Former Indian Air Force pilot tells how Su-30MKI fighters thwarted an attack on Pakistani F-16s

Pakistan marked the second anniversary of its Air Force's operation during the Indo-Pakistani conflict on February 27, 2019 last Saturday. Pakistani attack aviation was a response to the Indian Air Force's attacks on a training camp in Balakot on February 26, 2019, which, according to the Indian side, trained Kashmiri militants.

Operation "Quick Reply"

Pakistani aircraft attacked warehouses and a military base in Narian from the air. On February 27, 2019, a battle took place between Indian and Pakistani aircraft. An Indian Air Force MiG-21 was shot down in aerial combat, with the Indian military claiming to have shot down a Pakistani F-16.

Interestingly, the Pakistani military command immediately denied the very fact of the participation of F-16 aircraft in Operation Quick Response, especially the fact that one was shot down. Obviously, this was done out of a reluctance to worsen relations with the United States, which are closely following the use of the F-16.

Former Indian Air Force pilot Samir Joshi, who flew the Mirage 2000 for many years and fought in Kargil in 1999, provided his own analysis of Operation Quick Response. Since Joshi has long been a recognized expert in the analysis of military air operations, his opinion can be listened to.

After analyzing the images from the scene of the air battle on February 27, 2019, Joshi came to the conclusion that the Indian aviation did indeed succeed in shooting down the Pakistani F-16 plane. Samir Joshi tweeted that on February 27, 2019, 2 Su-30MKI fighters of the Indian Air Force met in the air with 8 F-16 fighters of the Pakistan Air Force, heading towards Jammu and Kashmir.

As you know, India is the world's largest operator of Russian-made Su-30MKI aircraft. Prior to the Indian acquisition of the Rafale Su-30MKI aircraft, they were the most modern fighters of Indian aviation.

Successful counterattack by Indian Su

The group of 4 Pakistani F-16s has fired a total of three Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) at Su-30MKI fighters, Samir Joshi said. At the same time, Pakistani planes were never able to hit the target. The Indian military subsequently presented the AMRAAM wreckage to the press in order to prove that Pakistan was using F-16 aircraft. After all, other Pakistani aircraft are not equipped with such missiles.

Su-30MKI fighters of the Indian Air Force counterattacked Pakistani planes, while one of Sukhoi's planes managed to evade Pakistani AMRAAM. As a result of the actions of Indian pilots, at least 10 of the 12 missiles fired by Pakistani planes fell far from their intended targets.

Despite the numerical superiority, not everything went according to the plan of the Pakistani Air Force. On that day, fighter pilots on both sides tested their strength in the sky,

- Samir Joshi emphasized.

According to him, the Su-30MKI fighters eventually thwarted the Pakistani Air Force attack.

In another post, Joshi emphasized that the Pakistani Air Force jets were well protected from the Indian military's anti-aircraft missiles, but the Su-30MKI counterattack did take them by surprise.

One cannot but cite one more important expert opinion. Retired Pakistani Air Force officer and aviation historian Kaiser Tufail claimed that Pakistani aircraft used old French Mirage-V and Sino-Pakistani JF-17s during Operation Quick Response.

Two vintage - but still quite capable - Mirage 5PAs, each armed with one H-4, as well as two JF-17s, each armed with two Mk-83 Range Extension Kit (REK), headed towards their respective targets in the south -western region - Indian Kashmir,

- wrote Tufail.

Thus, the Su-30MKI aircraft demonstrated a high level of efficiency and reliability in real combat. It is likely that the Indian military-political leadership made the appropriate conclusions from the analysis of hostilities in 2019, which will affect, among other things, the policy regarding the further operation of the Su-30MKI.

Now the Indian side is considering a proposal from Russia to supply an additional batch of Su-30MKI fighters. Such a proposal was announced on February 3, 2021. Prior to that, the media voiced information about New Delhi's plans to purchase 12 Su-30MKI aircraft for a total of $ 1,4 billion and modernize the existing ones.

Comments

[paul3390]

Apparently, in India, there continues to be a bodal between supporters of the idea that the Su-30 is better and more, and those who like to cut the budget with Rafals .. In general, with such a solid fleet of our quite modern aircraft, to acquire an expensive and requiring its own supply system, support and training Rafal is at least a strange decision .. They still won't buy a lot, there won't be enough dough, but hemorrhoids with such variegation will surely be raked up .. But three dozen Frenchmen won't make any difference to them anyway ..

[Cowbra]

What does "ogrebut" mean? It has been quite successful already! They found out that there was nothing to refuel Rafali in the air. Therefore, a jacket must be sewn to the button - the contract for fuel trucks, it seems, airbuses, they already had to sign.
In short, if Krishna has not given mind - go to the Indian Air Force. Minister

[paul3390]

No, the mind has nothing to do with it. I think it's a trivial drink. And do not care about the defense of the homeland. The budget is big, how can you not pinch off a piece of it?

