DefenceTalk.com, No one can deny the pivotal role of Air power in any modern conflict. The United States is the classic example of how air power can be employed achieve air superiority and to cripple an enemy economically and militarily before employing ground forces. This leads to fewer losses for the ground forces and a quicker end to the war.
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Modern doctrine is to employ air power to destroy economic targets, logistic supply lines and to get air supremacy very early by destroying the air defence, air force and economic infrastructure leaving a lesser mop up role for the ground forces. Also the ground forces guide the airforce in tactical situations by laser designating targets in the battle field.
Thus you work yourself inside out as opposed to out side as was the case earlier crippling the country economically and militarily making it difficult for the enemy to wage war.
The modern Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA)
What is a modern 4th generation multirole aircraft you ask. Well it is not just improve ments in aircraft handling, power to weight ratio and performance. That is just the starting point. It incorporates digital fly by wire control system and relaxed stability and is highly maneuverable.
In the modern fighter aircraft the key is avionics such as a powerful multimode radar with multiple target tracking and attacking capability in air to air mode at Beyond Visual Range (BVR) with active radar guided, fire and forget air to air missiles. Look Down shoot down capability. A Helmet Mounted Sight (HMS) which allows for the pilot to lock short range targets by merely looking at them 60+ degrees of bore sight.
The man machine interface has been improved reducing pilot work load for quick decision making such as a glass cockpit, (Hands on Throttle and Stick) HOTAS, holographic (Heads Up Display) HUD, Color Multi Function Displays (MFD).
It can carry out precision strike with laser guided bombs, missiles and other stand off smart munitions. It has terrain following capability and moving digital ground maps, Forward looking Infrared and Laser Designation Pods.
It can carry out variety of missions in all whether such as CAP(Combat Air Patrol), anti shipping, SEAD (Supression of Enemy Air Defences) missions with (anti Radiation Missiles) ARM missiles and air to surface missiles and precision TV and laser guided munitions.
It has stealth characteristics with low radar signature and composite materials to make the airframe light yet strong allowing heavier payloads, and radar absorbing or deflecting structure and materials and air to air refueling capability to improve endurance and range.
Why there is a Strategic Gap
Presently the bulk of the PAF consists of aging and bordering on obsolete 2nd generation day fighters with some third generation or bordering 3rd generation aircraft such as the F-16, F7PG and ROSE (Retrofit of Strike Element) upgraded Mirages. Mirage III, 5 and F7P, PG form the bulk and the backbone of the PAF fleet and PAF is the largest operator of vintage Mirages.
No modern state of the art fighter has been inducted into PAF for the past two decades with the last major acquisition being the 40 F-16A Block 15s in the early 1980s. The subsequent order for 71 F-16s was embargoed and were not delivered and 28 of those that had been manufactured are still rotting in a Davis Monathan base in Arizona, USA because a deal to lease them to New Zealand fell through.
This left a major strategic gap in the 90s which was filled with used upgraded Mirage III and Vs for France, Australia, Spain, Lebanon and now Libya etc. Also F7s and subsequently in F7PGs were ordered from China to fill this gap because no high tech fighters were available due to political or economic reasons. The PAF evaluated Mirage 2000s in the mid 90s which met the PAF requirements of the time but were too expensive. As a result the PAF now has 350+ of these aging aircraft of the Mirage III, V and F7 types forming the bulk or backbone of the force which have been periodically upgraded but are basically 1960s era designs.
The F7 is based on the Mig 21 design and essentially has the same airframe and was designed as a simple day fighter. The MiG 21 was designed to be the Kalashnikhov of fighters, the poor airforce
