India Should Feel Fear The Power of Pakistan Air Force

Indian Air Force faces risk as Pakistan, China modernise: report

BENGALURU: As China and Pakistan modernise air force at a rapid pace, Indian Air Force (IAF) faces risk without new western warplanes or the lack of local defence contractors ability to keep up with military needs in a timely manner, said a report published on IBN Live.

According to experts, due to its reliance on a fleet of ageing Russian-made MiG and French Mirage fighters, India was vulnerable in the skies. Furthermore, half of India's fighters are due to retire in the start of 2015 until 2024.

The Tejas light combat aircraft, which is India's first homegrown fighter, will be finally delivered in March, 30 years after it was conceived. However, senior air force officers privately said they were unimpressed. A former fighter pilot said that the plane was "so late it is obsolete".

"It could lead to humiliation at the hands of our neighbours," AK Sachdev, a retired air force officer, wrote in the Indian Defence Review journal in 2014.

He further added that an attack by China or Pakistan could stretch the Indian military. Defence strategists in New Delhi were asked to plan for this scenario, however experts said it is unlikely to take place.

When it comes to India's ties with China, the relations are still crippled due to a dispute over their Himalayan border which led to war in 1962.

New Delhi is also wary of China's close relations with Pakistan and its increasing naval presence in the Indian Ocean.

Multiple crashes

A paramilitary committee had said in December that IAF's strength has fallen below the government's approved strength of 42. There are 34 operational squadrons, down from 39 earlier this decade. Furthermore, in recent decades more than half of India's MiGs have crashed, the then defence minister said in 2012.

On the other hand, China is flying locally built fourth-generation J-10 fighters and testing two fifth-generation stealth fighter jets.

Meanwhile, Pakistan is upgrading its Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) F-16 fighter planes and also using JF-17 warplanes that were developed with China.

According to Pakistani and Chinese industry sources, Pakistan is also in talks to buy J-10s.

If it comes to war, India would still be victorious over Pakistan due to the sheer size of its air force. However, the slow modernisation means the win would come with heavy casualties, according to Richard Aboulafia, Washington DC-based vice president of analysis at the Teal Group, a defence think tank.

India is buying more Su-30s and upgrading other existing fighters to keep up.

"We do need to increase our defence preparedness," Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the opening ceremony of the Aero India airshow in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

A senior official at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) K. Tamilmani said that criticism of the Tejas was unfounded. DRDO is the defence ministry agency which designed and developed the plane.

"The Tejas has a safety record that is unbeaten," Tamilmani said adding it would provide a platform to develop more advanced fighters in the future.

Impasse over Rafale jets

The Rafale fighters are expected to replace some of India's existing Mirage jets and MiGs. However, defence military officials have said that India insists that Dassault takes full responsibility for production of the air-craft at a state-run facility in Bengaluru.

France has said it will help Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd with delivery schedules, however it cannot give guarantees of air-craft production at a facility that it has no administrative or expert control.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said at the airshow that India will make a decision on the fate of this deal after March, when a committee of the defence ministry will deliver a report on the issue.

Chairman at Indicia Research and Advisory (a New Delhi-based defence consulting firm) Deba Mohanty said that cancellation would be "disastrous".

"It's a really tricky situation in which the supplier is unhappy, the bureaucrats are unhappy and the end user is disappointed," said Mohanty.

Over the last few years, India successfully introduced Boeing's (BA.N) C-17 and P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft along with Lockheed Martin's C-130J. Experts said thiss hows off-the-shelf solutions work best.

On the other hand, under Modi's "Make in India" programme, building a domestic defence industrial base is emphasised to reduce dependence on foreign supplies which led to India becoming the world's biggest arms importer.

Pakistan has Signed Order with Lenorado for AgustaWestland AW139 Twin Engine Helicopters

On the 28th of March, Leonardo announced that the Government of Pakistan has signed a new order for an undisclosed number of additional AgustaWestland AW139 intermediate twin engine helicopters. 

The aircraft will be used to perform utility, SAR (Search and Rescue) and EMS (Emergency Medical Service) operations across the nation. Deliveries are expected to start in early 2018. 

The contract is a further step towards the completion of fleet renewal programmes spread over several batches plus logistic support and training. This event is a major achievement for Leonardo expanding the already successful presence of the AW139 model in the country. 

A fast-growing fleet of AW139s is already in service in Pakistan, with several units operated by the Pakistan Government for relief and transport duties. 

The Tail Choppers Get New Knives

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) stood up its fifth Chengdu Aircraft Corporation/Pakistan Aeronautical Complex JF-17 fighter squadron on 16th February.