[MSG363]

They were just "famous" for this. Whatever came into their hands, there were always attempts at any fraud. So it's no surprise that the same story with purchases. Corruption there is an elite entertainment for VIPs. At least one corruption criminal case in India you heard?

[hydrox]

Well, yes.
This is not the first Indian minister who first actively negotiates with us almost before the signing of the supply agreement, and then dashingly leaves the agreement with a coup over the tail.
Unpleasant partner ...

[Maz]

Well, here's a practical answer to the Franks, Americans and Indians - whose plane is better. Draw conclusions gentlemen Arabs.

[TermNachTer]

The Indians are no strangers - they always had a "motley" park))) recently, only "jaguars" were written off and the MiG - 27.

[Herman 4223]

Previously, the description of the battle looked more ambitious, it was told about eight su-30, and two dozen fighters from Pakistan.
Or is it another fight not previously described?

[Kurare]

Quote: Herman 4223

Previously, the description of the battle looked more ambitious.

There used to be "dances", but now, perhaps, they have moved on to sober debriefing.

[Petio]

AMRAAM was launched from a range of 90-100 km. Natalie's distance to hit is unrealistic except for non-maneuvering targets. But you can drive away the enemy

[Herman 4223]

From an earlier description of the battle, the Su-30 fired missiles from 80km, and the result is the same. The Indians began to complain that the rockets were not like that.

[Petio]

It is quite logical. RVV-AE on Indian dryers corresponds to earlier AIM-120B and Pakistani used 120 C-7

[Pensive Lawyer]

In my opinion (of course, as a layman), comparing our fighters with the same American ones is not entirely correct.
The Americans are sharpened to maintain a database on foreign territory, while countering air defense.
Hence the emphasis on stealth, detection range and missile range.
Our fighters are defense vehicles, air superiority vehicles.
Therefore, stealth is not a priority - they are created to fight on their own field. As well as the ability to detect the enemy earlier - here air defense data should be shared, which radars are in any case stronger than aviation ones.
And you need speed to catch the interception. And a large combat load - we cannot achieve parity in aircraft, the Americans are beyond competition here, therefore, a fighter must carry a lot of weapons in order to have parity in the number of missiles.
That is, all the aquarium comparisons, where our fighters and the American ones meet in a vacuum, are untenable. We did not have the task of making an aviation that would fight over foreign land without support.
The task of our planes is to give the invading enemy in the teeth. The battle of the Indian Sushkas, who were not afraid to intercept an overwhelming number of the enemy, just showed that they are great when they perform the tasks for which they were created.
If I am mistaken, please do not shower with slippers, I repeat, I am a humanist, I am far from all these matters.

[Herman 4223]

I disagree, there is American propaganda that their planes are for long-range combat, but ours do not know how. In fact, our planes are designed for long-range aerial combat in the same way as American ones.

[Pensive Lawyer]

So I'm not saying that our aircraft were made for close combat.
I mean that the optimal combat distance is achieved not due to stealth, but due to interaction with ground-based radars.
We shine for an American, for example (I don’t know the real numbers, I’m talking only for example) for 100 km, for our plane for 75 km, but due to the ground radar, ours will find out about the enemy and will be able to target him earlier - for 150 km, and get the advantage. In our country, they seem to be trying to integrate everything so that the target designator for the missile could also be a ground-based complex.
Then he shot back, turned and afterburner from return fire, so that the enemy's missiles either did not have time to fly at all, or were shot down by the same ground air defense covering our fighters.
The Americans, on the other hand, will have nowhere to wait for help, and the only hope is on their stealth, so that our missiles go into fired false targets.
Everything, of course, is more complicated, but I somehow present it in a form that is simplified to the point of savagery.
Plus, our stealth drone, which is controlled by AI, which can, in theory, sneak up even closer due to its size, special coating and special shape.

[Herman 4223]

Crowds of planes do not fight among themselves in the air. The armies of the Air Force and Air Defense are fighting. There, air command posts and ground-based radars can see the air from wherever possible, and we, the Americans and anyone else do it in about the same way, there is a difference in capabilities, of course, but the fundamental principles are the same everywhere.
And long-range combat with airplanes is also a question, it will simply turn on the airplane's alien system, it will give it out at an inopportune moment, by a radio signal.
And if the pilots turn off this system, then the risk of shooting down their plane becomes great. To destroy the target, you have to fly up to the distance of visual visibility. What kind of long-range combat is there, in that case.

