Its even a bigger fantasy as you have had with SU-30s and then with Rafales.
How many times P-8s have detected a submarine?
Can you calculate how many years a fleet of 1000 P-8 aircrafts will take to scan indian ocean for a submerged submarine. Get some digging and then get back.
Finding a submerged submarine in an ocean is like finding a needle in a haystack with even most modern equipment till date.
Even finding a stealth warship becomes a problem, finding a snorkeling submarine becomes a problem, finding a submarine at 300 meters down is near impossible.
I gave you one REAL life example. Indonesian sub got missing few years back. Indonesian navy knew exactly where the last contact was made. They had a very narrow down region to find. So many countries joined, P-8s of several forces joined the hunt and still it took days to find that submarine. Imagine how difficult would be to find a submarine that is deliberately trying not to be found and has a wider region and no one knows whereabouts of it.
That's why AIP is so important. It can keep submarine at depths of the ocean for weeks. Unlike indian scorpene subs which have to surface after every 2 days. The submarine is most detectable when its snorkeling or at surface. Otherwise at the depths it has not happened once that a submarine could be found by an aircraft.
Oceans have variable depths, complex terrain, even caves / mountains under the water and oceans are HUGE. Submarine can be anywhere and its a big nightmare. So stop fantasizing that just because you got P-8s that's done. So that means China and Russia don't have to even build subs because US has so many P-8s lol. You think war as a two people playing cards? Its not even the right example but why do you think Iran has not surrendered yet despite massive technological differences ? Everyone plays with their own tactics and strengths. No one in Pakistan Navy will ever allow Indian P-8 to detect our submarine. Your ships will detect it in their final moments just like INS Khurki found out the hard way.
