While India and Pakistan lack many of the cutting-edge amenities that have come to define the world’s best air forces, they each have thousands of advanced aircraft and skilled pilots.
Twenty six tourists, mostly Indian citizens, were massacred in a terror attack in Kashmir on Tuesday, April 22. Although the terrorists were nominally from a Kashmiri separatist group, India quickly blamed Pakistan, alleging that Islamabad had provided the group with financial and logistical support. The two nations—whose competing claims to the disputed Kashmir region have long been a flashpoint for conflict—appear to be once again on the brink of war.
During the last period of fighting between India and Pakistan in 2019, the two sides avoided a full-scale war, but their air forces had a series of skirmishes. If this scenario is repeated, it is worth studying the two air forces in detail ahead of time, and examining their air power relative to one another.
Assessing India’s Air Force
On the basis of numbers, India has a stronger air force than Pakistan. The Indian Air Force (IAF), with about 2,300 aircraft and 135,000 active duty personnel, is the world’s fourth largest air force, and has commonly ranked within the top five globally in terms of effectiveness. And while the IAF doesn’t have the capabilities or equipment to keep pace with the world-leading U.S. Air Force, it is still stocked with an impressive spread of modern fighters.
The IAF still does not have a fifth-generation fighter. Fortunately for the Indians, however, neither do the Pakistanis. What the IAF does have are multiple reliable fourth-generation fighters, mostly imports and license-builds from Russia and France: the Su-30MKI, Dassault Rafale, MiG-29, Mirage 2000, and MiG-21. The IAF also operates its own indigenous fighter, the HAL Tejas.
Despite a healthy fleet of fighter aircraft, the IAF does have some glaring deficiencies. Notably, none of the IAF aircraft offer stealth capability, making it exceedingly difficult to engage in offensive operations within hostile airspace, presumably in the skies above Pakistan. Indeed, during the 2019 clashes, an Indian MiG-21 was shot down over Pakistan following a dogfight with Pakistani planes.
Notably, the IAF is without a strategic bomber option. This limits its ability to assert itself in any sort of offensive air campaign. In short, the IAF has long been calibrated towards defense rather than offense—making it difficult to launch an incursion into Pakistan, as Indian leaders have called for.
Assessing Pakistan’s Air Force
Pakistan has the seventh-largest military aircraft fleet in the world. And while fleet size does not necessarily equate to effectiveness, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is generally considered to have one of the world’s top ten air fleets. With 1,434 military aircraft and about 70,000 active duty troops, the PAF is smaller than its Indian counterpart—but is certainly large enough to mount a compelling defense of Pakistan’s territory.
The crown of the PAF fleet is 75 F-16 Fighting Falcons, imported from America. The F-16 is a venerable fourth-generation fighter with multi-role capabilities. While the aircraft is not equipped with stealth technology, it has proven itself in air superiority, ground attack, and SEAD roles.
Courtesy of China, the PAF makes use of the Chengdu J-10 Vigorous Dragon and JF-17 Thunder fourth-generation fighters. Beyond the F-16s and Chengdus, the PAF’s available fighter and attack aircraft is less impressive, with imports from France and China dominating the roster. Both the third-generation Dassault Mirage 5 and Mirage III, which first flew in 1967 and 1958 respectively, are still in the PAF rotation.
Like India, the PAF lacks both stealth aircraft and strategic bombers, making offensive incursions into India difficult—especially given India’s possession of sophisticated air defenses like the S-400 anti-aircraft system.
No One Will Win an India-Pakistan Air War
While India and Pakistan lack many of the cutting-edge amenities that have come to define the world’s most advanced air forces, they each have large air forces with vast manpower behind them—meaning they can each afford to throw large amounts of human capital at their problems. This is typically a losing proposition for those involved.
And further complicating the calculus of an open air war between India and Pakistan is the fact that both nations have aircraft that can deploy nuclear weapons—meaning that neither side can ever achieve a decisive “victory” over the other, lest they face nuclear annihilation.
About the Author: Harrison Kass
Harrison Kass is a defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the U.S. Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
Image: Shutterstock / WeChitra.
