Mirage III / V of Pakistan Air Force

[RajaBaja]

Hi, well said. The Mirages are beautiful aircraft but their time has passed. They have served the PAF very well from the late 60s all the way to the 2019 Swift Retort strike.

I spoke to PAF personnel at RIAT 2025 and asked them about upgrading the Mirages with RD93 engines, like South Africa had experimented with in the 90s. They said the Mirage is an analogue aircraft and the "juice is simply not worth the squeeze". The time for their retirement has come.

No need to even think about upgrading Mirages further. These are almost 30 years older than our F-7PG's and those are almost 25+ years old now, the PG versions.

Our JF-17 block III offer capability that Mirages can't even think about matching. Tech runs the war. These are sitting targets for S-400 so we need to move with the tech. Next in line are the older F-16's. Post 2032, those will start to go also. The tech won't be relevant in keeping the original one's.

 

[RandomThoughts7]

No need to even think about upgrading Mirages further. These are almost 30 years older than our F-7PG's and those are almost 25+ years old now, the PG versions.

Our JF-17 block III offer capability that Mirages can't even think about matching. Tech runs the war. These are sitting targets for S-400 so we need to move with the tech. Next in line are the older F-16's. Post 2032, those will start to go also. The tech won't be relevant in keeping the original one's.

Hi, great point! I asked at RIAT about which plane can take over the Mirage strike role and I was told the JF-17 already does that and is much more capable. I was also told that the JF-17s launched a whole bunch of ordinance on the neighbor to the east during the May conflict.

My personal belief is that a lot more went on during that short conflict and that is why a ceasefire was agreed to by India after Pakistan responded in force.

 

[frontline360news]

No need to even think about upgrading Mirages further. These are almost 30 years older than our F-7PG's and those are almost 25+ years old now, the PG versions.

Our JF-17 block III offer capability that Mirages can't even think about matching. Tech runs the war. These are sitting targets for S-400 so we need to move with the tech. Next in line are the older F-16's. Post 2032, those will start to go also. The tech won't be relevant in keeping the original one's.

Absolutely spot on. The F-7 and Mirage III/V fleets are likely to be fully retired before 2030, given their age, maintenance burden, and diminishing battlefield relevance. However, older F-16s may continue to serve beyond that window depending on structural life extension programs and avionics upgrades. Their reliability and versatility remain assets, particularly in air defense roles.

With the JF-17 Thunder evolving into a robust multirole platform especially Block III, it is well positioned to absorb the tactical roles once handled by Mirages, including interception and ground strike missions. Its growing compatibility with modern weapon systems further solidifies its centrality in the PAF's force structure.

Once the PFX (Pakistan’s Fifth Generation Fighter concept) reaches squadron level maturity, You can expect few units optimized for precision ground attack, with advanced sensors, enhanced stealth characteristics, and network centric warfare capabilities. This complements PAF’s doctrinal shift toward integrated battlefield support and high threat zone survivability.

Future integration of UCAVs alongside JF-17 and PFX squadrons could further offload risk from manned aircraft and redefine the air-to-ground offensive doctrine. It’s not just a replacement, it’s a paradigm shift.

If you're mapping this onto Pakistan's broader modernization arc, we can project a leaner, more agile air force, pivoting from legacy platforms to a smart mix of 4.5 and fifth-generation assets.

 

[ghazi52]

 

[ghazi52]

 

[Scorpio]

A PAF Mirage equipped with the H-4 SOW bomb (a precision-guided glide bomb) that are manufactured by NESCOM. The H-4 has a range of 120km and were famously used to successfully target Indian military HQ in 2019 during Operation Swift Retort.

 

[Scorpio]

Forever Green...

 

[Scorpio]

 

[Yasser76]

A PAF Mirage equipped with the H-4 SOW bomb (a precision-guided glide bomb) that are manufactured by NESCOM. The H-4 has a range of 120km and were famously used to successfully target Indian military HQ in 2019 during Operation Swift Retort.
View attachment 139301View attachment 139302

This is why we still have Mirage, F-16 has nothing like this.

