Wait where are these reports from about signals??
The signal loss could occur to tech damage etc too right? idk how likely it is that planes got 'hit' but managed to crash land onto the field (aircraft destroyed)
and wrong thread?
Indian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.
- Thread starter bd popeye
- Start date
The signal loss could occur to tech damage etc too right? idk how likely it is that planes got 'hit' but managed to crash land onto the field (aircraft destroyed)
and wrong thread?
While it is accurate to note that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on its own does not have the capacity to project power deep into the Indian Ocean, it is essential to view this within the broader context of Pakistan’s multi-domain maritime security posture. Taken together, Pakistan’s evolving air, naval, and missile capabilities enable credible control and situational awareness in the northern Arabian Sea and near-sea regions.
Pakistan fields land-, sea-, and air-launched variants of the Babur cruise missile, with ranges of up to ~900 km. These provide significant standoff strike capability against both land and maritime targets, contributing to regional deterrence and operational flexibility.
Maritime surveillance capabilities are also undergoing a significant upgrade. Pakistan is inducting the Sea Sultan Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft (based on the Embraer E-190 platform), with at least two currently in the trial phase out of a planned fleet of 12. These will play a central role in anti-submarine warfare (ASW), maritime patrol, and ISR operations. The Sea Sultan fleet will be complemented by 5–8 RAS-72 Sea Eagle aircraft (ATR-72 based), forming a layered surveillance network that can cover both the littoral and blue-water environments.
On the subsurface front, the Pakistan Navy operates three Agosta-90B AIP submarines, all of which have recently received Mid-Life Upgrades (MLUs). These upgrades have significantly enhanced their combat management systems, sonar, sensors, and propulsion extending their operational lifespan and effectiveness. In addition, two of the eight planned Type 039B (Yuan-class) AIP submarines are expected to join the fleet soon, further bolstering Pakistan’s underwater deterrent and patrol capacity.
Pakistan also maintains a growing and modernizing surface fleet. This includes VLS-capable Type 054A/P multi-role frigates, VLS-capable MILGEM-class (Babur-class) stealth corvettes, and VLS-capable Damen-class Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) complement by F22Ps (Zulfiqar-class) for maritime security and EEZ enforcement. Several of these ships are newly inducted or under construction, with more in the pipeline like VLS-capable Jinnah-class multi-role frigates (JCF), reflecting a sustained investment in surface warfare and presence operations.
Unmanned aerial systems are becoming a vital component of Pakistan Navy’s maritime ISR and strike capabilities. The PN currently operates Chinese-origin CH-4 and CH-5 armed drones, which provide medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) surveillance and precision strike options over the maritime domain. Additionally, Pakistan is reportedly interested in acquiring the Tengden TW328-A, a high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) UAV platform capable of extended-range ISR and targeting operations. This would significantly improve Pakistan’s real-time maritime situational awareness and targeting precision.
In terms of manned airpower, Pakistan has forward-deployed F-16 Block 52s at Bholari and J-10CEs at Masroor, two key airbases along the southern coastline. These platforms offer air superiority, maritime strike, and quick reaction capabilities vital for protecting Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) and ensuring aerial dominance over the northern Arabian Sea.
While Pakistan does not aim to dominate the broader Indian Ocean like a blue-water naval power, the combination of upgraded subsurface forces, a modern surface fleet, integrated surveillance platforms, and forward-deployed air assets allows it to maintain a credible and growing capacity to secure its maritime interests and ensure SLOC protection in the northern Arabian Sea.
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Two most important parts - maritime domain awareness.
In contested environments those are flying targets with no useful life expectancy.
Modern MPAs live only under basic condition of full, uncontested aerial superiority. Land power without escort fighters can't even defend them for a short while (well, maybe in future with CCAs). And this is not enough, because MPA work is spread over time.
And this is the first, basic problem. Indian, or carrier navy at large, can establish such superiority at a time of their chosing. Maritime domain is different from land in that (almost) all assets are highly mobile, i.e. the time of their choosing may very well be the only time when there is anything worth watching for. In practical terms, it means that Pakistani MPAs aren't of much use far out into the sea during wartime. It's risky and fruitless.
...and vise versa, Indian ability to establish temporary bubles of aerial dominance produce two effects.
First, Indian MPAs and ASW MALEs can in fact operate and sweep the ocean. For the same reason Pakistani ones can not - India has ample supply of both escort fighters and carrier air. They may not be the best air fighters - it doesn't matter at this point, because main enemy over sea in these missions isn't opfor, it's the fuel gauge and the sea itself.
Indian navy has absolute freedom of both ambiguity and reconnaissance over sea. First can be denied by Chinese assistance (which may or may not come at this level), second one can not.
Conventional subs can have luck when they're shapers of a wider naval engagement. In normal situation, it's placing them on most viable paths around points of interest. In case of carrier warfare, it's when CSGs will just have to run through them, without time to care. Otherwise, their effectiveness against high speed targets in ocean-sized battlefield is nil.
Surface ships are of negligible importance for the contest. I.e. they're either kept away for tasks where they have use (probably coastal escort missions to Karachi), or they're lost. Carrier air is scaringly effective way to swipe away weak surface forces - and those are weak forces without necessary bite. IN can play Gorshkov games through distributed surface salvo warfare, but not PN.
Both are short range fighters without much endurance. There's a big reason why PLA switched towards flankers - i.e. long range multirole/escort fighters, - as soon as contesting Taiwan was more or less closed.
PAF is in the opposite situation - in case of hostilities, it (and especially its most modern potential) is tied to LOC. Maritime flank is both insuitable for them, and there is little merit to even allocate them there when IAF is right there, twice as large as your AF.
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The problem is that Indian carriers carry 12 MiG-29s and no AWACS, EW aircraft, and tankers for support. Any MiG-29s that are launched in a strike mission are going to do so blind, knowing that they're going to be spotted by any PAF AWACS that are on station, but without any ability to detect the enemy and maybe not even knowing when they're already under attack. It's just far too much risk when the Indian Navy could just lob cruise missiles from its destroyers.
They have Ka-31 (as does PLAN).
They're not going to be very good for a strike mission. A weak radar, low ceiling, and poor endurance just doesn't make for very good AWACS. You'd use them in a defensive role but only because you have nothing better.
PAF has tankers.
kwaigonegin
Colonel
Right, india like many countries have a hard time manufacturing jet engines en masse due to the extreme tolerances of ea engine including the all important blades with enough reliability factor that it can be practical.
That's the hard part.
Anyone can make an engine work once or twice but not a 100 times w/o falling apart
