Thanks for the logical points.
Regarding support systems, I think it is a mix of yes and not having them as far as BAF is concerned. So in a word, no they do not have all the necessary support systems.
If we look some years back, 4 Myanmar aircraft crossed into Bangladeshi airspace. We can track them via our AESA ground-based radars, but we cannot intercept them despite having a mix MiG-29s and F-7s based in Cox's Bazar. And what is scary is that the Burmese knew this.
At least 2 shells fired from Myanmar military aircraft land on Bangladesh soil
www.tbsnews.net
What is more pressing is that there is a lack of any unified doctrine in our military. Without a sound doctrine, one would question the viability of such procurements anytime soon.
Bangladesh is situated in a highly unstable region which is not set to improve anytime soon. It is imperative that Bangladesh formulates a military doctrine to mitigate the threats.
Based on the realities of Bangladesh, I would recommend that BAF adopt a sharpshooter air combat system configuration. That is, instead of pursuing air superiority over a wide area, it will seek absolute leadership in small-scale air combat. If all of them are purchased from China, its configuration is as follows:
1, 4-8x J-35.
2, 8-20x J-10CE.
3, 2-4x KJ-500AE. (China has an export version of the AWACS similar to the KJ-500A, but no export code has been announced, so it is temporarily replaced by the KJ-500AE.)
4, DTS-03 Tactical data chain and supporting command system.
5、Corresponding weapons and ammunition and related training services.
6, F-6/7 and other old aircraft UAV conversion kit.
7, Leasing Chinese civil satellite services. (China now has a very advanced civil satellite system)
In the Chinese Air Force establishment, a fighter squadron usually consists of eight fighters of the same type. Generally, we take 4 fighters of the same type as the minimum establishment.BAF can consider the number of 4/8/12/16/20+2 as the purchase base. Of these, the additional 2 are reserve/training fighters.
With this architecture, a single sortie air tactical formation is:
1x KJ-500AE + 2x J-35 + 4x J-10CE
For an offensive mission, this could be accompanied by an assault/suicide/decoy cluster of several F6/7-UAVs.
This kind of air tactical formation is perfectly suited to ensure absolute air superiority in South and Southeast Asia.
With this configuration, the total price tag must be over 2 billion dollars. However, we generally believe that China should provide installment payment services if BAF is determined to procure on this model. Bangladesh could also pay for it in other ways. For example: terminal operating rights, mineral resource extraction rights, cargo substitution, etc.
