Niaz Saheb
No one here is totally in the know. We all come here to discuss options that we think might be more suitable for PAF. No one would deny the efficacy of F16s pre 2020. However there does not appear to be a credible date for acqisition and given the time frame for F35 distribution it could be well past 2015-18. Then they would neeed to be checked out perhaps by LM which might mean a further delay of upto a year. So in short we are looking at getting F16s in 2020.
The point of contention is not what they will provide, but what we can produce in house and with Chinese help in the same period.I know we have been dissuaded from buying western avionics and weaponery due to cost and quality considerations and have turned to the chinese products. Now when we feel that J10 is going to be a good product with 3-5 yrs development, and the engine issues would be resolved, and our own product would have advanced sufficiently, what will we get from MLUed F16s that we cant get from these 2 options.
The third consideration is purely strategic. No one amongst us will deny that US attention span post 2014 towards pakistan would vary from mild interest to fickle at best. Now we have reduced an order of new planes to go for an equivalent chinese offer, and then we will go for MLUed Bl15s in that time period.This is what is confusing me.
Lastly is a mute point about our own industry which we should be projecting. What signals are we sending to the world when while on the one hand we are trying to go from pillar to post trying to sell the aircraft and then begging Norway for their retired planes. We should have enough confidence in our own industry to produce and develop our own plane to matching quality,considering we have long since been harping about the fact that our thunder is in the region of a Bl40 capability wise.
It is on the basis of the above thought process that I have put my arguments against this purchase.
Araz
Hi, I see that you missed the point in what you have quoted to your above reply.
1- Cost Issues: A new JFT of PAF standard may cost around $30million.
While grounded F-16 may cost max. $15 million and both a/c are comparable in characteristics.
Gains from stuff like Eurofighter has no justification, so people shall think rationally.
2- Battle Ready: We already have expertise in flying and maintaining F-16 and while we already have blk-52 which are going to serve us for another 15 years. So we'll be maintaining those skills and any new F-16 in PAF inventory will be on mission without clocking hours for training exercises.
It is better to hang AIM120 on a/c rather than keep them in shelf for expiry. So costs will be saved towards weapons as well.
3- Maintainence: Actually, skill issues is more sensitive towards maintainence staff.
Their experience grow and so does the availability of fleet.
Spares ratio as compare to the fleet comes down and so is the cost of inventory. In worst case scenario we can even afford to canabalise any of F-16.
JFT will not loose any thing, it will be available to the world post 2012 and at half the cost of F-16.
Buyers don't make their opinion based on assumptions.
They even can fly the machine.... remember PAF had been flying Grippen.
Now, the highlighted part... i didn't get your point but soon i'll post a link about our discussion on subject matter.
Here you go:
http://www.defence.pk/forums/military-aviation/31901-avionics-thunder-western-chinese.html