 

[Metal 0-1]

No need to even think about upgrading Mirages further. These are almost 30 years older than our F-7PG's and those are almost 25+ years old now, the PG versions.

Our JF-17 block III offer capability that Mirages can't even think about matching. Tech runs the war. These are sitting targets for S-400 so we need to move with the tech. Next in line are the older F-16's. Post 2032, those will start to go also. The tech won't be relevant in keeping the original one's.

But can Jeff carry a big honking RAAD II or 10x Hijara Cluster Bombs?

Mirage is still our primary bomb truck. Unless more J-10Cs are inducted and take over that role.

 

[RajaBaja]

But can Jeff carry a big honking RAAD II or 10x Hijara Cluster Bombs?

Mirage is still our primary bomb truck. Unless more J-10Cs are inducted and take over that role.

In a war: we fly 20 or 40 of these "bomb trucks" and they are taken down by S-400 like 100-150 kilometers away from the border inside our own airspace. What's the use? Both risk to the aircraft to pilot's lives and global embarrassment?

JF-17 will need to use specific multi-ejector racks to carry more smaller bombs. It has to be on the cards as it's our own platform. Ideally, I agree, J-10C's are a proper replacement for Mirages.

 

[Metal 0-1]

S-400 like 100-150 kilometers away from the border inside our own airspace.

Earth is still a sphere, and this does cause some problems related to radar horizon. The further you want to detect something, the higher it has to be. This is because otherwise it is hidden behing, well, the Earth.
In order to detect a target at its maximum range (600km), the 91N6E would need to be looking at something flying at around 20.000 meters. This is really high. Like, MiG-31-high. For a more reasonnable cruise altitude of 10.000m, the pratical range falls to approximately 370km.

Tactical fighters can fly much lower than that. At 1000m, the radar range has fallen to 150 kilometers. And for cruise missiles flying even lower, well, you guessed it, the range is lower as well.

If Mirage can be shot down at around 150KM from border, so difference JF-17 or J-10C going to make? There are PAF installments in that threshold. We should not even take off then?

 

[RajaBaja]

Earth is still a sphere, and this does cause some problems related to radar horizon. The further you want to detect something, the higher it has to be. This is because otherwise it is hidden behing, well, the Earth.
In order to detect a target at its maximum range (600km), the 91N6E would need to be looking at something flying at around 20.000 meters. This is really high. Like, MiG-31-high. For a more reasonnable cruise altitude of 10.000m, the pratical range falls to approximately 370km.

Tactical fighters can fly much lower than that. At 1000m, the radar range has fallen to 150 kilometers. And for cruise missiles flying even lower, well, you guessed it, the range is lower as well.

If Mirage can be shot down at around 150KM from border, so difference JF-17 or J-10C going to make? There are PAF installments in that threshold. We should not even take off then?

A picture is worth a thousand words! It's foolish to think the enemy doesn't know that "earth is a sphere"! They have significant EW/AEW capability, Phalcon, Netra, P-8i, etc and soon to deploy "Drishti" OTH radars covering near 3000 KM. All cover earth's curvature. We had better air tactics in one battle doesn't mean every battle will be like this.

 

[Metal 0-1]

A picture is worth a thousand words! It's foolish to think the enemy doesn't know that "earth is a sphere"!

View attachment 139974

Oh enemy knows earth is a sphere but, do you?

What OTH does India have in service?

They have significant EW/AEW capability, Phalcon, Netra, P-8i, etc

Do they? Apart from P-8i

 

[RajaBaja]

Oh enemy knows earth is a sphere but, do you?

What OTH does India have in service?


Do they? Apart from P-8i

You are getting personal. When someone gets personal, it tells you, they don't have competent knowledge on the subject. Secondly, you don't know what your enemy has? Why give opinions?.....