Chanakyaa
BANNED
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2009
- Messages
- 6,538
- Reaction score
- -36
- Country
- Location
The Unparalleled Might of IAF
From Past to Present and The Future...
In Focus : Rapidly changing dynamics of air warfare in the sub continent from Pakistani POV
From Past to Present and The Future...
In Focus : Rapidly changing dynamics of air warfare in the sub continent from Pakistani POV
The Past:
Air power has always played a key role in any war or limited conflict. Its importance is not only
limited to South Asia; anywhere there have been a war or conflict, the factor which has given
any country an upper hand is the strength and effectiveness of its air force. Todays wars
are first initiated and won from air.
Ground forces have their own importance, however, they come later in to the picture after key threats have been identified and neutralized by air force. Not only that, the only thing that can save troops on ground, under fire from enemy forces is the close air support, provided by air force. That is the reason why Quaid e Azam stressed on these words:
Pakistan must build up her air force as quickly as possible. It must be second to none.
Looking at the subcontinent, air warfare has played a significant role in all the wars and
skirmishes between India and Pakistan. Before even the start of 1965 war, limited air intrusions
and skirmishes had started between PAF and IAF. C-130s of PAF played an important role in
air dropping supplies for the freedom fighters sent to Kashmir. On the morning of
6th September, it was not in any ones mind that India is going to retaliate on the international
border at Wahga, Lahore.
Movement of Indian tanks was not spotted by even Pakistani army; It was a patrol of PAFs F-86
Sabre fighters led by Air Cdr (r) Sajjad Haider which spotted the advancement of Indian
armor on Wahga border. This came as a shock to everyone in Pakistan, and PAF soon acted
to take out its targets.
Pakistan Air Force destroyed 110 Indian air crafts in the 1965 war while losing only 18
(Pakistani claim). The successful raids of Pathankot and Halwara air base were very important
in that scenario which disrupted the attack capabilities of Indian Air Force which was launching
strikes against Pakistani troops and installations on ground.
1971 we sadly lost on ground due to political factors but air force again played its part. What
was common in 65 and 71 is the techonological strength of PAF. PAF always was and will be
less in size with respect to IAF due to geography, but PAF had upper hand over IAF in 1965 and
1971 wars.
PAF was equipped with latest American technology, i.e, the F-86 Sabre which was
a very potent and agile fighter of that time. In 71, Pakistan had F-104 star fighter and French
Mirage fighters , which were again top technology of that time.
Change Of Tactics Kargil and beyond
However in 1999, situation changed quite a lot. Pakistan was under sanctions from the last
decade and could not equip its air force with latest weapons. It had F-16s but they relied on
short range missiles and guns. These weapons only were effective long time back, before
the introduction of Beyond Visual Range missiles and radars which could track and detect air
crafts at long ranges. The age of electronic warfare had started and India had already equipped
herself with Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles and latest radars.
During Kargil conflict, PAF did not engage Indian Air Force. Although it did flew combat air
patrols. A couple of IAF strike jets were shot down by army using manpads but they were
flying low and slow over mountains. After them being shot down, IAF used its advance Mirage-2000H multirole fighters and targeted Pakistani posts with laser-guided bombs from a very high
altitude. This resulted in many Pakistan army casualties and they could do nothing to stop the
air strikes, as the jets were too high and there was no PAF support to counter them.
What even more worry some was that IAF MiG-29 fighters locked on our F-16s from inside their
own border. This was a blessing of their long range radars, and their fighters could have shot
down our air crafts from a long range.
To counter this, PAF started a modernisation program and induction of new fighters. JF-17
program picked pace and it was built with new tactics of air warfare in mind: Technological
warfare and BVR engagements.
PAF vs. IAF Where do they stand today?
Pakistan Air Force: Current and soon-to-be inducted air crafts (without cargo & trainers):
● F-16 block 15 (to be upgraded with MLU) and F-16 block 52 (most advanced in PAF)
● JF-17 Thunder
● F-7P, F-7PG
● Mirage III, Mirage V
● Erieye AWACS
● ZDK-03 Chinese AWACS
● IL-78 Air-to-air refueler.
● FC-20 Advance jet fighter (contract signed with China)
Indian Air Force: Current and soon-to-be inducted aircrafts (without cargo & trainers):
● Su-30MKI multirole fighter
● Mig-29 multirole fighter
● Mirage-2000H multirole fighter
● HAL Tejas
● Mig-27 Ground Attack
● Jaguar
● Mig-21 interceptor
● Phalcon AWACS
● IL-78 air-to-air refueler
● Dassault Rafale (soon to be inducted)
● Sukhoi PAK-FA / T-50 (stealth, soon to be inducted)
PAF has filled the technological gap somewhat with IAF by the induction of F-16 Block 52,
which comes with latest and advanced weapons. They include AIM-120 BVR missiles, precision
guided bombs and other advanced avionics including a long range radar. Old block 15 F-16s
will also undergo Mid Life Upgrade and will get equipped with same latest weapons. Block 52 F-16 is currently the most advanced fighter in PAFs arsenal.
Induction of JF-17 has also helped PAF immensely in closing the gap. These fighters are also
going to be equipped with BVR missiles, advanced avionics and precision guided munition like
laser and GPS guided bombs. Pakistan can also export this jet to help its economy.
IAFs technological leap
On the other hand, IAF in past two decades has managed to equip air force to its teeth. Su-30MKI, Mig-29 and Mirage-2000H are very potent air threats and can take on any current PAF
fighter easily. The game is quite balanced if we consider only these three air crafts. Todays air
warfare revolves around technological dominance. All these jets will utilize BVR engagements,
so the better the radar, avionics and the BVR missile, better will be the chances of shooting
down enemy jets.
However, now that IAF is soon going to induct 4.5 generation Rafale and 5th generation PAKFA
stealth fighter into its fleet, the winning edge will surely shift towards the Indian side. Su-30MKI
and Rafale both are 4.5th generation air crafts having long range radars, capable avionics and
high maneuverability. This alone was a big threat to PAF but when IAF gets the stealth fighter
by 2018, PAF can be in deep trouble if it doesnt make a deal with China to induct the newly
tested Chinese stealth fighter.
In PAF, JF-17 has taken place of A5s and will soon replace F-7P to become the front line fighter of PAF. F-16 and JF-17 alone will not be sufficient in near future to counter the Indian threat. Pakistan will have to equip itself with FC-20 as soon as possible and also consider the induction of J-20 Chinese
stealth fighter by 2020 to counter Indias PAKFA stealth fighter.
Source : Increasing Might of the Indian Air Force | Ehtisham Siddiqui