The PAF’s 14 Air Superiority Squadron, known as the ‘Tail Choppers’, based at the PAF’s Minhas airbase in the east of the country. The unit is the first to be flying JF-17s equipped with the aircraft’s new air-to-air refuelling system.

The squadron won battle honours during the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War, when its North American F-86 Sabre fighter-bombers attacked the Indian Air Force’s Kalaikunda airbase in western India, strafing several IAF English Electric Canberra family light bombers and Hawker Hunter family fighters, resulting in their tails being chopped off. Hence the ‘Tail Choppers’ appellation. Over 80 JF-17 Thunders have been delivered to the PAF to date, from an initial requirement for 150.

Pakistan hands over four Super Mushshak jets to Nigeria

ISLAMABAD: Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman Monday handed over four Super Mushshak aircrafts to Nigeria, at a ceremony held at Nigerian Air Force (NAF) base Kaduna.

The trainer aircrafts, equipped with glass cockpit and enhanced environmental control system with modernized gadgets, were handed over to NAF as part of an agreement signed earlier between both nations, a PAF news release here stated.

Pakistan under the agreement would supply total ten Super Mushshak trainers to NAF.

The contract for sale of the aircraft to NAF was signed at Abuja (Nigeria) in November 2016. Besides supplying the aircraft, the contract includes provision of operational training and technical support and assistance to NAF.

PAF would completely establish this facility in the shortest possible time.

This delivery of the aircraft would not only open new avenues for export of aviation equipment to foreign countries but also help in generating revenue for the country.

The Super Mushshak aircraft is already in service with Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran, Qatar and South Africa.

The deal further strengthens Pakistan Aeronautical Complex's status as a world-class aviation industry, producing the supersonic JF-17 Thunder and Super Mushshak trainer aircraft.

Azerbaijan shows Interest to buy JF-17 Thunder Multi role Fighter jet from Pakistan

As per aviation journalist and close Pakistan Air Force (PAF) watcher Alan Warnes, the Azerbaijani Air and Air Defence Force (or Azeri Air Force) has rekindled its interest in the JF-17 Thunder. It is also interested in the prospect of using the MFI-395 Super Mushshak as a basic trainer.

The JF-17 notwithstanding, Azerbaijan and Pakistan have been working to enhance bilateral defence ties.

In October, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made a three-day official visit to Baku, where he issued a statement with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev to engage in co-production and training initiatives.

The two sides signed a bilateral defence cooperation agreement at the beginning of November.

Azerbaijan’s First Deputy Prime Minister Yaqub Eyyubov attended the International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS), where he reiterated his government’s interest in building relations with Pakistan.

Notes & Comments:

Pakistan has marketed the JF-17 as a suitable fast jet replacement for legacy platforms. In Azerbaijan, the focus would be on offering the JF-17 as a potent successor to the MiG-21 and Su-25.

In terms of the Su-25, Aselsan’s recent confirmation that it is supplying its ASELPOD advanced targeting pod for the JF-17 should resonate favourably in terms of promoting the Thunder’s strike capabilities. In this respect, Azerbaijan has the option of procuring precision-guided air-to-surface munitions from China or Turkey. Stand-off range munitions (e.g. anti-ship missiles) are also available from China. Alternatively, Azerbaijan could also utilize its ties with South Africa to procure munitions from Denel Dynamics.

The JF-17 is a full multi-role platform capable of air-to-air missions using beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles and all-aspect within-visual-range air-to-air missiles. Coupled with the platform’s compatibility with a tactical data-link and modern electronic warfare and electronic countermeasures suite, the JF-17 can be presented as a complete and potent solution.

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) sought the Thunder to disseminate subsystems and capabilities found in costlier platforms to its mainstay fleet. Managing cost and guaranteeing accessible sources for complex technology are critical aspects to the JF-17, which the PAF is likely marketing in tandem with the actual fighter. For countries locked in long-term cross-border tensions or unable to readily access top-end technology from traditional industry leaders, this message could resonate strongly.

Furthermore, the availability of active electronically-scanned array (AESA) radar options from the Nanjing Research Institute of Electronics Technology (NRIET) and Leonardo have made the JF-17 Block-III into a more tangible factor in terms of discussion, especially with prospective customers.

In fact, during IDEAS, the PAF leadership made it a point to convey their commitment to the JF-17 Thunder, noting that it is the fleet’s primary asset and that its continued improvement would be prioritized ahead of other needs. The question of another fighter platform was, at least during IDEAS, an ancillary issue, albeit one being explored through Russia, China and “one or two” other countries.