[Rinat M]

The identification system is unlikely to unmask the plane. And the onboard radar, DISS, etc., the navigation aids are unmasked. In such cases, the aircraft in the air use information from ground-based guidance systems, air defense radars, AWACS, and passive, non-radiating reconnaissance data. In the future, data from the UAV will be used. All fighters are adapted for long-range air combat, but it must be admitted that we are somewhat ahead of us in radar quality. Compensation for this is our over-the-horizon radar. But now this lag is not so great. In addition, we have created decent RVV-DB, which will not only hit enemy aircraft, but will also disorganize their actions, and with further rapprochement, our fighters will have a significant advantage, as shown by the joint Indian exercises.

[Jacket in stock]

The battle of the ancient Pakistani F16s with the old Indian Su30s, as a result of which the MiG21, Indian, fell altogether.
And the conclusion about the high level of efficiency.
Let's also discuss the effectiveness of the Syrian SU17.
As a beast, even our VKS have realized that the SU30 has long been outdated and it is time to modernize it. And the Indians all the more have something to compare with.

[Rinat M]

The battle with Pakistani F-16s is not an indicator. The Indians in the Indo-American exercises have comprehensively tested the Su-30 and see its total superiority over the F-15, F-18, F-16 and Eurofighter. The Indians on the Su-30 fought with them in air battles and won literally in one gate. If the Su-30 was outdated, the Indians would not have negotiated its purchase. The assessment of the Su-30 by their military has not changed, they are very pleased with it.

[Wolf]

Why no one speaks like in
This fight seemed like Chinese JF17?

[nks]

They said enough about it right away - it was JF17 that shot down the Indian Mig-21. And why did you pin up a picture of the Gripena radar here and why you act so cruelly with the Russian language - this is really incomprehensible.

[Wolf]

Error with the radar I wanted to put Chinese AFAR radar, a little better than the radar on the F16, are you sure that I am writing in Russian?

[nks]

So what language do you write in, may I ask?
As for the radar, AFAR is promised in JF-17 block 3, which Pakistan does not have (and China has EMNIP too - it has just started a test program)

[Wolf]

In the dialect of the Slavic language, with the letters Russian. The biggest difference between the dialectim of the Slavic language is different letters and they were formed in the last 1-2 centuries, if they wrote all the same letters, so would the old Prusy, Polaki, Luzhichki Serbs, Czechs, Slovaks, etc.

[nks]

Quote: Wolf

In the dialect of the Slavic language

I can see this even without you. What is Slavic? Slavic languages ​​- this group (not to be confused with Old Church Slavonic). If you are engaged in the creation of such "homemade" languages ​​and use it here (and not on specialized forums), then in this case you simply do not respect your interlocutors and users of this site.

[Wolf]

There is no group of languages ​​here, never has been, everything is exactly that some of the group ochim
tried to create different languages ​​one by one. Sorry how can you be disrespectful to speak in a rooted way? And there is no new building, and the old and over 200 years old could talk calmly and with tz "Germans" in this language, and "Germans" would understand you enough.

[nks]

Quote: Wolf

Sorry how can you be disrespectful to speak in a rooted way?

Very simple - you deliberately write in a way that makes it difficult for the interlocutor to understand what you said. Moreover, you are breaking the rules of the site. It is quite possible to understand and not blame those commentators for whom Russian is not native. You are not 200 years old and you cannot say that this "dialect of Slavic" is your native language (those that you speak from birth). You certainly have the right to your fantasies, but it would be good to understand the context and respect the interlocutors.

[Wolf]

Tell me sincerely how difficult it is for you to understand what I am writing, and what do you think you are wasting time or expanding your consciousness if you read what I wrote? About fantasy? Do not think that the German language is a FULL FANTASY and in many it is worse than writing in the root language, and the roots of the language and your native language have you recognized it or not. As for the rules of the site, let the administrators decide. In addition, look at the "grammatical" RULE "the agreement of the unspoken and vowels" in the "different" languages ​​of the Slavs and maybe something will seem?

[nks]

Regarding the site rules - see point "e", link to the rules in the footer of the site. Sanctions are up to admins, but I won't complain about you. As for the difficulties of reading, the question is not only and not so much in me - it is in you. By the way, do you demonstrate / discuss your language research on specialized sites?

[Wolf]

What else do you think when Ivan the Great (the terrible) created the Rus Kingdom, how many "different" languages ​​were there in his controlled territory?

[Wolf]

There were Ukrainian, Belarusian, Rusyn, Russian, etc. ... languages?

[Wolf]

Thanks to Ivan, you speak in your own language today.

[Wolf]

As for the new "grammatical" rules of new languages, I'm interested in how many and grammatical rules invented by the German language, be full of nonsense.

[Wolf]

We will also add the "German" NATION and the language of creation in the middle of the 19th century under the PLAN "DRAG NACH OSTEN" Hitler did not come up with a plan, but before him they created a plan for 100 years.

[Flavius]

Can anyone explain why one of the generals in Armenia said that they do not sell missiles for the SU-30SM? I understand we are talking about those against AWACS at 300 km? Not all missiles.