Posted on 06/01/2002 1:34:17 PM PDT by JasonC
Here is a rundown on Pakistan's current military forces, compiled from various sources on the web.
Strategic, air force, and air defense
42 combat ready IRBMs, nuclear capable. Estimates vary from enough material for 10 to 50 atomic bombs. Other delivery systems under development, but these or air delivery are the currently practical options.
32 F-16s
184 Mirage 3&5
215 MiG-21 (Chinese J-7)
96 MiG-19 (Chinese J-6 and A-5 strike versions)
AIM-9P, AIM-9L, and Matra Magic 550 all angle heat seekers
BL-5, BL-7, BL-9 (Chinese) heat seekers
No radar homing AAM capability. Top missle range about 8 miles.
FR Exocet, US Maverick, 500 lb laser-guided bombs
SAM-2 (China)
Mistral SAM (FR)
Cortel SAM (FR mobile wheeled)
SA-13 style Manpads
Navy
1 FR Agosta 90B SS, modern, exocet capable (2 more building).
2 FR Agosta 70 SS, 1980 era design
4 FR Daphne SS, 1970 era design
6 UK Amazon FFG
2 UK Leander FF (ASW)
3 FR Minesweepers
6 Missle Boats
2 Patrol Boats
Army
330 T-80s (Ukrainian "UD" model, with reactive armor)
230 T-85 (similar to T-72)
260 T-69 (similar to T-62)
1200 T-59 (similar to T-55)
450 M-48 Patton
50 T-55
100 amphib (PT-76 copies, 85mm gun)
Overall, 2600 tanks of which 560 or 1/4 are reasonably modern MBTs. The bulk of the tank force could be from 1960, in NATO/Russian terms.
1100 APCs, mostly M113, some BTR. MG armed.
900 ATGMs, TOW and similar models. Total missles, not launchers.
So by NATO/Russian standards, the infantry is not heavily mechanized or missle equipped.
SP Arty
40 8 inch (US M110)
150 155mm (US M109)
50 105mm (WW II era model US M7)
Towed Arty
26 8 inch
190 155mm
800 122mm and 130mm
45 122mm MRL
350 105mm
200 85mm ATG
225 120mm Mortars
500 81mm Mortars
Overall, about 2600 artillery systems, of which 405 or 1/6 are large caliber. The bulk of the artillery force is medium caliber towed guns.
To win in the air, the Pakistanis will have to beat modern MiGs and Sus with F-16s at 2:1 odds; the MiG-23/27 and Jags with Mirages at 2:1 odds, and Indian MiG-21s with their own Chinese versions of the same plane, again at 2:1 odds. In the past, the Pakistani pilots have been somewhat better than the Indian ones, one for one. But it is technologically a tall order. Especially when you consider that half of the Indian force is radar-homing AAM capable, and the Pakistanis don't have one radar homing firing platform in their whole air force. (The F-16s could, but they don't have the missles). So the Indians will outrange them.
The second real edge they have is that, while they don't have radar homing air to air missles, the heat seekers they do have are darn good ones. Both US AIM-9 sidewinders in quite recent models, and French Magics about as capable as the older one of those (the AIM-9L). Both are better than what the Indians have in the same category. They are too fast and maneuverable to dodge, aren't easily fooled by countermeasures like flares, and can track a plane from any angle, not just from behind like older heat seekers. If they can get close enough, those missles could give them an edge. If the Indians can beat them at long range, they would't get that chance. The Indians also have numbers on them - and practically every other edge (size of army, the navy, etc). But there is enough assymmetry in the capabilities of the two air forces, that the Pakistanis might gamble on their edge mattering more.
The India-Pakistani Conflict... some background information- | ||||||
BTW: CIA -- The World Factbook -- Pakistan |
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