With ever growing cross checks to balances across the region. The Pakistan air force none to be reckoned with but it still is far behind with ailing aircraft which are in bulk about to retire in less than 15 years in wholes mass.
The viable question is which aircraft manufactured will get replaced by? The purchase of 8 F-16s is totally irrelevant since 120 of these will be required when the fleet gets obsolete.
Pakistan needs to think in stealth technology to PAK-50chinese super stealth co-developed options if not think outofbox to further think beyond jf-17s currently. Jf-17 will be a best option in terms of short term aims but not for longer durable ever changing technology. Its my opinion or block IV jf-17s are another options to invest in.
PAF wants to upgrade fighter jets for ‘prolonged fight against militants’
PARIS: Pakistan wants to upgrade its ageing fleet of fighter jets in anticipation of a prolonged battle against militants, although the purchase of fifth-generation planes would only be a last resort, a senior air force official said.
Pakistan, fighting a Taliban insurgency in the tribal areas, a separatist insurgency in Balochistan along its Iranian border, also has a heavily militarised and disputed border with India in the east.
Read: Pakistan's tool of war: Why the Mi-35 Hind-E is an excellent choice
In 2014, the military launched a crackdown in North and South Waziristan and has managed to push back militants into a few pockets.
But the air force, which will need to retire dozens of jets over the coming years, lacks the latest technology and relies heavily on a fleet of about 70 US-made Lockheed Martin F-16s, which are solely capable of carrying out precision targeting.
"Our concern is that we don't know how long these anti-terrorist operations will continue," Pakistan Air Force second-in-command Muhammad Ashfaque Arain told Reuters in an interview late on Wednesday.
"We have weakened them (militants) to a great extent, but I don't see an end in the very near future, so all the burden is being shared by the F-16s and its pilots."
Sceptics suspect Pakistan's military is seeking an improved arsenal to counter the growing military might of India.
Read: Pakistan 'surprised' over Indian reaction to US F-16 sale
Pakistan's fleet also includes hundreds of Dassault Aviation French-made Mirage jets that are over 40 years old and F7 Chinese warplanes that are over 25 years old, both of which the air force plans to retire over the next few years.
To fill the void, Islamabad has decided to bet on the JF-17 fighter, jointly developed by China and Pakistan, rather than spending billions on fifth-generation multi-role aircraft like Dassault's Rafale, which rival India is buying, or the Russian Su-35.
That option, Arain said, had almost been ruled out for being too expensive and because Pakistan did not want to mix technologies and resources. It would only be reconsidered if "it was pushed against a wall".
Instead, 16 JF-17s will be produced this year with a further 20 in 2017, but Arain acknowledged that the jets' usefulness in current operations was limited because it lacks precision targeting.
Damocles Pod
"Operationally, the aircraft are working pretty well so if we had a targeting pod on the JF-17, the burden would be shared," Arain said.
He said his visit to Paris was in part aimed at assessing from French officials the prospects of supplying the Thales-made Damocles, a third-generation targeting pod. He said that was Islamabad's priority for now.
Read: US govt asks manufacturers to deliver nine helicopters to Pakistan
Previous negotiations in 2010 for a deal worth 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion) worth of electronics and missiles collapsed under pressure from India, uncertainty over Pakistan's finances and fears of the transfer of technology given Chinese involvement in the JF-17.
"We're looking at the best option. The Damocles is a battle-proven system and the other options are not," Arain said. "If we do not get the Damocles pod for example, then we will need to look for alternate options that may not be proven."
He said that in the long run, the air force was thinking about its needs beyond 2030 when F-16s and JF-17s would start to be replaced.
The United States in February approved the sale to Pakistan of up to eight F-16 fighter jets for the short term, but Arain said even that was proving complicated.
"It's a much cheaper fighter jet, but buying more F-16s is economically not feasible for us and then there is a lot of human outcry," he said.
Arain countered any suggestion that Pakistan might want greater air power to target India by saying that New Delhi itself was expanding its fleet.
"We get eight aircraft and there are people who start to say that it will tilt the balance of power in South Asia. But when somebody across the border buys 36 aircraft and has plans to buy 126, that doesn't change the balance of power," he said, referring to India.
