, and research based article for the Best Writer completion. I don't expect to win, and that was not my complete goal here I am just trying to give my opinion on a underutilized strategic weapon. This is my first real article here that I gave a good effort on so go easy on me please.


Long range multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) are somewhat underappreciated systems that can be used effectively in a suppressive role and are a much cheaper alternative then cruise missiles yet allow much more payload delivered on target. Pakistan could in theory use rocket artillery with ranges varying from 100 to 400km acquired from nations that are recent suppliers of Pakistan that produce these systems namely, Turkey, and China.[1][2] Assuming Pakistan could use its MLRS in an offensive role like how America used its Tomahawk cruise missiles in the early stages of the Iraq war, and more recently in the April 2017 strikes on Syrian airbases thereby rendering roughly 20% of the Syrian air force destroyed. [3]


Currently Pakistan has A-100 which lacks range, and accuracy to hit more then a few airbases without coming very close to the LOC and within striking range of well-placed strikes. I have taken the liberty of making a map of the Western Air Command to the best of my knowledge with public sources with the range of the A-100 overlapped. As you can see at most Pakistan can take out a few airbases with concentrated strikes of 50+ rockets absolutely decimating targets with a large 200kg fragmentation warhead that will decimate aircraft runways and allow PAF aircraft to destroy the aircraft on the ground.[4]

View attachment 621095

One solution to this problem would be Pakistan acquiring longer range MLRS such as the A300 manufactured by China and currently used by the PLA army. The A-300 has a maximum range of 290 kilometers, a 150kg warhead roughly 1/3 the explosives of the Tomahawk and is not bound by MTCR rules which China follows.[5] This range would allow destruction, or a significant disruption in operation of airbases which would allow Pakistani fighters to operate much more easily inside of India without a major fighter threat for at least a few weeks as India is forced to make new airbases and operate further inside of India. I have again taken the liberty of making a map with the A300 launched from or near Lahore overlain over Indian airbases. As is evident, only about five bases would survive assuming a success rate of 100%, this scenario is only about the Western air command, but it can be applied to the South Western Air command as well. The other five airbases could be taken out by cruise missiles in Pakistani service such as the Babur.[6]

View attachment 621096


@Slav Defence @Irfan Baloch @WebMaster @WAJsal @Horus

Good job! Really impressed!

I have no doubt China has probably already stolen the details of the Brahmos.

In Gulf War, there was always a saying on CNN that to find a launcher is like 'Finding a needle in a hay stack'.
So IMO, it seems a very difficult task.

3 decades down the road, sat resolution has improved, and so have other sensors, coupled with AI, it can mark targets of interest all on its own.

 

[Surya 1]

India has much more accurate MBRL, Glide bombs, Runway denial bombs with very low CEP. India can cripple pakistan command and control network without even entering into pakistani air space. Indian satellite has capability to identify location of each and every pakistani electronics and communication devices and military hardware. India has full capacity to neutralize all of above very swiftly before Pakistan can make any move.

 

[khail007]

Gulf war happened in 1990's, secondly lot of what was said on Cnn or any other channel was deliberate to make Saddam look very dangerous and lethal.....

The story was to cover some initial successful strike by Iraq on USA basis in KSA. SCUDs hit that bases and US had to release some material for media.