F-16IN to make a comeback in MMRCA-II

According to The Indian Express, the United States has extended an offer to India to jointly produce a line of fighter jets to both enhance military ties as well as provide for India’s frontline fighter fleet shortage. This comes right after the Indian government announced that the MMRCA (Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft) deal, originally signed with France’s Dassault Aviation, was, for all intents and purposes, over. Bumps, missteps and poor communication contributed to the downfall of the contract which would have seen a set of Rafales built in France to Indian specifications, while the remaining number of jets to be procured in the deal would be built under license in India. So that means India will soon be back on the market, looking for another multi-role fighter to fulfill its needs for another fifteen to twenty years while it works on developing its own indigenous stealth fighter program and makes the best of the mess that is the Sukhoi/HAL FGFA, the joint Russian-Indian derivative of the PAK FA/T-50 stealth fighter prototype.

Among the many offers tendered to India during the MMRCA competition was one from Lockheed Martin, featuring a heavily-updated version of one of the most successful fighter aircraft in history- the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Designated the F-16IN Super Viper, Lockheed Martin went as far as to call it “the most advanced F-16 ever”.

F-16IN

The integration of fifth-generation technology into the fourth-generation platform is pretty much what makes an already-potent fighter an even more potent air-to-air and air-to-ground killer. Using the Block 60 configuration as the base to work off of, Lockheed Martin added a number of upgrades to beef up the Fighting Falcon into the Super Viper. The most powerful upgrade comes in the form of the AN/APG-80 AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar system, which is already in service with the United Arab Emirates’ Block 60 Desert Falcons.

The AN/APG-80 gives the pilot incredible situational awareness and the ability to target and track in any weather/atmospheric condition with stunning precision. An infrared search and track (IRST) system, the ability to integrate the Indian Air Force’s Operational Data Link (which allows for interoperability with other Indian fighter/attack/AWACS/support units), an onboard electronic warfare suite from Raytheon, and an upgraded modular mission computer add to the F-16IN’s sizable resume. The cockpit has been redeveloped to an extent, with three color high-definition MFDs (main flight displays) feeding the pilot everything he needs to know, as well as the ability to integrate the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS). An updated General Electric F110-132A functions as the sole powerplant, able to output over 32,000 pounds of thrust, and the Super Viper also carries conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) with a built-in fuel probe, designed to mate with the basket/drogue refueling system used by Indian aerial tankers, instead of the boom/receptacle system commonly used by American F-16s.

Pakistani JF-17 A Thunder OR A Blunder

Pakistan has witnessed new defense acquisitions in this decade than any other, and in the center of it all is the new fighter which was designed by China with partial funding from Pakistan. It is formally known as JF-17 Thunder. When the fighter was in development, Pakistani online communities were jumping with excitement comparing it with its arch rival India’s modern combatants Su-30MKI, Mig-29S & Mirage-2000H. There were claims of it featuring western Radars and long range missiles, & Chinese ordering some due to its superior capabilities. But the reality is far from it. China having spent significant amount of money into a fighter which it is never going to use, most probably forced Pakistan to accept its avionics to offset some its development costs. Chinese who are known for their self reliance first and quality next, are further downgrading JF-17s capabilities with their poorly copy-pirated avionics. Along with their dubious weapons, any chance of JF...

India Planned Attack On Pak Navy Mehran Base To Kill Chinese Engineers

The terrorist attack on Karachi's Mehran Naval Station on May 22 was conceived and launched by India with the primary objective of killing the Chinese engineers present there, a Pakistani newspaper has claimed, citing 'informed sources'. Four to six Taliban terrorists had entered PNS Mehran on May 22, destroying two maritime surveillance aircraft and killing ten military personnel during their 17-hour siege of the naval air base. "India is the only country in the region that feels troubled by the Pakistan Navy, which had awfully beaten the Indian Navy in Operation Dwarka of 1965. Since then, it has been an earnest desire of India to harm the Pakistan Navy but it was perhaps not possible on the battle front, hence it struck the PNS Mehran," The News quoted sources as saying.

Pakistani F-16s Shoot Down RAF Eurofighter Typhoons During Air Combat Exercises In Turkey

Pakistani pilots flying modernised versions of the 1970s-vintage F-16 Falcon fighter have beaten the RAF's brand-new Eurofighter Typhoon superfighters during air combat exercises in Turkey, according to a Pakistani officer. Analysis: The RAF Typhoon, formerly known as the Eurofighter, should nonetheless have been vastly superior in air-to-air combat whether BVR or close in within visual range (WVR). The cripplingly expensive, long-delayed Eurofighter was specifically designed to address the defects of its predecessor the Tornado F3 – famously almost useless in close-in, dogfighting-style air combat. The Typhoon was meant to see off such deadly in-close threats as Soviet "Fulcrums" and "Flankers" using short-range missiles fired using helmet-mounted sight systems: such planes were thought well able to beat not just Tornados but F-16s in close fighting, and this expectation was borne out after the Cold War when the Luftwaffe inherite...

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