Wrong again, Aloutte and Lama now out of service and all the helicopter types bar the MI-17s are in the ARMY not the Air Force. The Fennec has replaced the Bell 206 as well. So you need to deduct three types. Additionally the K-8 is replacing the T-37, so deduct another type.

Since you persist:

1. The Alouette has not been retired – Switzerland Gives Its Alouette III Helicopters to Pakistan (Sept 2010).

2. The T-37 is still very much in service. Its the MiG-17 based FT-5 that has been replaced*.

3. The Lama has only been pulled out of high altitude roles. Its still in service in ‘liaison squadrons’. Same for the Bell 206**.

4. Also it seems the Harbin Y-12 and UH-1 are both still operational** (the latter for training), so counting that the Pak aviation tally increases to 25 types.

*Another important development recently is the induction of additional K-8Ps and Excess Defence Article (EDA) T-37s released by the USA in 2011, which has helped in the revision of basic flying training for student pilots. “The K-8Ps and more T-37 aircraft have been great for our training aspirations. It has allowed us to replace the vintage FT-5 jets with modern K-8Ps at No 1 Fighter Conversion Unit (FCU) for pilots destined to fly F-7Ps, Mirages, F-16s or JF-17s. Based on future requirements, the PAF over the past three years has increased its aircrew induction. – Air Forces Daily (Oct 2013)

**Excerpts from an 2013 Alan Warnes Special Report

# During Phase II of the syllabus they will then go through the Rotary Wing Conversion Course on one of the other seven helicopters flying with the PAA: Mi-17 (35 hours), Puma (35 hours), Bell 412 (35 hours), Jet Ranger (40 hours), AB 205 Huey (40 hours), Lama (40 hours) or Ecureil (40 hours). Once successfully completed, they will be posted to another liaison squadron or a front-line unit. The best go to the twin engined helicopters like the Mi-17, Puma or Bell 412 and will soon be flying in to combat. During my visit I found a Huey, two Ecureils, Mi-17, Lama and a Puma being used for this purpose.

#While the SA315 Lama may is seldom used for mountain rescue nowadays, they still have a role to play in the PAA as a liaison helicopter with several smaller units. This example is also used in the helicopter conversion course at Rahwali.

#Until the Bell 412 was delivered, the Bell 206 was used as a scout helicopter. With no self protection the helicopter was an easy target and vulnerable to the miscreant’s anti-aircraft weapons. Now they are generally used for liaison and currency flying on the Cobra units.

# Although they are unfashionable, the unit’s Chinese built Harbin Y-12s play a big part in the war in the west, as they have the ability to accommodate 6-8 sitting casualties and to drop 12 free fall paratroopers at 24,000 feet even if the aircraft is not pressurized!

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Regardless of whether its piloted by an army or air force crew, the logistical burden of an overly diverse fleet is ultimately borne by the same govt (well.. in this case, also by the US govt through the CSF).

We recently heard rumour that HAL had been asked to double Tejas manufacturing capacity, which many interpreted as an increase in full-rate production from eight to sixteen units per year, likely accompanied by increase in total number to be ordered. However the recent report stated that the existing production capacity for Tejas was merely four units per year. If so, doubling the production rate would only translate to eight units delivered per year.

From what I gather, the production line is rated at 8 units per year. 4 units is what they’ll deliver just this year as they work through the production ramp. They’ve got 8 units scheduled for delivery next year. If the increase in production to 16/yr is sanctioned result would probably be seen only by 2018 or so.

And what about the IAF in all of this?

I am pretty sure they would have taken 126 Rafales over 200 odd LCAs any day

Seeing as 126 Rafales cost three times more than ‘200 odd LCAs’, that should be a fairly obvious fact.

When a pilot in a Eurofighter Typhoon jet glances down, he doesn’t see a steel-grey floor. Instead he sees clouds, and maybe sheep and cows in green fields below.

If he were to spot an enemy down there, or anywhere near the aircraft, he would not need to point the plane towards the target.

He would simply look at it – through the solid hull of the plane – make sure that a tiny symbol displayed on his helmet’s visor was aligned with the object, press a button and fire.

– BBC

But if the helmet were streaming only PIRATE imagery, when the pilot glanced down he would see a steel-gray floor. So..?

OT: In Russia do you use the MM/DD/YY or DD/MM/YY by default? What about other parts of Europe?

strangely, I had the feeling that the USMC were part of US military, meaning, it is the POTUS who orders them where to go to fight… didn’t know they were autonomous to the point of choosing their fights

Who do you think ordered the ‘Pivot to the Pacific’?

No, funding is limited. Cutting the Rafale buy from 126 to 36 should be ample proof of that.

PAF has approx 10 types of aircraft across fighters, helicopters and transports. IAF has around 30. Does that not tell you everything you need to know?

Seriously, you are still pursuing a line of argument simply to defend your country when practically every IAF chief has also stated the situation is unbearable and needs to be drastically changed.

Not be surprised if the recent SU-30 crash comes down to pilot training. The IAF is desperately short of pilots and engineers. It has such a wide variety of aircraft that almost all suffer from chronic spares shortages and facing the prospect of having to keep MIG-21s flying.

Not a pretty situation, even if LCA II, AMRCA and T-50 ever materialise…

To reiterate, the IAF operates the same number of types for special mission roles as the PAF. Your attempt to start a flame war isn’t going change that fact, which evidently came as news to you. As apparently did the news diversity in other nation’s transport fleets.

Can F-22 deploy AIM-9X?

First test occurred this year. To be operational with the F-22 by 2017. No contract for the HMDS as yet though, the air force is still shopping around for solutions.