I guess they do have Qatari pilots, or maybe non Pakistani pilots from other countries.
Less influential among countries like UAE who have now become up to high standards especially the AF. But Qatar is a small country with low citizen numbers, so I understand.
Can you provide sources for this bro? By the time F-16 Block 60 was inducted UAE had many pilots trained on others jets, and training on the F-16s could come from the USA.
Can you prove this statement at all? I dont want the word of your uncles cousins gramma.
No citation for these statements, you took that part out to help your statment.
It is not allowed for not nationals to fly the planes, UAE has pilots with 3000 hours on it and frequently flies with US af. I'm not sure it is exactly a merc air force like you are implying.
If Pakistani pilots trained on Rafale, then its weapons system has already been compromised
This would be a serious violation of the India-France secrecy pact, whether by intent or by default remains to be seen.
ABHIJIT IYER-MITRA 11 April, 2019 4:45 pm IST
A Rafale fighter aircraft | Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
The revelation that Pakistani pilots reportedly trained on Qatar’s Rafale fighter jets with a configuration similar to our own represents a major security breach, in that it significantly compromises a weapons system even before it has entered service with the Indian Air Force, if proven true.
The question is, what is the nature of the breach, the possible damage, the legal implications and how is it different from other such cases (for example, both China and India operate the Sukhoi Su-30, and both Israel and Egypt operate the F-16).
The Qatari Rafales share several similarities with the Indian aircraft, notably the RBE 2 active radar, the Spectra electronic warfare (EW) system, and the vaunted long-range Meteor air-to-air and SCALP ground attack missiles. Now, while pilots are not taught the complete physics of jamming that the Spectra system would use, trained pilots would know what modes to use and how. This would allow the pilot to extrapolate the full range of the jet’s passive and active capabilities. Given the state of ongoing tension between Qatar and its neighbours, these Pakistani pilots will also possibly have the opportunity to size up the Rafale against the F-16 of the UAE’s air force. Tellingly, this F-16 versus Rafale combo is exactly the combat scenario on the India-Pakistan front as well. So, while the EW systems won’t be compromised, the Rafale’s capabilities will become known to the Pakistan Air Force.
Also read: IAF wants fresh info from France as concern rises over reports of Pakistani pilots’ Rafale training
The radar, however, is a different story altogether, and it is safe to say that it now stands almost entirely compromised, not in that it can be jammed, but rather in what it can do. Any training will explore the maximum possible capacities of all systems including radars. This would include the maximum range, the resolution, the nature and calibre of information and data sharing between Rafales, the tactical tricks it uses in the radar spectrum and its strengths and weaknesses. They will also learn what the maximum flight covers, and the tracking and detection capabilities of a whole host of mated missiles such as the Meteor, SCALP and Mica as well as the tricks associated with their launch.
For example, the Rafale’s RBE 2 radar does not have a two-way link with the Meteor (that is to say, the Rafale can feed information to the missile, but the missile cannot feed information back to the plane). This means that even after firing the missile, the Rafale jet has to keep flying and track the target till the much smaller radar on the missile’s nose detects the target. Knowledge of the time and distance gap between how far the Rafale has to follow the Meteor before it can break off the attack and allow the missile to take over is critical information that could help evolve a set of viable tactics to counter the Meteor-Rafale combination.
Given that India’s purchase of the Rafale was to overcome the shortcomings of the Sukhoi, specifically the range required to reach the Chinese Eastern Seaboard, it is safe to assume that the range of the Rafale, in all possible configurations, is now known to the Pakistanis who will duly pass it on to the Chinese.
https://theprint.in/opinion/if-paki...s-system-has-already-been-compromised/220180/
