Pakistan would got L-15 trainer aircraft

[TOPGUN]

K-8 Shoots Down Superior L-15

August 25, 2010: A Chinese aircraft manufacturer has produced an attack version of the L-15 jet trainer. Normally, the L-15 just carries a trainee pilot and an instructor. But the attack version has a pilot and a weapons systems officer. The L-15 is a 9.5 ton aircraft with a max speed of 1,000 kilometers an hour and a combat radius of 550 kilometers. Since it first flew four years ago, the L-15 has been offered to the Chinese armed forces and foreign customers, without much success.
The problem is the K-8, which is a smaller, cheaper Chinese jet trainer. The K-8 is a 4.3 ton, two seat aircraft. The trainee and instructor are replaced by a pilot and observer on combat missions. Max speed is 800 kilometers an hour. The K-8 entered service in 1994, and over 500 have been built. The aircraft can be fitted with a 23mm cannon, and carry nearly a ton of missiles and bombs. Egypt and Pakistan also use the K-8. The aircraft sells for $4-5 million each. The L-15 sells for more than twice as much, but carries about the same amount of weapons. The L-15 is touted as a more suitable trainer for pilots headed for high performance (like the Su-30, F-16 or J-10) aircraft. But so far, air forces have found it more economical to buy the K-8.

Yet we still going to get the 2 aircrafts? and perhaps wanting to want more?

 

[TaimiKhan]

Yet we still going to get the 2 aircrafts? and perhaps wanting to want more?

It could prove to be a good induction.

K-8 would be used for training of cadets at PAF Academy in place of the T-37s, and give them a feel of the jets.

L-15 can be used as the OCU / preparing pilots for the more advanced jets which would be having FBW / HOTAS / man-machine interface etc stuff.

K-8 can not prepare pilots for JF-17s / F-16s / FC-20s.

InshAllah by 2015, with planned inductions, more then half of the PAF fleet would be consisting of very advanced jets and pilots coming out of OCU might have to go straight to these advanced jets and L-15 would be very helpful in training them to get used to flying such advanced jets.

We should go for about 20 or so L-15s.

 

[Hyde]

after the flooding and yet another economic disaster, I am afraid many defence projects will be halted once again