Cookie Monster
Trusted Member
IMO...in the past and in present times...Pakistan does well defensively against India...I think we need to somehow add J16 based Growler variant (I know wishful thinking) or convert JF17B as dedicated EW escorts along with HavSOJs
...any Indian misadventure into Pakistan will be costly.
However Pakistan's offensive capabilities remain limited...
...yes Pakistan can strike India at stand off ranges..or even deeper if needed(air intrusion or ballistic missiles)...that's an offensive capability for battles...I wouldn't consider it an offensive capability in a war.
...and that's not to bash on the military or anything. It's natural...Pakistan is much smaller in terms of population, resources, economy...and has some geographical disadvantages like lack of strategic depth...
...so a defensive approach...with A2AD and an offensive/defensive type of doctrine is practically the only option to keep deterrence(speaking conventionally in absence of nukes with MAD type of scenario).
In order for Pakistan to gain a clear upper hand...for carrying out sustained offense in a war(not just battles) while keeping in mind the inherent size differences...would be through a powerful(even if still smaller) economy and a powerful air force.
...imagine how the current 2025 skirmish could've gone if Pakistan had a strong economy...not teetering on default...not begging IMF...with a decent amount of reserves and not a lot of loans...well established industries that can switch to war footing...
...and naturally that translating to an even stronger military overall...but let's just consider air force(the second aspect of what I mentioned above other than economy)..
...PAF(with current capabilities) just having a more numerous amount of jets(let's just say more J10s, more JF17 block 3s, and a couple of squadrons of J16 growlers).
With a strong economy and more number of jets. PAF would be able to carry out sustained attacks(even if it took losses in a drawn out war). IAF would be hopelessly outmatched(as it was)...and PAF would eventually decimate it to the point of non existence(or at least make it very much non effective in its support for IA).
..this would free up PA to fully go on the offensive with full air support while IA would be without much air support. This would be key...to then seize some key strategic points... geographically push just enough...to gain geographic advantage(higher peaks, key routes, defensible geographic features, even the possibility of settling Kashmir by force)...all the while being careful not to push it to the brink of MAD...
...these rather shallow thrusts and a complete domination of airspace...
...plus the world pressure due to nuclear war threat would bring India/Pak towards another ceasefire.
...this is where certain portions of land can be returned as a bargaining chip to sign long term agreements.
Note the similarities here with what Israel has done in the past to fight and essentially secure/pacify its much larger neighbors. It never enjoyed numerical superiority(army or airforce) but mostly managed to have complete air dominance...which was of immense use to secure victory...and of course all this backed by a lot of money.
@Oscar @Yasser76
Last edited:







