Pakistan's Air Force Faces Modernization Dilemma as Aging Fighters Near Retirement

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is bracing for a major overhaul in the coming years. With nearly 200 of its fighter jets slated for retirement by 2030, the country's air force finds itself at a crossroads between maintaining its capabilities and the urgent need for modernization.

A Ticking Clock​

The PAF's aging fleet of French-designed Mirage-III/5 fighters, a mainstay of the force, are reaching the end of their lifespan. With the manufacturer having long ceased production of spare parts, the continued operation of these jets becomes increasingly difficult.

Plans to acquire used Mirages for parts haven't materialized, further hindering their long-term use. Similarly, Pakistan's Chinese-built F-7PG fighters are also destined for retirement despite having years of service life left.

Looking to China for Solutions​

To replace its retiring fleet, Pakistan is seeking Chinese-built fighters. The PAF has already received J-10CE jets, but there's hope to eventually add the FC-31, a fifth-generation stealth fighter, to the arsenal. However, this path presents its own set of challenges.

The FC-31, while advanced, isn't considered a true fifth-generation aircraft in the same league as the American F-22 or F-35. It lacks the sophisticated stealth and electronics found in those fighters.

Additionally, plans for local production of the FC-31, which might help improve the aircraft's capabilities, are uncertain and the FC-31 itself remains under development.

The Cost of Modernization​

Cost is another major obstacle for the PAF. Advanced fighters like the JF-17 Block-III, an upgraded version of Pakistan's workhorse fighter, come with a substantial price tag. This financial burden has slowed down further orders of this variant. It's expected that the FC-31 would be even more expensive.

The Challenge Ahead​

The Pakistan Air Force needs to strike a delicate balance between cost and capability as it updates its fleet. While China is a vital partner, its current offerings have limitations, and the country may not have the resources to purchase top-of-the-line fighters in large numbers.

How the PAF manages this challenge will shape its ability to effectively defend Pakistan's airspace in the years to come.

 

[sanket]

We Failed to take advantage Being Top 10 Economies in world Scrapping MRFA or Fast Tracking it India should have started Rafale production in India under Make in India .

 

[Bharat007]

India should have ordered more than 36 Rafales through G2G deal. Time is critical and very important.

 

[Santosh Kumar pal]

The author should not worry about PAF old fighter.Pakistan will get fighter jets from China at free of cost.🤣🤣
IAF has older generation fighter jets like Jaguar, Mirage and Mig 29.
Even a new Tejas fighter jet has crashed in recent time due to engine failure.
IAF suspended vintage era Mig 21 fighter jet flying practice due to deadly crash incident.
So, lndia should worry more their old generation fighter jets compare to Pakistan's old generation fighter jets.
And lt's High time for us to replace older generation fighter jets with new generation fighter jets in IAF and lndian Navy.👍👍

 

[GMR]

They r following their father nation's footsteps..

 

[Anant]

The Bhikaristan Air Force has 87 Mirage IIIs, 92 Mirage 5s, and 53 MiG-21 copies. Besides this, they have some 57 or so F-16A/B jets. All of these are nearing retirement. That makes up for 289 jets. They have some 220 'modern' fighters either in service or in the pipeline (JF-17s and J-10s). Replacing these 289 jets would be very hard for them to do, especially considering they have plans to upgrade the JF-17 Block 1 and 2 jets to Block 3 standard.

Bhikaristan will either have to go for a downsizing in their air force or continue to use these older jets, or buy them on increasingly-outrageous credit from their Chinese masters. One of those, or they fix their economy, but this is a laughable suggestion as far as these beggars are concerned.

When it comes to operating older aircraft, this isn't out of the realm of possibility. They could beg the Americans to transfer items to extend the lives of their older F-16s, and they can buy Mirage 5s from the market, considering the other remaining operator of the type, Egypt, intends to retire their 81 remaining aircraft starting 2027 or so. There are also a lot of nations operating the Chinese MiG-21 copies, not to mention that China themselves have a lot of these jets in storage, which could easily be donated to the beggars in Bhikaristan.

 

[Bhupesh Desai]

how different this is than what is occurring for IAF for MIG series planes. Everyone will get things done as just India is doing it. Also Chian will give fighters for Pakistan for free just grab rest of its country and make it China.

