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Not much has changed for IAF a year after it was outgunned by Pakistan

India has made some progress in moving to acquire fighters, tech and equipment but it is yet to get its hands on any.

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New Delhi: A year after Pakistan outgunned and outnumbered the Indian Air Force on 27 February through “Ops Swift Retort”, not much has changed on the ground.

Pakistan was armed with better fighter planes, Beyond Visual Range air-to-air missiles like AMRAAMs and backed by state-of-the-art SAAB airborne warning and control systems (AWACS), and left the Indian Air Force wanting in many places.

From limitations of the Su 30 MKI radar to pick up enemy fighters properly to the technical issue faced by the Mirage 2000 aircraft over firing their Mica air-to-air missile, the list of the shortcomings that the IAF experienced is long.

If Pakistan were to repeat the “Swift Retort” today, the situation doesn’t look great even a year later.

There is, however, a silver lining — the Rafale fighter jets, to be equipped with better weapons package, especially the Meteor air-to-air missile that tilts the scales in India’s favour against both Pakistan and China, will start arriving May onwards.


Also read: Inside story of attack on Balakot — from IAF officer who planned and executed it


Neither Pakistan nor China at present has a missile to counter the Meteor, which has a range of nearly 150 km — it’s much higher than the American AMRAAM that had outgunned the Sukhois with a range of over 70 km.

This means that a Rafale would be able to take out an enemy aircraft 150 km away in air without even having to cross the Indian air space.

But it will take at least a year for the first four Rafales to be completely operationalised with their weapons system.

Also, the much-needed Software Defined Radios (SDR) have finally been ordered from Israel which will help secure communication without fear of jamming.

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was shot down after he failed to hear command to retreat given by the ground-based command centre because of jamming carried out by the Pakistan Air Force.

India is also in the process of clearing the acquisition of two more PHALCON AWACS, which will help the IAF have round-the-clock eye in the sky.

The lack of more AWACS was felt during the 27 February aerial dual when Pakistan, which operates about 10 such systems, took advantage of the changeover of the IAF’s eye in the sky.

The only actual change that has taken place on the ground is that the MiG 29 has been replaced with the Su 30 MKI as the additional fighter at the Srinagar base that houses the 51 Squadron of the MiG 21 Bisons.

However, plans to permanently base the Su 30 MKI cannot be implemented immediately because the hangars in Srinagar can’t accommodate the giant Russian fighters, defence sources told ThePrint.

This means that the Sukhois will have to fly in from other bases in case of yet another skirmish.


Also read: Wing Commander Abhinandan being shot down is the real Rafale scandal


How Pakistan retaliated for Balakot

Around 8:45 am on 27 February, the first signs of a possible attack emerged as Pakistan shut down its civilian airspace and stopped all commercial flights.

About half-an-hour later, multiple Pakistan fighter jets, perfectly timed with the changeover of IAF AWACS, started taking off from different bases.

At that particular moment, only two Su 30 MKI in the south of the Pir Panjal and two upgraded Mirage 2000, north of the mountains, were doing the Combat Air Patrol (CAP).

The Pakistani package of 25 fighters, including the F 16s and the Mirages, made their way towards the LoC but did not cross the mutually agreed 10 km cut-off point for fighters.

A few Pakistani fighters took off in the direction of the international border with Rajasthan in a bid to trick India, just like India had done the previous day.

Leading the Pakistan strike package was the F-16s armed with the AMRAAMs.

The American-built fighters moved towards the south of the Pir Panjal while the Mirages moved towards where the other two Indian fighters were flying.


Also read: Pakistani military plane that crashed was used for surveillance after Balakot strikes


What went wrong

Sources said the Indian fighters were simply outnumbered.

The Sukhois with their R-77 missiles, which have a range that’s shorter than the AMRAAMs, were no match for the F-16s that had better air-to-air weapons.

Sources said one Sukhoi was fired upon by the F-16s and had to take high-speed maneouvres to outgun the AMRAAMs.

The second Sukhoi too took tactical action keeping in mind that they were told by the Barnala-based Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS) that AMRAAMs were being fired.

The second Sukhoi had also failed to properly pick up the enemy fighters through its radars.

On the northern side of the Pir Panjal, the upgraded Mirages on CAP duty were outnumbered completely. They had also faced a technical glitch because of which they could not engage Pakistan Air Force (PAF) with the MICA air-to-air missiles that have a better range than the ones used by PAF in that sector.

Panicked PAF pilots break into Punjabi

Realising that the Indian fighters were outgunned and outnumbered, the Barnala-based IACCS ordered the scrambling of six MiG-21s.

