Comment by Riaz Haq on December 18, 2025 at 9:58am

Full article - Understanding the Rafale kills

https://www.key.aero/article/full-article-understanding-rafale-kills

Locking on the target
A senior PAF pilot explained how they prepare for war with India, always a real possibility. “It’s in the training,” he said. “Going to theatre, the fighter’s radar cannot see all the targets as they are too far away, but the Saab 2000 Erieye does.”

As a high value asset and undoubtedly a target for India, the Saab 2000 Erieye will keep out of harm’s way flying close to the western border, over 400km (250 miles) from India. He continued: “The operator sitting in front of his screen in the Erieye will label the enemy aircraft into the different groups and assign them to the PAF packages. This will be done in groups of three or four aircraft according to azimuth and altitude, then the operator assesses and relays [the positions] to all the aircraft, but he will still control them.

“The war picture is built through Link 17/ Skyguard, which we see on the displays in our cockpit, and the aircraft we are assigned to shoot – which we term ‘the contract’. The Air Boss and his team [in the Multi Domain Ops Room] will also be looking over the scene on a massive screen in AHQ.

“The fighter pilots have two radios in the cockpit, one to discuss the complete aerial picture and another to talk to members in your formation.

“If I am targeting their no 1 and 2, I would see them on my scope, put my cursor on them and lock my missiles onto them.

“My radar is then locked onto the target and is linking info to the missile until a certain range, when the missile switches on to its own AESA [Active Electronically Scanned Array] seeker within the PL-15’s minimum abort range [MAR].”

The MAR is the closest an engaging aircraft can get to the target and fire the missile before getting out of a fight, before the missile threat is able to run you down.

“Once your missile’s active range (in this case the PL-15) is met, you can turn back (to ensure you don’t fly inside the MAR of a Meteor -let’s say 35 miles). The missile with its AESA seeker will then lock on to target and shoot it down.”

The author was told the Rafale pilots would not have known what hit them until the PL-15Es were about three seconds out.

“Remember, if you miss your designated aircraft, it could get you. We train continuously for this. A mission of 15 minutes can regularly take up to eight hours to debrief!

“In a war theatre you can put as many aircraft as possible up. The IAF sent 72 into the AOR [Area of Responsibility] but it’s a lot for the GCIs [Ground Control Interceptors] to control!”

One of the lessons the IAF must have learnt from that night was the sheer number of aircraft they deployed in the air was too much to handle. Each IAF GCI would have to manage several aircraft in an extremely dynamic situation, particularly as aircraft were being shot down. The PAF Commander said: “We designated an IAF aircraft for every J-10 or JF-17 Block 3 with the battle space being managed much better because of the multi domain ops.”

Comment by Riaz Haq on Tuesday

India, Pakistan advance a diverse range of missiles
Both nations tested conventional missiles over the holiday period


https://www.army-technology.com/features/india-pakistan-advance-a-d...


Therefore, in late December 2025, Indian forces tested a number of missile capabilities including the Pralay quasi ballistic missile and Pinaka long range guided rockets. Foremost among them however was a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from Arihant Class SSBNs.
Widespread reporting suggests the service tested the K4 SLBM, which is nuclear capable and has a range of 3,500 kilometres.
Commentary from Chatham House alluded to three delays in the run up to the K4 test, which was said to be due to the increased presence of Chinese research vessels (thought to be equipped with sensors) in the northern and central Indian Ocean at the time.


A total of four Arihant Class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) are planned, two (S2 and S3) are in active service and the remaining two (S4 and S4*) are undergoing sea trials.
S2 and S3 feature four vertical launch system (VLS) tubes and can carry either 12 K-15 (750–1,500 km range) or four K-4 SLBMs. S4 and S4* have double the number of VLS tubes, meaningthey can carry either 24 K-15 or eight K-4 SLBMs.
India also seems to be developing longer range K-5 SLBMs with a range between 5,000 and 8,000 km. Such missiles will equip the upcoming S5-class SSBNs, which are scheduled to be inducted by the mid 2030s.

Of course, such a range far exceeds that of its smaller rival Pakistan. Indeed, Globato 2,500 km, supported by airborne options like Su 30MKI and Rafale. “Sea based missiles instead focus on China” he maintained.
“Due to their shorter range, the K-15 equipped SSBNs have to operate in shallow waters of the Arabian Sea, making them susceptible to detection by Pakistan Navy’s MPAs naval ships. With the K-4 and K-5 SLBMs, Indian Navy’s SSBNs can operate much farther, beyond the range of maritime patrol assets of Pakistan Navy and People’s Liberation Army Navy.
“The Indian Navy will be able to cover the entire Pakistan and most of China by deploying the K-4 equipped SSBNs in the Bay of Bengal. This area is optimal for deployment of SSBN mainly due to deep waters and proximity to Indian Navy’s Eastern Naval Command (Visakhapatnam).”

The most recent announcement came from the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), which said it tested the Taimoor Air-Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) for the first time on 3 January 2026.
Following their ostensible success in supposedly destroying a Rafale fighter jet using Chinese-designed PL-15E missiles last year, the PAF is now looking to build their own sovereign airspace capabilities. The ALCM was built by the state controlled company, Global Industrial and Defence Solutions (GIDS).
Taimoor is a precision-strike cruise missile capable of engaging enemy land and sea targets at a range of 600 kilometres with a conventional warhead. The ALCM flies at very low altitudes, “enabling it to effectively evade hostile air and missile defence systems” the PAF said.
The weapon utilises two wings and three fins during its flight time after launch, in the same way as the Western Storm Shadow counterpart.

Likewise, Taimoor can also engage targets at sea which is necessary given the considerable Indian naval threat. However Mangure was less optimistic in conversation with this reporter, upon considering the prospective timeline for delivery.
“Even if we consider a highly optimistic four-to-five year timeline for the development and testing of the missile, the operational deployment may not happen before 2028,” he maintained.
“At that point in time, it does not seem to offer any incremental threat to the Indian Navy, which has inducted advanced frigates and destroyers equipped with Barak-8 anti-missile systems, specifically designed to intercept supersonic BrahMos class missiles” such as the CM-302, which is an export variant of Chinese YJ-12 anti-ship/land attack cruise missile.

Comment

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 6
• 7
• 8
• Next ›
• Page