Source http://www.dawn.com/news/1250549/pa...er-jets-for-prolonged-fight-against-militants
The viable question is which aircraft manufactured will get replaced by? The purchase of 8 F-16s is totally irrelevant since 120 of these will be required when the fleet gets obsolete.
Pakistan needs to think in stealth technology to PAK-50chinese super stealth co-developed options if not think outofbox to further think beyond jf-17s currently. Jf-17 will be a best option in terms of short term aims but not for longer durable ever changing technology. Its my opinion or block IV jf-17s are another options to invest in.
PAF wants to upgrade fighter jets for ‘prolonged fight against militants’
PARIS: Pakistan wants to upgrade its ageing fleet of fighter jets in anticipation of a prolonged battle against militants, although the purchase of fifth-generation planes would only be a last resort, a senior air force official said.
Pakistan, fighting a Taliban insurgency in the tribal areas, a separatist insurgency in Balochistan along its Iranian border, also has a heavily militarised and disputed border with India in the east.
Read: Pakistan's tool of war: Why the Mi-35 Hind-E is an excellent choice
In 2014, the military launched a crackdown in North and South Waziristan and has managed to push back militants into a few pockets.
But the air force, which will need to retire dozens of jets over the coming years, lacks the latest technology and relies heavily on a fleet of about 70 US-made Lockheed Martin F-16s, which are solely capable of carrying out precision targeting.
"Our concern is that we don't know how long these anti-terrorist operations will continue," Pakistan Air Force second-in-command Muhammad Ashfaque Arain told Reuters in an interview late on Wednesday.
"We have weakened them (militants) to a great extent, but I don't see an end in the very near future, so all the burden is being shared by the F-16s and its pilots."
Sceptics suspect Pakistan's military is seeking an improved arsenal to counter the growing military might of India.
Read: Pakistan 'surprised' over Indian reaction to US F-16 sale
Pakistan's fleet also includes hundreds of Dassault Aviation French-made Mirage jets that are over 40 years old and F7 Chinese warplanes that are over 25 years old, both of which the air force plans to retire over the next few years.
To fill the void, Islamabad has decided to bet on the JF-17 fighter, jointly developed by China and Pakistan, rather than spending billions on fifth-generation multi-role aircraft like Dassault's Rafale, which rival India is buying, or the Russian Su-35.
That option, Arain said, had almost been ruled out for being too expensive and because Pakistan did not want to mix technologies and resources. It would only be reconsidered if "it was pushed against a wall".
Instead, 16 JF-17s will be produced this year with a further 20 in 2017, but Arain acknowledged that the jets' usefulness in current operations was limited because it lacks precision targeting.
Damocles Pod
"Operationally, the aircraft are working pretty well so if we had a targeting pod on the JF-17, the burden would be shared," Arain said.
He said his visit to Paris was in part aimed at assessing from French officials the prospects of supplying the Thales-made Damocles, a third-generation targeting pod. He said that was Islamabad's priority for now.
Read: US govt asks manufacturers to deliver nine helicopters to Pakistan
Previous negotiations in 2010 for a deal worth 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion) worth of electronics and missiles collapsed under pressure from India, uncertainty over Pakistan's finances and fears of the transfer of technology given Chinese involvement in the JF-17.
"We're looking at the best option. The Damocles is a battle-proven system and the other options are not," Arain said. "If we do not get the Damocles pod for example, then we will need to look for alternate options that may not be proven."
He said that in the long run, the air force was thinking about its needs beyond 2030 when F-16s and JF-17s would start to be replaced.
The United States in February approved the sale to Pakistan of up to eight F-16 fighter jets for the short term, but Arain said even that was proving complicated.
"It's a much cheaper fighter jet, but buying more F-16s is economically not feasible for us and then there is a lot of human outcry," he said.
Arain countered any suggestion that Pakistan might want greater air power to target India by saying that New Delhi itself was expanding its fleet.
"We get eight aircraft and there are people who start to say that it will tilt the balance of power in South Asia. But when somebody across the border buys 36 aircraft and has plans to buy 126, that doesn't change the balance of power," he said, referring to India.
Source http://www.dawn.com/news/1250549/pa...er-jets-for-prolonged-fight-against-militants