 

[ABHIJIT APSINGIKAR]

Actually PAF is much better placed than IAF to mitigate the impact of retiring platforms such as Mirage IIIx. They already have over 100 JF-17 and while some may claim they are rudimentary and basic, the thing is they have them in numbers. That itself compensates for their basic capabilities. Any wayu the Block III is fairly competent fighter and older aircraft of Block I and Block II configuration are slated to be upgraded to Block III standard eventually. As such while retiring fighters will invariably impact operational capability, it wont be as severe as IAF, which does not even have full compliment of baseline LCA MK1 fighters. With deliveries of MK1A, now officially delayed, IAF is looking down the barrel and has backs against the wall when mitigating the shortfall.

I wont even bother discussing about Tejas MK2, AMCA MK1 and MK2 as they are nothing more than a figment of HAL/ADA/ DRDO imagination with the program limited to just engineering drawings.

 

[Pink Panther]

We Failed to take advantage Being Top 10 Economies in world Scrapping MRFA or Fast Tracking it India should have started Rafale production in India under Make in India .

Pakistan will soon fly Fc-31 and J-20, when we dream and talk about expensive foreign 4th gen jet, if we save $35bln by cancelling MRFA, we could build more infrastructure and employ more people to make more local fighter jets.

 

[Pink Panther]

India should have ordered more than 36 Rafales through G2G deal. Time is critical and very important.

they didn't want to, that's the reason they didn't buy more, they must have found some fault in Rafale F3 and wanted France to fix it in Rafale F5 or F7 before buying another 1-2 squadrons.

 

[Akshat]

they didn't want to, that's the reason they didn't buy more, they must have found some fault in Rafale F3 and wanted France to fix it in Rafale F5 or F7 before buying another 1-2 squadrons.

That’s why they chose Rafale even for the Navy? 😂😂

 

[Akshat]

Pakistan will soon fly Fc-31 and J-20, when we dream and talk about expensive foreign 4th gen jet, if we save $35bln by cancelling MRFA, we could build more infrastructure and employ more people to make more local fighter jets.

And HAL will still use only 20-25% of it

 

[Pink Panther]

And HAL will still use only 20-25% of it

why only 20-25%?

 

[Pink Panther]

That’s why they chose Rafale even for the Navy? 😂😂

and wait for 10-15 years before they get them, by that time 4th gen jet will become obsolete.

 

[Akshat]

and wait for 10-15 years before they get them, by that time 4th gen jet will become obsolete.

3 years from the time orders are placed. That’s officially given in writing by Dassault.

 

[Akshat]

why only 20-25%?

Oh I am being generous. Their recent usage numbers are even lower.

 

[ASHOK CARROL]

Sensible action for Pakistan is to reduce its strength by 50% and cease hostilities with India . The money saved can be used for education , health , poverty alleviation and development. The kashmir slogan be ended and Parts handed over to India .

 

[Pink Panther]

Oh I am being generous. Their recent usage numbers are even lower.

Because they don't make all the individual components, they have to wait for many components some from foreign companies, some from local public and private companies which is what is causing delays and under usage of facilities, unless supply chain is fixed this problem will persist, on top of these delays, more delays are caused by IAF who keeps on asking for more changes and the time it takes to make those changes and agin testing them, this is neverending saga unless MOD or somebody higher up gets involved and fixes this bottleneck.

 

[Anant]

Actually PAF is much better placed than IAF to mitigate the impact of retiring platforms such as Mirage IIIx. They already have over 100 JF-17 and while some may claim they are rudimentary and basic, the thing is they have them in numbers. That itself compensates for their basic capabilities. Any wayu the Block III is fairly competent fighter and older aircraft of Block I and Block II configuration are slated to be upgraded to Block III standard eventually. As such while retiring fighters will invariably impact operational capability, it wont be as severe as IAF, which does not even have full compliment of baseline LCA MK1 fighters. With deliveries of MK1A, now officially delayed, IAF is looking down the barrel and has backs against the wall when mitigating the shortfall.

I wont even bother discussing about Tejas MK2, AMCA MK1 and MK2 as they are nothing more than a figment of HAL/ADA/ DRDO imagination with the program limited to just engineering drawings.

The problem is that once you combine the Mirage III, Mirage 5, F-7, and older F-16s, they have almost 290 aircraft coming up for retirement by 2035 or so. They can replace a portion of this, but they do not have the economic ability to replace them all. Then again, they will probably just buy more aircraft from their Chinese masters on increasingly ridiculous credit terms.

 

[Anant]

Sensible action for Pakistan is to reduce its strength by 50% and cease hostilities with India . The money saved can be used for education , health , poverty alleviation and development. The kashmir slogan be ended and Parts handed over to India .

Sensible and logical, yes. Then again, when have they ever been logical? No, for as long as their army is the driving force, they will continue to overspend on the military to the detriment of civilians.