MUMBAI: A crisis has been brewing in the Indian Air Force and it's about to blow up in the face of the government. The Indian Air Force (IAF) top brass has informed the Union Government that if corrective measures are not taken immediately, India will lose its air superiority over Pakistan.

"Unless immediate steps are taken to arrest the reduction in Indian Air Force's force levels, the nation will for the first time in its history, lose the conventional military edge over Pakistan."

This is a what the three-page letter of warning, written by Air Chief Marshall Tyagi to Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, says.

A copy of the letter, which has raised serious concerns over the declining combat force level of the IAF, is available with CNN-IBN.

In his letter, the Air Chief Marshall writes, "Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is being beefed up with 44 F16s from America. They have a clearly defined goal of attaining parity with the IAF. With China supplying J 10 and JF 17 aircraft (fitted with Russian engines), PAF force levels of combat squadron will increase."

"Unless steps are taken to move ahead with procurement, the IAF's combat strength will deplete to a level, which would entirely neutralise the conventional superiority held by IAF since our Independence. PAF will have 19 to 26 squadrons by 2011-12, while the IAF could reduce to 26.5 by 2015."

I think you people forgot to read or closed you eyes on that part. the report is 3 page report, requesting the state government to help IAF to regain what the feel "since independence edge over Pakistan". Rather than accepting their own incompetence with regard to operating russian jets better known as flying coffins, the worthy chief has requested the Govt. to impress the russians, so that china could not sell pakistan the jets flying with russian engines. Also he accepts JF 17 is state of the art air craft, which many posters here, having special affair toward pakistan would have not liked him to accept. last but not the least he is afraid of F 16 that pakistan is about to get from US. i think he has played a good card by putting up this write up so that in future they can lay the blame on Govt. for their indifference to their demands rather than accepting their imcompetence, shall there is any super sixes tournament between IAF and PAF.

 

dublew dublew dublew.ibnlive.com/news/special-iaf-may-lose-out-to-pak/22834-3-0.html

As an outsider to this reading doesn't say right now superiority is PAF's but it's likely under the current trend.   Meaning PAF is getting this stuff, it will be enough to tip the scales.   Though I don't think either side has to worry about a war....China's doing a great job of differing it's threat to Pakistan.....Im sure India could have F16's if they want but they seem hard headed enough and do not want to depend or rely on the States for some odd reason.   

NEW DELHI, Oct 4: India’s senior security officials met here on Wednesday to consider a range of urgent issues including a nagging fear of losing Delhi’s traditional military edge over Pakistan, sources said.

The discussions came on the day new Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon met the Home Secretary, Duggal, to consider the Mumbai police claim that Pakistan’s spy agency was behind the 7/11 train blasts in the city.

The Times of India said on Wednesday that the high-level security meeting was called barely three days after Washington and Islamabad resolved their differences over the proposed F-16 fighter package.

It was to discuss “enhancement of Pakistan’s war capability” and the threat it poses to India, the paper said. “Faced with a declining combat ratio with Pakistan, the armed forces have called for urgent steps to ensure that their long-standing conventional military superiority is not eroded any further,” The Times said.

Along with Pakistan’s acquisition of a worrying nuclear arsenal, India’s defence establishment is also worried about the conventional edge. “Unless immediate steps are taken to arrest the reduction in IAF’s force levels, the nation will for the first time in its history lose the conventional military edge over Pakistan,” Air Chief Marshal S. P. Tyagi cautioned in a recent letter to Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the newspaper said.

Similarly, army estimates show India enjoys only a slight edge over Pakistan now, it said. “Consider this: The combat ratio during the 1971 war was 1.75:1 in India’s favour. But it declined to 1.56:1 by 1990, and now stands at only 1.22:1.”

The meeting was called by Cabinet Secretary B.K. Chaturvedi and included Home Secretary V.K. Duggal, Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutta, army chief, Gen. J.J. Singh, air force chief, Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi, and navy vice chief, Vice Admiral Venkat Bharathan.

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