All eyes this time are up in the sky because the Air Force of India and Pakistan are right now locked in a very tense battle, psychological warfare is going on who has superiority in the air. If you go on numbers and facts India has far superior airforce than Pakistan airforce or we can say that Indian air force is better than Pakistan but let me just put out a few comparative facts about two main air crafts( fighting jets of air force ) mirage 2000 vs F-16.
The Pakistani side’s main aircraft is F16 Falcon is a fighter jet which us gives to Pakistan. India has famous mirage jet which was used in surgical strike done by Indian airforce at Pakistan. If you just look at these aircraft statistically, both are quite good but we know that these are also machines so it depends upon who is sitting inside the aircraft, an aircraft is only good as it’s pilot. Mirage 2000 was built by Dassault aviation same company which manufactures the Rafale. Lockheed Martin manufactures the F-16 falcon the main asset of Pakistan airforce
The range of Mirage 2000 is 1550 km and that of F-16 Falcon is 4220 km, here F-16 has an upper hand if we talk about range. But remember in subcontinental war these long ranges don’t matter. Its matter when you are going to fight with far away country.
Features of Mirage 2000:
- Fast-paced bomber aircraft can also be used for air to air, air to land, air to water mission.
- Single Engine aircraft.
- Manufactured 1978 by Dassault Aviation.
- Origin country is France
- Range: 1550Km.
- Crew: 1
- Length : 47 ft.
- Wingspan: 29ft
- Height: 17 ft.
- Weight: 7500kg
- Max Speed: 2336 km/h.
- Mirage has been used in India for a long time even at the Kargil war it was used a lot. Recently it also been upgraded with French weapon and also the laser-sighted system.
- Fuel economy: 1.05 KM/L
- Cost per hour: 8280 USD
- Cost per hour of F16 falcon is even more than this. It important factor as India has a good economy it is easy for India to fight but as we know Pakistan is not that much good in the economy so it would be harder for them to fight and stand against India
- Unit Cost: 23, 000, 000 USD
Features of F-16 Falcon:
- Most prolific jet
- It is also Single engine aircraft.
- Manufactured in 1973 by Lockheed Martin.
- Origin country is the USA.
- Range: 4220 Km.
- Crew: 1.
- Length: 49ft
- Wingspan: 31ft
- Height: 16ft
- Weight: 7500kg,
- Max Speed: 2414 km/h
- Fuel economy: 0.91 km/h
- Cost per hour: 12000 USD
Apart from these two aircraft, there are many other fighter jets which are being used by IAF and PAF. Indian Air Force ranks 7th in the list of the strongest air force of the world Let’s discuss some other strengths of Indian and Pakistan air force.
Strengths of Indian Air Force(IAF)
- There are about 1.5 lac soldiers in I.A.F
- India has about 1700 air crafts
- About 900 combat aircraft.
- India has also finalized deal with France for 36 Rafale jets which will boost the strength of Indian Air Force.
Some other Air Crafts in Indian Air Force
1. Sukhoi- SU 30MKI
It is the primary strike aircraft in I.A.F. Sukhoi is a two-seater jet purchased by India from Russia.
It can fly with high speed of 2500 km/h and it is capable of carrying air to air mid range missiles.
Currently, India has about 242 Sukhoi SU-30 MKI and unit Cost of Sukhoi is 50 million dollar
2. Mikoyan MiG-29
It is another important aircraft for India as it forms second line of defence after Sukhoi 30MKI.
It is manufactured in 1982 and its unit cost is about 22 million USD. India has currently 69 Mig-29.
3. HAL Tejas
The Tejas is a Indian single engine multi-role aircraft manufactured in 2015 by Aeronautical Development Agency(ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL).
India has 123 Tejas aircraft (comprised of both variants MK1 and MK1A) in Indian Airforce and unit cost of MK1 variant is Rs 162 crores and that of MK1A is Rs 463 crores.
4. Jaguar
It was manufactured in 1968 by France and UK but now it is retired from British airforce and France airforce. But India is still using it as a ground attack force in IAF. India has 139 Jaguar aircraft till date and its unit cost is USD 8 million. These aircraft are scheduled to phase out by 2030.
Mikoyan MiG-27
It is manufactured in 1970 and used as ground attack aircraft. India has currently 85 MiG-27 and it has been upgraded with laser sighting and
Mikoyan MiG-21
It was manufactured in 1959 and the national origin of this aircraft is the Soviet Union. It serves as an interceptor in I.A.F. Most of the MiG-21 has been retired from airforce and only 125 is currently serving which is upgraded to MiG-21 Bison. Phaseout date of these aircraft are postponed many times and now expected to be retired till 2022. The unit cost of MIG-21 is USD 2 million.
Strengths of Pakistan Air Force
- There are 65000 soldiers in Pakistan Air Force
- There are 400 combat aircraft and 300 other support aircraft in P.A.F
Some other Aircraft in Pakistan Air Force
1. F-16 Falcon
It was manufactured in 1983 by U.S.A(Lockheed Martin company) and it is the one of the best aircraft Pakistan has. There are 85 F-16 jets in service for Pakistan Air Force and its unit cost is USD 18.8 million.
2. JF-17 Thunder
It was manufactured in 2007 and the national origin of Thunder aircraft is China and Pakistan. Role of JF-17 Thunder aircraft is multi-role combat aircraft. Pakistan had a total of 101 thunder aircraft but now Pakistan has 99 left in the inventory and the unit cost of this aircraft is USD 32 million.
3. Dassault Mirage 5
It is single engine single seater aircraft and was manufactured in 1967 by France aircraft company Dassault Aviation. The primary role of these aircraft is that these are used for attack. Currently, Pakistan has 82 Mirage 5 aircraft.
4. Chengdu F-7
The chengdu F-17 was manufactured in 1965 by China. The production of these aircraft had been ceased in 2013. It i has been serving Pakistan Air Force as an interceptor and now Paksitan has 60 aircraft left in their inventory.
Based on the above data we can say that India being a 1.5 billion population country the number of soldiers in Indian Air Force is more than the number of soldiers in Pakistan Air Force which is 65000 and also there are more aircraft in Indian Air Force than Pakistan Air Force. The best aircraft Pakistan has is F-16 Falcon. The Pakistan Air Force is comparatively weaker than Indian Air Force if sum up in one line. But we are not defaming any country it is just a comparison based on available data.
