Pakistan Air Force | News & Discussions

[rafale]

Same way F-16 turned PAF from a South Asian version of the RAF into a modern air force, watch how J-35 turns us into a top 10 tier air force. I mean it, we will be in the top 10 in terms of training, experiance, integration and finally equipment.

You will be looking at a force that can defend against 5th Gen attack and will have regional strike capabilities. PAF will go from a local air force to a regional one, capabilities the IAF will simply not have.

Both these two events, F-16 in early 80s and J-35 soon will put us in seperate leagues to our neighbours

One problem I see with PAF getting the J-35 is that it will provide the Chinese same leverage as the Americans had over F-16s.

Cripple this crucial technology/system by sanctions or not providing support, and you take out the spear from Pakistan.

For example, what if Pakistan decides to use J-35 to bomb India at will? Using its LO features, Pakistan can unilaterally take strike missions. Take out S-400 preemptively and thereby starting a war. Would China want that?

India pulled off operation sindoor out of its ass. There was and is no evidence of Pakistan's involvement in the terrorist attack. That damaged their credibility and improved Pakistan's credibility. If that case was to be again, China by all means will fully support Pakistan.

But if Pakistan starts using Latest Chinese tech and causing regional imbalance, then China may not be too pleased.

Regardless of how obsolete or weak Israeli enemies are, Israel still runs each and every campaign in undertakes in the region through US. Without US blessing, they are nothing.

Which is why i believe Pakistan is taking its time to finalize the J-35/KJ500/HQ19 package......and also keeping other options open, like Turkish AD and KAAN. In that case, Turkey wouldn't give two shits about India.

This is a big problem.

 

[Ali_Baba]

One problem I see with PAF getting the J-35 is that it will provide the Chinese same leverage as the Americans had over F-16s.

Cripple this crucial technology/system by sanctions or not providing support, and you take out the spear from Pakistan.

For example, what if Pakistan decides to use J-35 to bomb India at will? Using its LO features, Pakistan can unilaterally take strike missions. Take out S-400 preemptively and thereby starting a war. Would China want that?

India pulled off operation sindoor out of its ass. There was and is no evidence of Pakistan's involvement in the terrorist attack. That damaged their credibility and improved Pakistan's credibility. If that case was to be again, China by all means will fully support Pakistan.

But if Pakistan starts using Latest Chinese tech and causing regional imbalance, then China may not be too pleased.

Regardless of how obsolete or weak Israeli enemies are, Israel still runs each and every campaign in undertakes in the region through US. Without US blessing, they are nothing.

Which is why i believe Pakistan is taking its time to finalize the J-35/KJ500/HQ19 package......and also keeping other options open, like Turkish AD and KAAN. In that case, Turkey wouldn't give two shits about India.

This is a big problem.

Every platform will have the limitation that the selling country can impose conditions and restrictions. Even Türkiye! That is a reality that Pakistan has lived with and will have to live with new procurements until it can fix its education and manufacturing, R&D capabilities to be able to build its own platforms at own.

 

[Corax]

One problem I see with PAF getting the J-35 is that it will provide the Chinese same leverage as the Americans had over F-16s.

Cripple this crucial technology/system by sanctions or not providing support, and you take out the spear from Pakistan.

For example, what if Pakistan decides to use J-35 to bomb India at will? Using its LO features, Pakistan can unilaterally take strike missions. Take out S-400 preemptively and thereby starting a war. Would China want that?

India pulled off operation sindoor out of its ass. There was and is no evidence of Pakistan's involvement in the terrorist attack. That damaged their credibility and improved Pakistan's credibility. If that case was to be again, China by all means will fully support Pakistan.

But if Pakistan starts using Latest Chinese tech and causing regional imbalance, then China may not be too pleased.

Regardless of how obsolete or weak Israeli enemies are, Israel still runs each and every campaign in undertakes in the region through US. Without US blessing, they are nothing.

Which is why i believe Pakistan is taking its time to finalize the J-35/KJ500/HQ19 package......and also keeping other options open, like Turkish AD and KAAN. In that case, Turkey wouldn't give two shits about India.

This is a big problem.

Why would the Chinese object to the PAF bombing india? If anything, they'd probably welcome it.

Aside from that, unless we can develop everything we want ourselves, we'll always have to make compromises to access technology and capabilities that we need, it's that simple. Back in the 80s, we paid a heavy price to access the Viper, and even then we didn't even get BVR. When it came to Block 52s, we again had to compromise with US oversight, and if my memory serves me correctly, we didn't even get something like DRFM capability.

We get better access to high tech capabilities with the Chinese, but there's still compromises to be made, although arguably less so than the US, and at least no sanctions like those the US imposed.

So it's either make compromises to gain access to the tech and capabilities we need, or make the stuff ourselves, and I ain't holding out on the latter option anytime soon.

 

[Yasser76]

One problem I see with PAF getting the J-35 is that it will provide the Chinese same leverage as the Americans had over F-16s.

