Recently Indian Air Force held an airshow at Dal Lake in Srinagar, displaying its strength in the skies. A few weeks ago Pakistan held its own air show on 7th September on its Air Force Day. Now China is gearing up for its biggest air show this week.
All three countries are the focal point of political spectrum in Asia. While India and Pakistan remain at loggerheads with each other, China despite its significant investment in Pakistan, wants to maintain a steady relationship with India.
Each of these countries pride themselves in their military prowess and as such this political situation has seen some escalations. India’s airstrike in Pakistan, followed by a dogfight that resulted in capture of India’s IAF pilot. While China and India had skirmishes along the LAC and clashes in Galwan valley.
Needless to say all three are wary of the strengths of each other and understand that a full blown war may not be the way to go. Following recent displays of aerial strength, lets take a look at how the airforces of these three Asian power houses compare.
1) India
India ranks fourth among the countries in terms of combat aircraft with 5 per cent of the total share.
- There are about 1.40 lakh soldiers in the IAF.
- There are 900 combat aircraft in the IAF.
- India has ten C-17 Globemaster aircraft, which is capable of carrying a payload of 40-70 tonnes upto 4200-9000 kms. at a time.
India’s Main Combat Aircrafts
Rafale Fighter Jet: This is called the game changer fighter jet. Rafale is considered as the strongest fighter jet in the Indian Subcontinent. India has received first jet from France in October 2019.
SU-30 MKI: This two seater fighter aircraft given by Russia to India. Its feature is that it is capable of carrying medium-range Air-to-Air missiles. Its maximum speed is 2500 km/hr.
MiG-27: This one seater fighter aircraft is equipped with an engine. It is taken from Russia. It can fly at maximum speed of 1700 km / hour. It has 23 millimeter six-barrel cannon and also has the capacity to lift 4000 kilograms weight.
MiG-29: This two-engine and one-seated fighter aircraft is capable of flying at a speed of 2445 km per hour. It specializes in fighting up to a height of 17 km. It has a 30 millimeter range cannon, along with medium range radar driven missile system.
Jaguar: This aircraft belongs to combination of Indo-France technology. This two Engine Fighter Aircraft is capable of hitting the inside territory of the enemy. It can fly at the speed of 1350 km/ hr. It has 2 guns of 30 MM and capable of carrying additional weight (bombs and fuels) upto 4750 kgs.
HAL Tejas: The HAL Tejas is an Indian 4th generation single-engine multirole light fighter . It is designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in collaboration with Aircraft Research and Design Centre (ARDC) of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). It has a maximum speed of 2,220 km/h (1,380 mph, 1,200 kn), combat range of 500 km (310 mi, 270 nmi) with internal tanks.
2) Pakistan
Pakistan is ranked at number eight in terms of combat aircrafts in the world.
- There are 78,000 soldiers in the Pakistan Air Force.
- It has 400 combats and 300 other support aircraft.
- It also has MiG-19 and MiG-21-S aircraft and F-16 Fighter Falcon Aircraft.
Pakistan’s Main Combat Aircrafts
Mirage 5: The Dassault Mirage 5 is a supersonic attack aircraft designed in France. This one person jet has a maximum speed of 2,350 km/h (1,460 mph, 1,270 kn) at 12,000 m (39,370 ft). It can carry 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) of payload on five external hardpoints, including a variety of bombs, reconnaissance pods or Drop tanks.
Mirage III: The Dassault Mirage III is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft. It reaches a maximum speed of 2,350 km/h (1,460 mph, 1,270 kn) at 12,000 m (39,000 ft).
Chengdu J-7: The Chengdu J-7 third generation export version F-7; NATO. The maximum speed is 2,200 km/h (1,400 mph, 1,200 kn) IAS. It can carry 50 kg to 500 kg unguided bombs.
JF-17: The PAC JF-17 Thunder is a lightweight, single-engine, fourth-generation multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) of China. It attains a maximum speed of 1,910 km/h (1,190 mph, 1,030 kn). It can carry 250 kg of unguided bombs.
F-16 Falcon: This is the one aircraft that gives Pakistan the edge over its rivals. is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). It is a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. It has a maximum speed of Mach 2.05 1,145 kn (1,318 mph; 2,121 km/h) at 40,000 feet, clean. It can carry a slew of a rockets, bombs, anti ship missiles.
3) China
China has the world’s third largest air force boasting a military strength rivalled only by US and Russia.
- There are approximately 3,30,000 soldiers in Chinese air force “PLAAF”.
- There are 1900 Combat Aircraft in the China Air Force.
- China has S-300 ground-to-air attack missile system.
Chinese Combat Aircrafts
Chengdu J-20: Also known as Mighty Dragon, s a single-seat, twinjet, all-weather, stealth designed as an air superiority fighter with precision strike capability. It has a maximum speed of Mach 2.5. It also supports a maximum weapon capacity of 11,000 kg (24,000 lb).
Shenyang J-16: It is a tandem-seat, twinjet, multirole strike fighter. The jet attains a maximum speed of Mach 2. It carries a 1 × 30 mm cannon and Munitions on twelve external hardpoints, rockets and guided bombs.
Sukhoi Su-30: It is a twin-engine, two-seat supermaneuverable fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Russia’s Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It is a multirole fighter for all-weather, air-to-air and air-to-surface deep interdiction missions. It attains a maximum speed of 2,120 km/h (1,320 mph, 1,140 kn) at high altitude. It has a 12 hardpoints with a capacity of up to 8,000 kg (18,000 lb),with provisions to carry combinations of Rockets, Missiles, Bombs.
Xi’an JH-7: It is a is a tandem two-seat, twin-engine fighter-bomber. The maximum speed is 1,808 km/h (1,123 mph, 976 kn). It can carry 57mm/90mm unguided rocket pods and guided and unguided bombs.
Xian H-6: It is a licence-built[1] version of the Soviet Tupolev Tu-16 twin-engine jet bomber. The maximum speed it attains is 1,050 km/h (650 mph, 570 kn). The warcraft can carry 12,000 kg (26,400 lb) of free-fall weapons.
Apart from this China has a plethora of other advanced aircraft including the J-16D electronic warfare aircraft, WZ-7 high-altitude drone and WZ-8 high-altitude, high-speed drone.
It can be said that China can be seen as having a edge over India and Pakistan when it comes to air warfare and fighter planes. In the upcoming air show China will displaying its most advanced air fighter jets, India and Pakistan will be watching keenly.
(Inputs Wikipedia, Wion, Jagranjosh)