Since the MiGs climbed in the shadow of the Pir Panjal range, Pakistan’s AWAC failed to detect them. The sudden appearance of the MiGs proved to be a blessing for India, as the Pakistani fighters were taken aback.

Panicked Pakistani pilots, who broke into Punjabi rather than sticking to the military codes, fired about 11 H-4 glide-bombs, weighing 1,000 kg each, at Indian military installations, none of which hit the target.

The MiG pilots were then asked to “go hot”, meaning they had to go in for a missile lock on enemy aircraft. But the MiGs soon came within the firing range of the F-16s, and they were asked to “turn cold”, meaning they were to retreat.

However, Wing Commander Varthaman, who had gone too close to the LoC, could not hear the command as Pakistan had jammed radio frequencies.

In his pursuit of locking on to a Pakistani fighter, Varthaman crossed the LoC and was within the firing range of Pakistani fighters.


Also read: ‘Make chai, not war’ – Imran Khan’s message that almost won him the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize


 

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295 COMMENTS

  1. Hahahahaha Indians are crying,after being show the mirror, Indian air force was totally out gunned , su 30 shot down other one ran away , the mirage 2000i on duty called bingo low fuel, they send their useless mig 21, the same aircraft that was shot down by f 86sabre in 1971 war, to fight the modern air force jet, and came to same result of getting killed,it is just sad the level of shamelessness these Indians have , after all there is a reason why Bollywood is in India, these imbecile Indians and their fantasies are protrayed by their films

    • Oo chacha please check stats and then speak. It’s utter reality that F16 was shot down by Mig 21 bison but you guys will not accept it though we have already shared you enough proof of the same weather it’s radar signatures or debris of AAMRAM missle which only be fired from F16. Also you were also talking about 1971 war where you guys lost half of your Navy, one third of your airforce and quarter of army. Also we are proud of our bollywood that is the reason why you guys come here and work with us and when your government bans it you watch it on pirated copies. Last but not the least please care of your karachi first which is flooded even after a week after the rains.

  2. Absolute whitewash of an article, doesn’t show basic facts and mostly ignores the number of radars and EW measures on ground on the Indian side. Doesn’t write the basic fact a F-16 was also shot down, which was also verified from Radio intercepts on the ground. IAF has superior equipment than PAF any day of the week (apart from the Bison), less AWACS than PAF does not mean its worse, the Indian flanker has a top class Israeli and French EW suite. Going hot and cold is normal in BVR BFM. In the IAF the mirage is more of a Air to ground weapons platform than Air to Air. The simple facts that this article ignores, highlights the utter incompetence of the website as well as the journalist. The PAF went back with the tail between their legs and couldn’t land a single bomb on target and lost a F 16 and lost to simply lesser number of aircraft speaks volumes of the IAFs professionalism and mission readiness. What this article is, is a complete narrative from our western neighbours perspective, all the while completely ignoring facts. The Jugnoo Jernails self-serving in our western neighbours so called Army always hide facts, years later they write books which uncover the truth. This article is akin to an Arsenal fan praising Tottenham even though Arsenal won 4-0. Absolutely shambolic, and from an incompetent team.

    • It also says that F16 outgunned Sukhoi. what the hell. The aircrafts which were shot down was Indian mirage and pak f16.

      • Bro it is true zee news and other news channel has made us fool.
        Most of the IAF jets are ageing.
        36 Rafael is very less for IAF we need nearly 250 Rafael to outgun both china and Pakistan.

    • the writer is not a writer. He has not quoted anybody from either papistan or India. he has sat in his arm chair and has written this. He is a molest of Journalism. If the editor of this apology of a news portal has any qualities of journalist is left in him he should sack this guy and take down the article.

    • Please come out of the dream bubble you guys are in. No F16 was shot down. No one in the world, I repeat no one in the world believes India’s narrative of shooting down a PAF F16 to date, because India hasn’t to this day provided any credible evidence to prove it. The Radar Images were refuted internationally as for them to prove anything IAF needed to show the complete video of the radars with the blip vanishing permanently and not just few picked images. because that’s how Dopplers work. On the other hand Foreign Policiy Magazine confirmed no PAF F16 were missing after US DOD did a count and confirmed the same.
      Now let me tell you what really happened and what the world saw and accepts. PAF Shot down IAF Mig21 after his radios were jammed by our EW aircraft (IAF Jets did not have Software Defined Radios and your Air Force accepted this and hence the radio of Abhinandans jet was jammed). Your Su30s were outgunned and running away from incoming AMRAAMS as mentioned in this article and that’s precisely they could not fire a single missile of their own (have u ever asked yourselves why they couldn’t fire any missiles?) One Su30 was shot down in the process.
      Now the third casualty was your IAF shooting down its own Search and Rescue Helicopter that was searching for the SU30 Wreckage.
      This is the reality and how unprofessional IAF is if you leave aside the Indian Bollywood inspired stories and events that never happened and have never been proven or accepted by anyone.

      • OK my friend where the second pilot, hope his treatment is complete as said by your puppet Prime Minister and defense spokesman and initial media reports, at least trust your Prime Minister yaar. So where is the second aircrash happened? My dear your lifetime job is is talk from back .. SAUDI has kicked you out,,China debt trap, now you are heading to Nigeria, Somalia for your country survival With begging bowl. Even PCB is begging to pay fees for crickets.. Your army is Chinese army’s toilet cleaners and luggage carrier , so stop it .. Have some self respect by human

      • Yes, as a Indian, I accept “ true and only true” F16’s count was complete none missing was reading article in USA magazine ..the reason to lose one M21 is not the smartness or bravery “ it was the better missile being used”. Our leader or military might was unable to procure proper equipment for this fight .” Corruption “

  3. We as a nation are divided… We exaggerate things and there are weaknesess in our systen. We can see our jawans weeping on border. They cant fight.

  4. On both sides of the border, we should get our acts straight. Work for the poor and see through the corrupt politicians. There are never any winners in a war as the Europeans have realized. If and when we agree to live in peace , the subcontinent can be a bigger power than any of those superpowers. We have the drive, the brains and the manpower. People at the grassroot just want to live with honor and respect. Live and let live. My best wishes to all.

    • I think people of this region (sub continent) are not that smart like europeans or americans. 2ndly all the big powers dont want this area to be stabled. They want either india vs pakistan or india vs china. In this way all the western objectives can be achieved.

    • Wow
      70%people are not having even 1 big hot meal a day in this area. I think people of this region (sub continent) are not that smart like europeans or americans. 2ndly all the big powers dont want this area to be stabled. They want either india vs pakistan or india vs china. In this way all the western objectives can be achieved.

    • I think people of this region (sub continent) are not that smart like europeans or americans. 2ndly all the big powers dont want this area to be stabled. They want either india vs pakistan or india vs china. In this way all the western objectives can be achieved.

  5. I do not understand the logic of the people who get offended by this article.

    Hypthetical scenario: let’s say, your sister has Corona, and the doctor diagnosed this and gives you the report.

    Option 1: You will call the doctor a chinese agent and accuse him of being insensitive? Walk off the hospital with your sister and tell everyone that the doctor is anti national as he is increasing the Covid19 overall count in India and is making India look bad in front of the world. You really don’t give a damn if your sister dies of Covid as accepting the truth and solving problems is beyond your mental capacity.

    Option 2: You will accept the fact that your sister is I’ll and take action to solve the problem by admiting her in the hospital and get her cured and save her. By doing this you save her life but the overall Covid count is increased by one.

    • Good, but let’s say if your sister is healthy but has a minor fever and the doctor for the sake of earning some good money diagnoses it as corona and starts giving her wrong treatment. Your sister’s health deteriorates due to wrong medicines being given to her and it also burns a hole in your pocket. What will you call that doctor then ?

      Same is happening in case of this article. Yes IAF’s aging Mig-21 fleet is a problem for us, if we had procured Rafale much earlier, Wing Cdr Abhinandan wouldn’t have lost his aircraft. But this article is not only quoting everythingg wrong by showing Pakistani airforce superior in every aspect but is also spreading malice and misinformation in the society to not only belittle the armed forces but trying to paint that present govt’s move of bombing terrorist camps was a wrong decision.

      We shot their F-16 down by our vintage Mig-21. PAF wanted to bomb our army’s naushera brigade headquarters but due to early intercepting and quick response made them miss their target and lose their F-16 plane. Finally Wing Cdr lost his Mig-21 to the Pakistani defence because he had crossed LOC and entered Pakistani airspace where he was shot down by Pakistani air-defence.

      But this article mentions none of that. All that is written is a total utter lie in the face of honest journalism. Won’t people feel offended from such an article that is tellingf false story just to praise Pakistan and show Indian defence forces in bad light.

      And then there are people like you who fake profiles to fight comment wars under the article’s comment section. Mr. Surya, won’t you tell your real name to all of us….?

    • The only Shame here is that everyone seems more interested in who won more than the lives that the PAF and IAF could have lost that day. Be human and think of your fellow human beings, not politics.

  6. You mentioned evrything a bird brain can imagine pl also investigate why Azhar Masood & co is not to be seen after that ..where is the “extra “pilot as mentioned by gooffy gafoora..The mission of uprooting terror factory has been achieved thats all matters..