Cripple this crucial technology/system by sanctions or not providing support, and you take out the spear from Pakistan.

For example, what if Pakistan decides to use J-35 to bomb India at will? Using its LO features, Pakistan can unilaterally take strike missions. Take out S-400 preemptively and thereby starting a war. Would China want that?

India pulled off operation sindoor out of its ass. There was and is no evidence of Pakistan's involvement in the terrorist attack. That damaged their credibility and improved Pakistan's credibility. If that case was to be again, China by all means will fully support Pakistan.

But if Pakistan starts using Latest Chinese tech and causing regional imbalance, then China may not be too pleased.

Regardless of how obsolete or weak Israeli enemies are, Israel still runs each and every campaign in undertakes in the region through US. Without US blessing, they are nothing.

Which is why i believe Pakistan is taking its time to finalize the J-35/KJ500/HQ19 package......and also keeping other options open, like Turkish AD and KAAN. In that case, Turkey wouldn't give two shits about India.

This is a big problem.

Of course, there is always that, but that is a political angle, I am looking at this simply in terms of how a system with transform PAF

 

[rafale]

Of course, there is always that, but that is a political angle, I am looking at this simply in terms of how a system with transform PAF

Bhai, the day J-35s arrive, it is game over for India.

no wonder they are rushing here and there to get stuff inducted. J-35s will change the game unless until India gets a true stealth, which might be not any time before PAF grinds them to pieces.

 

[Michael]

One problem I see with PAF getting the J-35 is that it will provide the Chinese same leverage as the Americans had over F-16s.

Cripple this crucial technology/system by sanctions or not providing support, and you take out the spear from Pakistan.

For example, what if Pakistan decides to use J-35 to bomb India at will? Using its LO features, Pakistan can unilaterally take strike missions. Take out S-400 preemptively and thereby starting a war. Would China want that?

India pulled off operation sindoor out of its ass. There was and is no evidence of Pakistan's involvement in the terrorist attack. That damaged their credibility and improved Pakistan's credibility. If that case was to be again, China by all means will fully support Pakistan.

But if Pakistan starts using Latest Chinese tech and causing regional imbalance, then China may not be too pleased.

Regardless of how obsolete or weak Israeli enemies are, Israel still runs each and every campaign in undertakes in the region through US. Without US blessing, they are nothing.

Which is why i believe Pakistan is taking its time to finalize the J-35/KJ500/HQ19 package......and also keeping other options open, like Turkish AD and KAAN. In that case, Turkey wouldn't give two shits about India.

This is a big problem.

This is not China's model for operating international politics and diplomacy.
You shouldn't make such meaningless hypothetical guesses.

China's arms trade does impose restrictions on user countries. However, its main objectives are:
1. You cannot use the weapons I sell to you to attack me!
2. Restrictions on technological secrets. You cannot disclose technological secrets to third parties without permission.

As for international relations, that pertains to overall diplomatic communication, not to restrictions on any single piece of weaponry.

 

[Yasser76]

Bhai, the day J-35s arrive, it is game over for India.

no wonder they are rushing here and there to get stuff inducted. J-35s will change the game unless until India gets a true stealth, which might be not any time before PAF grinds them to pieces.

They are in a real fix and if you ask me geopoltically and technology wise things are very akin to the late 50s vis a vis the two superpowers.

US and USSR were opposite camps, tech wise almost on part but gradually economically and technically US surpassed USSR till break up of USSR. India backed the wrong horse then.

Now it is China and US. Both are almost on par with each other technically and China behind economically. China is rising and in 1-2 decades will surpass US econmically and technically by a long shot. India has again backed the wrong horse.

All of the above will naturally manifest itself in weapons.With this 4th Industrial revolution and AI driven world, none of us know what war will loo like 20-30 years from now, but for sure China will be at the forefront. This has massive long term implications for India. Do you note they never even talk for two front war anymore? They never now mention China in adverserial terms from a military point if view.

J-35 will come, and if China can, it will make it better then F-35. Then think about future upgrades and 6th gen. "Air superiority" is an outdated term now, we will have "Domain superiority". Air, Cyber, Electronic and data. Much powered by the best AI in the world from China.

May 7th 2025 was a glimpse of the future. Rafales losing radar signal, hacking IAF secure voice comms, Sats pointing out IAF planes everywhere for us, AEW guiding all assets, S-400s taken out before they knew what hit them. Yes, old fashion air to air kills will happen but they will be enabled by everything else. This is why PAF has wisely not just gone in for J-35 but also new AEW and SAM package.

Once we have all of the above, and with new secure data links, new EW aircraft and ground radar and EW assets as well as the new sats we have launched, all interconnect with many Chinese operated assets, I genuinely think PAF will be unstoppable to the exent it may only be the USAF and China itself whom we could then consider better. When all of this happens, Indians, if they are lucky, may well be pouring cement for construction of a factory to make 4th gen Rafales in Naik....