Frontline jets in three years: Air chief
Saadat says PAF promised largest chunk of defence budget;
Pakistan can’t keep waiting for F-16s
By Mayed Ali
LAHORE: Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Kaleem Saadat has said the PAF will be equipped with the frontline, state-of-the-art fighter aircraft within three years to address the regional imbalance in the skies.
In an exclusive panel interview to The News, the Air Chief Marshal hinted at equipping the PAF with, at least, 60 air-superiority aircraft in the near future for enabling the PAF to defend the country’s aerial frontiers. The PAF is expected to finalize one of the available options soon.
The interview panel comprised Salim Bokhari, and Mayed Ali. Discussing the multiple options which the PAF is weighing, the ACM said, the
French Mirage 2000-9, Chinese J-10 (F-10), US F-16s and Swedish AJ-39 (Grippens) were the potential hi-tech aircraft to meet the air force ‘s immediate requirement.
Any of these sophisticated jetfighters could help address the balance of air power in the region. "It is imperative for the PAF to equip its existing fleet with hi-tech air-superiority aircraft to counter any aerial threat in future.
The ACM said the PAF had already presented the government with its future force goals for the next 10-15 years, and the government had not found anything wrong with that. He informed that the government had approved the plans submitted, and assured the PAF it would get the desired funds.
The ACM, however, maintained that the purchase of new aircraft was an exhaustive exercise. He believed it was quite a task to get the best value for the limited resources, as the prices varied with the technology. Quoting examples, he said any air force could purchase an aircraft between ranges of $5 million to $250 million (F-7 to F-22 Raptor). He said it depended on what gadget an air force wanted on board. More sophisticated the equipment one wanted on the aircraft higher would be the price-tag. Moreover, no deal could be ascertained as final till the agreement was signed for so many other factors played a vital role in the materialization of any deal. Ranging from technical reasons, financial constraints to diplomatic pressures, anything could leave an impact on the proposed plan.
During the interview the Air Chief discussed pros and cons of all the options and emphasized that best choice would be made to induct a suitable aircraft in the PAF’s inventory.
The Chief said the existing fleet -
30 plus F-16s and 50 F-7PGs - would go beyond 2012. In addition to this, he added, the PAF would acquire 150-200 JF-17 (Thunder) to meet the future demand. He said over and above this, the PAF would need 50-100 sophisticated western aircraft, which would be the leading edge of the air force.
The PAF would have to work on a three-pronged programme for creating a semblance of balance of air power in the region - upgrade the existing fleet and acquire the JF-17,
go for advanced Chinese J-10s in the coming few years and acquire hi-tech western jetfighters as soon as possible. "The question is, will the PAF have the resources to fund all these programmes?"
When asked about the F-16s, Saadat said it was not an issue. "I tell the Americans that F-16 has become an emotional issue for both the parties."
In a lighter tone, the ACM laughed and said he suggested to his interlocutors, ``why don’t we change the request for F-16s to one F-18s, so we can close the F-16s chapter and start a new chapter of F-18s. You see why the PAF is stuck with the case of F-16s.’’
The Air Chief said 16-30 additional F-16s would enhance the PAF’s capability tremendously with very little cost because the logistics were in place, technical training was in place and pilot training was in place. When asked if Pakistan was getting the F-16s, he said he couldn’t say it for sure. Pakistan was not in a position to wait for F-16s for too long.
"If it comes, it comes as a bonus. I am not counting on F-16s." However, it remains a litmus test of relationship with the US. The clear-headed ACM believes Pakistan will have to acquire the latest technology because it is technology alone that provides you effective deterrence.
The work on the Doctrine of the PAF project was initiated during former ACM Mushaf Ali Mir’s time. This book got into print after nine months ACM Kaleem Saadat assumed the slot. The ACM believes the book has been written to tell the people, other services and various institutions about the PAF’s objectives and principles; and the core competencies the PAF aspires to have if it is to defend the country effectively.
http://www.pakdef.org/forum/topic/4597-paf-news-2004-april-june/page-2
For those who think F16`s are best for pakistan ,take a look at corporate war which was happening at that time.
Therefore, the F-16 is being brought up by the US companies just as many times as the PAF. Things were different when Pakistan did not have the economic choice to go elsewhere, but, having sorted its own financial affairs, Chaklala is back in the driving seat and is viewed as a customer, rather than a pleading infant.
If PAF was to for a completely different platform, that would mean that there is a chance that the PAF would be lost as a potential "fighter aircraft" customer for the next decade. Something Northrop and Fairchild have regretted with their respective niches. It would be very expensive for Pakistan to shift from teh present platform to something new and this is teh key worry for most US manufacturers. If Pakistan makes that shift, for whatever reason, then the window of opportunity for the uS based companies would be limited to secondary representation as parts suppliers or co-developers with whoever Pakistan goes with. If it is not the Grippen, then expect them to have an even lesser role in any Rafale/Typhoon/Sukhoi/J-10 scenario. This is not a situation they want to be in. Especially if Pakistan has the financial ability to make the switch.
http://www.pakdef.org/forum/topic/5135-paf-news-2004-sept-oct/page-9
For all those kept on asking about Funds and earth quake i found some really interesting donnations made during that time by intl community
Since the earthquake, the international community has offered over $6 billion in aid and soft loans to help Pakistan recover from the disaster. Though no official figures have been released, the cost of the F-16s alone is expected to be around $2.5 billion.
PS I appologies for not finding exact notification at that time by congress suggesting the sale is necessary to stop Chinese J10 coming to Pakistan,if some one has please share
