Sir, let me make it clear that my intention was not to bring in IAF and do a comparison with PAF....I am with you 100% that upgradation of Air-Force is an evolving process and that is why we just don't talk about 5 years from now we think about a decade from now and even beyond...I am with you 100% that F-16 is a very potent platform in today's context...Your block 52 is pretty good...Yes it is not the best out there but it can deliver the knock out punch and that's what matters....
However had you been getting these planes in near future(less than 5 years time frame) i can still understand. This deal is going to fructify at around 2018-2020 when PAF will get F-16's in shape(MLU's performed)....Now i assume that these fighters will stay in PAF for atleast 10 years and in case total fleet goes beyond 100 then PAF will be operating F-16's even beyond 2030, no??? To me this is not logical...Why should i get into a deal well ahead in future on an old platform??? Mind it i am sure there will be some logic because PAF would know but i am at loss to comprehend it.....
Sir I will try my best to explain and be assured i am not trying to turn this into an IAF vs PAF discussion, the reason why i bring up the IAF is because that is the only conventional enemy we face as compared to the IAF which has to factor in the PLAAF too.
If for example lets say PAF receives additional air frames of the F16's in 2018-2020 which is possible, it will still be potent because something is needed to counter the fleet of M2K, Mig29, MKI and MRCA. If you look at the current specs of the Block 52's, its capable of going toe to toe against the MKI or any competitors in the MRCA competition. But since you are talking about the time frame of 2018, lets for argument sakes say PAF acquires additional F16's and puts them through MLU at that time period. What is an MLU; its the upgrade of the aircrafts avionics, radar and refurbishment of the airframe. If the F16's are put through the MLU process in 2018, they will be according to the requirements of that time and not today's. Its not only the PAF but if you look at other air forces such as the IDAF, IAF, TUAF are well expected to keep their 4th Generation Aircraft's active till at least 2040. We cannot add USAF to the list because they have a defence budget of $700 billion, other countries that are replacing their F16's with F35's have small fleets and can easily afford to do so.
But on a serious note, since the delivery of the new F16's is complete i expect the PAF to press on the US to release the remaining embargoed F16's and additional F16's through EDA. This will happen in the next 2 or 3 years.
Sir, as said F-16 is no doubt a potent platform but it is not the best out there....I adhere to the the notion that it will get the job done and that's what matters however F-16 is not out of its league of 4 generations....You are right when you say that by 2018-2020 we will have a sizable fleet of 4 generation fighters....but what composition??? 2018-2020 is when you will get your hands on these planes and you will stick with them for atleast 2030....Our MKI's are in process of getting a MLU right now...It is logical to say we will thinking of yet another one during that time frame..we would have got all the aircrafts from MMRCA deal as well(which are better than current Pak fleet of F-16's on paper)...Sir, F-16 is good plane but will it be good even 10-20 years from now is the question??? It seems you are convinced it would be....
It is definitely not the best platform out their but as i have repeated, it is more than capable of going toe to toe against any 4th Generation Aircraft. The Rafale and Eurofighter, no matter how glamorous they look and no matter how much the Europeans hype them are a little to late to the party. As this has been shown in several exercises that have been conducted, the F16 stood on its own legs against its newer adversaries. As i have said it before, if lets say the MKI is put through the MLU process in 2018, the F16's would be put through the MLU standards of that time period. The avionics, radar and the weapons package of 2018 would be installed up on the F16 during the MLU process.
Allow me to point out a major flaw in your argument with all due respect. You are comparing platforms one on one, in a real warfare this is an unlikely scenario. A modern air warfare is about the deployment of all assets in a cohesive strategy. So in our case; its about deploying all our fighter aircrafts, AWACS, EW specialized aircrafts, ground radars and SAMS in a cohesive manner. The radars of our F16's dont have to be as good as your MRCA aircrafts for example. A net centric organization which the PAF already is, its all about data linking. The F16 does not even has to turn on its radar,the AWACS and Ground Radars can be transmitting the information to the F16 via a data link of the opposing aircrafts. This is just one of the advantages of a net centric organization, their are several others too. If you compare air crafts that IAF has or will have as compared to the PAF one on one, obviously the IAF has superior air crafts but PAF is looking to counter them through force multipliers linked up with our air assets. In my opinion this strategy will definitely work, IAF made a huge mistake when it introduced the AWACS into subcontinent.
Also as far as FGFA is concerned then it is all speculations right now...May be the final product won't be able to even out class F-16 and may be it will outclass even raptor(which is what the target plane is)...So let's wait for that plane to come up before making bold statements about it....
Indeed we should wait for the final product before passing any judgements, but i am making my statement based on the visuals of the PAK FA and the wonderful analysis Gambit did of the plane when it made its maiden flight. The Stealth Fighter is definitely a game changer in our scenario, i dont see additional MKI's or MRCA forcing the PAF to make drastic changes to our modernization plan.
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