Pakistan Air Force: Options And Challenges.

[Super Falcon]

Informatic article by Saima Ali But I can't find two very important points
One that IAF is purchasing upgrade kits for its SU-30 MKI upgrade to the level of SU-35
and
Second point that what is the answer of recent French Rafale deal ?
The question is what is the counter planning of PAF to maintain the balance of power.

SU 30 cannot be upgraded to SU 35 level remember it clear due to airframe SU 35 has larger airframe to carry bigger payload and fuel

SU 30 only gets engine and avionics suit I did research

If it was the case Russia should have used those kits to its SU 30 And never bought additional SU 35

SU 35 is completely belongs to higher class of EF Rafale F 22

A very misleading and incomplete article. Does the author know how much a SU-35 costs ? And does Pakistan have the financial resources to buy such planes. What are the chances of Russia putting an embargo on Pakistan during a conflict ? These are some of the serious issues which require deep thought and cannot be brushed aside. Only then can a complete unbiased view of the topic will emerge.

Yes SU 35 70 mill a piece as compare to F 16 65 million a piece no Comparison 5 million expensive but gives you edge

When you defend your self forget price tag

 

[Imtiaz_Sarwar]

SU 30 cannot be upgraded to SU 35 level remember it clear due to airframe SU 35 has larger airframe to carry bigger payload and fuel

SU 30 only gets engine and avionics suit I did research

If it was the case Russia should have used those kits to its SU 30 And never bought additional SU 35

SU 35 is completely belongs to higher class of EF Rafale F 22


Yes SU 35 70 mill a piece as compare to F 16 65 million a piece no Comparison 5 million expensive but gives you edge

When you defend your self forget price tag

Your enthusiasm is fine but does the high command of our air force agree with you.

 

[Deepika Maheshwari]

The article trys to pacify the widening gap by claiming the 40 year old mirages have been rebuilt ... and are in excellent condition. He then goes on about a professional service that is well trained and has good maintenance record.

well this well trained well maintained air force had only 13 operational F16s in 1999 out of a fleet of 40 due to a combo of usa sanctions and lack of planning ... Despite the fact that their leader and chief of staff Mushraff decided to start a war over kargil.

The same air force was helpless in defending the Pakistani army that where decimated by precision high altitude bombing by jaguars and mirages.

Finally don't use overall ratios of 700 v 400 as relative strength indication . The reason being PAF ratio of obsolete fighters runs at 70% whers as india,s runs at 40%

ie PAF has 125 F16/Thunders v IAF 400 su30mki/mirage2000/mig29smt/k

The rest don't matter in other words the remaing fighters ie PAFs 270+ mirage 5 anf F7 and IAF 250 mig21/27 WILL be a much reduced role in any conflict

I would also add that this myth of PAF being more professional or better prepared is another myth

in case you have not noticed the Indians train every single year with RAF Typhoon pilots, French rafale pilots and USA red flag pilots. They also have a permanent fleet of F16 fighters in india thanks to singopore airforce for DACT training.

PILOT TO PILOT the indian has a annual flying budget of 4 times his PAF counterpart.

This is why we see indian air force training their su30mki in every part of the world annually far more often then PAF.

EVEN TRAINING and readiness is dependant on money $$$$$

True, at the end it is all economy. However Pakistan has one HUGE advantage that side steps all of India's economic edge. Chinese suppliers. One 4++ gen fighter from China costs one third to one fourth of one Rafale. India is acquiring 36 fighters at a staggering price of 8-9 billion USD. China can offer around 150+ J-10Cs. This evens every odd IAF have over PAF, plus they will be more than happy to provide long term loans. In seriously needs to look for ways to overcome this disadvantage. May be a MKIized version of F-16 with technologies retrofitted onto it?

F-16 comes really cheap, if locally manufactured it will be even cheaper and what ever any one says, it is the MOST tested platform in the world.