actually ELP your idea of using only hi-sortie airframes in a crushing 2-3 day attack by India has been used in a book thats
just come out. Bisons will have only one role — flying short on-demand point defence missions over cities and other targets freeing up the rest of fleet for all the good things suggested. Ofcourse they have grave limitations when faced with PLAAF Flankers on deep strike sorties but until the LCA comes along they are only show in town. india has a lot of very costly targets quite close to the borders like a $6 bil petro-chem complex the largest in asia barely 150km from Pak border.

In 4 yrs when the Phalcons start arriving and the Jag/Mig27
upg completion permits heavier damage to be inflicted the need for this “last line of rear defence” will decline. the chances of “leakers” getting the rear and inflicting disproportionate damage would be quite less if they are picked up the moment they take off.

Among the photos the one with the huge air intake and tiny fuselage is a ramjet plane by Nord aviation france.

http://www.comcar.org/vintage&veteran/french/nord-griffon-1.htm

a few hundred spread all over is a decent sample size. Use the attrition/hr counts to compare. All the F-16 operators with the exception of a few like Pakistan are well-funded and decent AFs having good stds.

but where is the awacs to kill ? I dont see no Ereyie on the horizon 🙂

reading the link embedded in the article NOWHERE does it claim all these seven will be anywhere near china, they will be in the four corners of the globe. I guess the chinese like to think of themselves as constantly under siege from big bad unkil or what ?

read the link, zero mention of china…there’s an exercise in the gulf of guinea near AFRICA.

Kanwa must be smoking some strong dope to misread such a clear article.
This throws mud on all their other claims wrt china.

..in keeping with the greater number of IAF ground attack sorties.
I see that a lot of a/c were lost attacking PAF strongholds like sargodha…if IAF had chosen not to press home multiple attacks their losses would have been less…but damage within india by PAF a/c freed up for strike duties would be more. you choose the best of two alternatives and do what you can.

PAF also got in a couple of good strikes in 65 with serious losses on the
ground.

(and I am not getting into an argument on kills, claims and sources)..but
thats the general trend – unless one has total airsuperiority or very superior A2G a/c then losses will climb with the number of A2G sorties.

which (if true) is very creditable for a simple guns only fighter with no night flying. how many Gnats did the Sabres shoot in return ?

I seem to recall in 1971 day1 about 4 (or was it 2?) sabres were shot down by
Gnats flying from Calcutta in the east, the future PAF ACM being one of them (he was made POW and returned in a few months).

Jagans list gives 1 Gnat shot by a F-86 (srinagar).
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/Misc/Loss1971.html