The facts are these:

IAF claimed 1 loss and 1 PAF jet shot down – basically 2 pilots downed
PAF claimed 0 losses and 2 IAF jets shot down – basically 2 pilots downed

A few hours later

IAF claimed 1 loss and 1 PAF jet shot down – basically 2 pilots downed
PAF claimed 0 losses and 1 IAF jet shot down- basically 1 pilot downed

Basically, the Pakistani DG ISPR said that 2 pilots were downed, 1 admitted to a military hospital and the other in custody. And then poof! The pilot admitted to hospital is no longer referred to. He just vanished into thin air.

What most likely happened is that the pilot that ejected out of the PAF jet was injured badly and admitted to hospital. Upon realising that revealing this particular pilot’s identity would reveal that he was Pakistani and not Indian, the IAF’s claim of having shot down a PAF jet will be proven.

And so lo and behold, the Pakistani DG ISPR’s statement conveniently changed to 1 jet shot down and 1 pilot in custody.

BlackArcher, the DG ISPR also said in the same breath that no F-16s were used in today’s operation, something which you have ignored here. And if they were actually used, this sort of drowns another old BRF theory about kill switches in F-16, right? It was very easy for the PAF to have claimed the heli kill, but while the DG mentioned the incident, they did not accept responsibility. As per eye witness reports (Indian media) the heli broke down into two pieces, which sort of indicates a missile strike. Can we assume that it was a PAF kill but because of the personnel deaths involved they did not because they want to avoid escalation? Or perhaps it was a friendly fire incident?

On a side note, Vishnu Som posted some images as evidence of F-16 kill. Now imagine someone like WSK posting that image claiming MKI kill. May I ask what your reaction to that would have been?

Yes, there seems to be another aircraft gone down on the Indian side of Kashmir. Whether this had anything to do with the downing of the aircraft remains to be see. Finally, I have seen a rather graphic video of a downed plane, not sure where it originates from.

They do not care about logistical nightmare because they can afford to pay for the extortionate maintenance services to keep these machines airworthy. In any case they are not buying these fighters to protect the little kingdom (who will be flying them…qatari pilots?). It is a sort of protection money to save them from the rest of GCC. Remember President Trump’s comments at the start of GCC Qatar saga? And now the US is selling F-15s to that nation. MIC influence in action backed by geopolitics.

Pakistan to buy more Erieyes?
The article says three SAAB 2000 Erieyes, & connects it to a contract with an unnamed customer announced last week by Saab for SEK1.35 billion, or USD156 mn. That doesn’t seem much for three Erieyes, even on second-hand Saab 2000s.

It does not. BUT it is probably only the cost of the radars and aircrafts will come separately and integrated in Pakistan??? As they already have everything in place, this deal won’t cost as much as he first one. UAE paid 1.27 billion dollars for the first two GlobalEye systems in 2015 and signed a separate contract for the third system in 2017 worth around 238 million dollars.

don’t ask me. you were the one fighting tooth and nail against su-35 acquisition. perhaps you really still think they didn’t purchase it at all.

Over the last decade or so, the number of times this ‘SU-35 deal signed’ was reported in media (especially sputnik news) puts it pretty close to my all time favourite ‘MMRCA deal close to being finalised’.

saudi arabia will buy jf-17. china doesn’t care for sunni vs shiite war. they can get the jf-17 with russian engine. but i think really, they are buying it for egypt.

Mere speculation. First saudi air chief visiting Pakistan and media starts speculating.

JF-17 started as a light weight basic fighter for Pakistan and now it is ready to take on New Gripen with aesa, two seaters, and refuelling probe.

It is not taking on anything, but simply following a gradual evolution plan, PAF had intended for it from its onset. The pace is a little slower but that is because of their financial/technological constraints. Expect structural/engine medications in the coming years.

Great pics…thanks BA.