      • No my friend this article is totally Biased towards an enemy airforce and seems like made by a Traitor, these Traitor will hollow out the country and should be punished really hard worse than the Hell so everyone should see what is a result of traitor and no one will try to even thing to make mistake like this in the future.

        • Not everything goes according to plan. If IAF Failed, it failed, there’s not always a happy ending and they won’t sugarcoat it for your years.

  7. For all the critics in the comment section, If they are pointing out the lapses it’s better for the nation, tagging all those stands with truth as anti-national has become custom in India. IAF clearly trails behind our enemies when comes to equipment and structure. We need more aircraft and better-trained men. Many here are ignorant of the facts, which clearly makes them the real anti-national if something is wrong to have the courage to stand up, make the country grow, shame on these people who lives in fools paradise

  8. It seems that the writers, the journalists and the owners of this online newspaper have a communist mindset who are funded by China and other communist nations to denounce the IAF and our country in general. This article is nothing but biased story-telling to bring shame to the glorious deeds of our military forces.

    • Yes, you have identified them correctly, they just want to show that IAF is like poor guy and PAF is supper power… Fuck this paper and his editor.

    • Do you cry if our team loses to enemy team in cricket as well? If IAF failed, it did. Nobody will be sugar coating reality for you and in a way its pleasing to you. Tough luck.

  9. Even the staunch Anti Pakistani Christine Fair in Milifest proved that India did not shoot down any F 16. Do check the video before commenting.

  10. I thaught i was reading THE Print of pakistan.
    Its alright you hate Bjp , Rss, modi, shah etc etc but you falling to such low levels of journalism having no respect for our Air force.
    God save this country from so much hate.
    Love your country please.

    • Paaji, if you fail in exams, should you be given a participation certificate to keep you cheered up? Reality is, our Air Force isn’t in a great shape. Take pride in being a reasonable person and acknowledge it. If you won’t or any of us won’t criticize our own force, we will have a force with outdated technology and inefficiency in their work.

  11. The Author has gone too much overboard. I’m from IAF. I’m telling you, the author knows nothing what happened during the dog fight. Half knowledge.

    Snehesh Alex Philip, better STOP using the word
    “Outgunned” in your article. You are just a civilian with wikipedia/twitter knowledge barking here.

    Shameful knowledge of yours. Pull-up young man.

    • Respected sir, enjoy them. They are doing jobs for pakis within India. BJP’S position clearly uncovering the faces of anti-national forces. They are all Librandu – Urban-naxals and jehadi gangs working together. They are on mission of their bosses.
      I personally never seen minds like they have. They are training us silently how to tackle Anti-India movement..Let them be what they are.
      We proud on you sir… Jaihind.

    • Who lost?? I knew pakis were permanent loosers in war in economy in science and development in sports in any field you name… yes you are winners in spreading terror ..hahaha

    • Look whose talking. You lose in cricket, hockey, tennis, you lose all wars, your economy is dead. And you have the audacity to call us losers. Shame on you.

  12. How much you get for writing all this shit. In your filthy dream literature, there is no mention of
    a. Why Balakot strike was carried out.
    b. What was the objective of airstrike.
    c. PAF inability to counter IAF jets during Balakot strike.
    d. PAF F-16 shot down by IAF.

    The moment I read this article, it speaks lot about your grades in journalism.

  13. The technical/air combat termilogy used in this article indicates the writer has full contact with Pak Air Force; unless an Air Force guy tells this a normal reporter can’t bring out such things. Secondly the narrative is more of fiction then reality. It speaks Pakistan’s language. There may be real time chaos but, IAF never been out numbered or out dated. This type of story is a propaganda, in other terms psychological warfare made by paid by own, hired, sympathisers or anti Govt agents. Please use your prudence and have confidence on your own Force where enemy within is strategically, relentlessly trying to demoralise and diminish own forces.

  14. Even in 1971, India fought with inferior aircrafts when compared to Sabre jets and Mirage of PAF. Our planes the good old Gnat and MIGs. Still we won the War.

  15. IAF lacks nothing in terms of superiorities of men and materials they have. It proved its might when they bombed Balakot and came back unscathed achieving its Objectives. That is matters. What happened next is immaterial.
    Now, the Prestitutes taking up the matter just to repay their gratitude for being Bribed to write this shit.

    • What your formation of mirage and su30s hit was our trees and a crow and we dont like others destroying our trees so we selected 6 of your brigade headquarters in which were your generals and high command…go check out on youtube, the real missile footage that proves that missile locked the target and was moved by pilot as per orders few hundred metres away. Your IAF never knew what hit them.
      SURPRISE!!!

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