Recently, Indian Air Force Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhary's report of accepting Press Trust of India (PTI) was reproduced by many Indian media. In the report, Vivek Ram Chaudhary said that the India-Pakistan border and the China-India border are "unstable" for India. For the Indian army, this is actually a challenge of "two-front operations". However, the Indian army has made corresponding preparations and can go to war with China and Pakistan at any time.
Later, a reporter from the Press Trust of India asked how to deal with China's deployment of huge military assets near the Sino-Indian border. The Marshal of the Indian Air Force directly stated that " when necessary, the Indian Air Force can proactively attack China in a short period of time." Although the Indian army has repeatedly emphasized the challenge of "dual-front operations" to the Indian army since India's first Chief of Defense Staff Bipin Rawat , Vivek Ram Choudary was the first to The current senior commander of the Indian Army who made actual preparations for this.
Indian Air Force Marshal Vivek Ram Choudhary
The Indian Air Force is currently strengthening the aviation infrastructure construction in eastern India. The second base of the Indian Air Force's "Apache" fleet in eastern India is nearing completion. , and the related support facilities for the second "Rafale" fighter squadron have been completed, which has added a lot of confidence and courage to Indian Air Force Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhary.
So, does the Indian Air Force really have the ability to "fight on two fronts" with the Chinese and Pakistani air forces at the same time? Not possible.
Judging from paper data, the current main force of the Indian Air Force is more than 300 Su-30MKI fighter jets and "Rafale" fighter jets. However, the Indian Air Force does not only have combat needs in the direction of the India-Pakistan border and the China-Pakistan border. Therefore, it is very inaccurate to directly use these more than 300 main fighter as the actual combat effectiveness of the Indian Air Force.
For the Chinese Air Force , the Western Theater Air Force is mainly responsible for dealing with the Indian Air Force. Because of India's provocation on the border, the replacement speed of in the western theater of has been very fast in the past two years. In terms of air combat power, in addition to one J-20 stealth fighter brigade, 2 J-16 fighter brigades, and varying numbers of and J-10C fighter , the Western Theater Air Force also has the last J-8 fighter brigade. J-11B fighter .
Although the current overall strength of the Pakistan Air Force is not as good as that of the Indian Air Force, if the Pakistan Air Force launches a large-scale offensive along the India-Pakistan border, relying on F-16 fighter jets , J-10C fighter jets and "Fierce Dragon" fighter jets, the Pakistan Air Force can at least Attracting more than a hundred advanced fighter jets from the Indian Air Force. As a result, the number of advanced fighter jets that the Indian Air Force can devote to the Sino-Indian border is only a little over a hundred.
In terms of fighter types, China's Western Theater Air Force has formed a clear " asymmetric combat advantage" over the Indian Air Force. At present, the Indian Air Force has not equipped any fifth-generation stealth fighters, which means that the Western Theater Air Force has formed a "generational advantage" over the Indian Air Force. Referring to the performance of the F-22 stealth fighter in the US Air Force's "Red Flag Military Exercise", the Indian Air Force did not block the possibility of the J-20 stealth fighter .
Once the J-20 knocks out India’s ground radar system and airborne early warning aircraft , the Indian Air Force will lose the ability to conduct systematic operations. The J-16, J-11B and J-10C fighter jets will compete Under the cover of "Jingpin-2000", " Air Police-500" and J-16D electronic warfare aircraft, the Indian Air Force can be easily suppressed. This combat mode is also a tactic often used by the U.S. Air Force. It uses elite fighter jets to disrupt the opponent's systematic combat capabilities, and then the remaining task is to "clear the field."
If we do not limit our attention to fighter jets, but broaden our attention to the entire air force level, then the Indian Air Force's disadvantages will be even greater.Because in addition to the J-20 stealth fighter, the Chinese Air Force also has a piece of equipment that the Indian Air Force does not have - the bomber.
Although the H-6 series bomber is only a medium bomber, its long-range attack capabilities are not comparable to the ordinary fighter bomber . Take the Chinese Air Force's H-6K bomber as an example. Under extreme circumstances, it can carry 6 "Changjian-20" air-launched cruise missiles with a maximum range of 1,500 kilometers. Coupled with the 3,500-kilometer combat radius of the H-6K H-6K and the geographical advantage of the Tibetan Plateau over India, it can attack all air force bases and high-value military targets in central and northern India.
It can hang up to 6 pieces at a time
This is actually India's fatal flaw. Because of its geographical disadvantage, China can use conventional technological weapons to produce the effects that general strategic deterrent weapons can produce. If the H-6 bomber does not carry air-launched cruise missiles such as the "Changjian-20", but uses air-launched hypersonic missiles, then not only the Indian Air Force, but also the Indian army, navy and air force will basically have no effective means of interception.
High in the north and low in the south, endless as far as the eye can see
All the above analysis is still limited to the separation of the Pakistan Air Force and the Chinese Air Force. If the Chinese and Pakistani air forces decide to join forces, the Indian Air Force will collapse faster .
The Chinese and Pakistani air forces have held several "Eagle" joint military exercises, laying a corresponding foundation for the joint operations of the Chinese and Pakistani air forces. If the Indian Air Force really wants to play a "two-front war" with China and Pakistan. Then some Chinese fighter jets can launch attacks with the Pakistan Air Force from the direction of the India-Pakistan border. At that time, the Indian Air Force will need to invest more defense forces on the India-Pakistan border. It is not clear whether it can be blocked.
From the overall strength point of view, the Indian Air Force is a powerful air force even in the world. But I am afraid of comparison in everything. Once compared with China, the Indian Air Force's financial situation will not be enough. Even the Pakistan Air Force, which only receives partial support, can bring great combat pressure to the Indian Air Force.
If the Indian Air Force really dares to "fight on two fronts" with the Chinese and Pakistani air forces, then the Indian Air Force will really be able to understand what it feels like to be "abused".
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