Indian Airforce has Mig 27, Mig 29, SU-30, Mirage 2000, and soon to be purchased F16’s.
Pakistan has about 40 F-16s. With the addition of another 100 or so F16’s, does one really believe that we have a deterrent. Given that the new F16’s will have nuke carrying capability, and that realistically there is as much chance of nuclear war between the two as there is of Mr Manmohan Singh being circumcised, is it not better to use the money elsewhere, ie, ground based forces.
Re: Indian Airforce
Firstly, MiG-27 is a ground attack aircraft which is being phased out of IAF service. India currently has about 48 Mirage 2000s and 80 odd MiG-29B which are both not cuttinge edge. IAF's mainstay is still old MiG-21s which are being retired rapidly. The Su-30MKI is peerless but it is being inducted very slowly since it takes two pilots per plane and requires a lot of training and only exceptional pilots fly it.
Pakistan today has about 32 F-1A/Bs. I'd like to see if PAF really buys 70 more and upgrades the existing ones. My hunch is that between the JF-17 and AWACS buys, there will not be money left for more than 26 new F-16s for now.
Is it much of a deterrent? The answer is that it is better than what PAF has currently, which is little. At the end of the day, if IAF employs all its assets, there is no match. But by that time we may see a nuclear war.
There is no point spending money on the army because the real war is up in the air. The armies are relatively evenly matched in terms of size in any case.
Re: Indian Airforce
I dont see a war anytimes soon.. So not sure what we are going to be dettering..
Re: Indian Airforce
You missed jagaurs in indian inventory.
But again on the same notes you have to consider missile strength of both the countriess too.
Re: Indian Airforce
Yep, considering the Indians missile strength and the quality of IAF, Pakistan has no chance. The more money Pakistan wastes on buying weapons, less money they have for Cross Border Terrorism 
Re: Indian Airforce
whether or not PAF can 'match' IAF bit by bit is not the concern, the need for the new F-16s is just for the PAF's needs for defense of the country and doesnt necessarily mean it has to be weighed against with India. war clouds are far away, and the nuclear presence alone is the biggest deterrent. plus, the PAF was never at par with the IAF back in the old wars either, it's unlikely it can be in terms of numbers, but still many air battles have been on Pakistan's side. so it's not just numbers all the time. in an isolated battle of a battalion wiht a battalion, what good can the numerous divisions back at the headquarters do when the actual battle is between 800-1000 men facing each other on both sides, what matters is a combination of a lot of things.
Re: Indian Airforce
What about the Super 7, we were trying to buld with china. Will that not be counted in???
Re: Indian Airforce
yeah lets see..