The Nankani article is quite outdated, for one thing it has become aparent that the Navy needs bigger carriers and even the ADS is not a 20000 tonne ship anymore but inching closer to the Gorshkov weight, the IN needs a carrier fleet to neutralize a small to medium PLAN taskforce in the Indian Ocean in the next 10+ years, the IN also needs longer ranged BVR capable multipurpose fighters. Finally the Indian economy is certainly not in the doltrums in fact it is rather the opposite.

A very good Spanish friend of mine was rescued by the PN in Maldives, aparently the boat was only capable to hold 150 but took in 500, if anyone knows the Pakistani sailors who saved so many, please thank them on my behalf and on behalf of my friend.

“IN’s experts may have seen something completely different from what your Navy Chief and certainly your Govt wants to see”

What evidene do you have that the experts saw something completely different as the Govt did, the way it works in India is that the IN sends the report to the Govt in the first place, that report cleared the ship as being fit, certainly I do not doubt both your knowledge and experience but I am aware that none of you have actually been on the ship and can only speulate vs an official report clearing the ship as being fit, certainly I dont see the Gorshkov as being the best of carriers, I am arguing about the true state of the ship, it has been leared, we Indians like the Russians but we do not love them so much as to give them 2B, ertainly the IN report would not have cleared the ship if it was deemed unfit and the IN would have been forced to go for the INvinsible for a stopgap measure and built 2 ADSs simultaneously.

Before one calls the IAF Mig 21 dominated, perhaps they forgot that those MiG-21s are upgraded Bisons with better radar and missiles than what 95% of the PAF fleet, for an airfore that lacks any type of BVR minus speculation and “plans to aquire in the future”, calling another airforce with MiG-29s, Mirages and Sukhois NOW is a bit of a joke.

In any event back to the f-16 the UAE does not have source codes for the block 60 as I posted with a link, they have “access to add things to the threat library”, hence a certain argument should be corrected, the USA would never let Pakistan have source codes access due to its friendship to China, plain and simple. And thunder my comments were not ment to compare India to Pakistan, rather to bring reality, those recent donations made to the PAF do indeed add to the capabilities of the PAF but those were long overdue and certainly I found the addition of Phalanax quite amusing as something to advertize, in ay event I am on your side, I pray for those F-16s in PAF colours.

“60+ UAE latest block F16’s are going to be flown by PAF”

I do not follow, either the PAF is in an air exercise with the UAE whih does not corrolate in getting hands on electronis or you mean Pakistani pilots flying F-16MLUs, what kind of evidence on the numbers of Pakistani pilots if any fly the F-16 block 60 in the UAE?

Star while i would answer your question there are two things that stop me from doing so, one its too funny, two you need parental permission before posting suh hilarious trash, anyway i am off with the Phalanax comments I was tlaking to thunder not to star or PLA.

But JOnesy you are now speulating, who tells you that the Govt of INdia shoved the Gorshkov up the IN’s behind, it was the IN itself who sent EXPERTS who checked up the carrier and then cleared it as being fit unless you believe that the document was but a forged one?

This is what I do not get with you lads, do you guys think that the Indian Govt would spend close to 2B USD for prestige, I can show you news reports and quotes of the current IN chiefs who mention the ship as having passed checks, no NAVY or Govt is that nice to the Russians as to buy a rusty ship.

The AH-1s of the US found themselves grounded in the Yugaslav war for many a reason, haff and flare dispensers and RWR will not do much when you cannot have a guarantee of air superiority in the area and when there are so many MANPADS.

Later added

In my opinion the only major aide giveaway that has really given some teeth to the Pak army has been the Cobra however in the subcontinent I doubt that helis will be of much use vs India or Pakistan in light of the large number of MANPADS there.