You dont have javascript enabled! Please enable it! IAF Must Shift Strategy: Neutralize PAF’s Air Defenses and Assets Before Targeting Terror Camps - Indian Defence Research Wing
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SOURCE: AFI

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has long been a formidable force in South Asia, equipped with advanced platforms like the Sukhoi Su-30MKI, Dassault Rafale, and indigenous Tejas fighters. However, its approach to cross-border operations against Pakistan, particularly in response to terrorist activities, has often followed a predictable pattern: striking terror targets while allowing the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) to retain its operational capabilities.

This strategy, which prioritizes hitting terrorist infrastructure over neutralizing Pakistan’s air defenses, has given the PAF opportunities to respond, regroup, and challenge India’s air superiority. It is time for the IAF to adopt a bolder, more decisive approach—prioritizing the destruction of PAF’s long-range radars, AWACS platforms, and other critical assets before targeting terror camps, rather than granting Pakistan’s air force an “off-ramp” to recover.

India’s counterterrorism operations, such as the 2019 Balakot airstrike, have demonstrated the IAF’s ability to penetrate Pakistani airspace and deliver precision strikes on terrorist infrastructure. However, these operations have often been conducted with restraint, avoiding escalation by sparing Pakistan’s military assets. While this approach minimizes the risk of a broader conflict, it allows the PAF to maintain its air defense network, including long-range radars and airborne early warning and control systems (AWACS), which provide critical situational awareness. As a result, Pakistan retains the ability to respond swiftly, as seen in the PAF’s attempted retaliation after Balakot, where it deployed F-16s and JF-17s to challenge Indian air patrols.

This restrained strategy has inadvertently emboldened Pakistan, allowing its air force to preserve its combat readiness while terrorist groups continue to operate under the protection of an intact PAF. By focusing solely on terror targets, the IAF risks prolonged engagements, as Pakistan’s air defenses remain capable of intercepting or complicating follow-up operations. The PAF’s ability to deploy AWACS platforms, such as the Saab 2000 Erieye and Chinese ZDK-03, further enhances its ability to detect and counter IAF incursions, undermining India’s operational advantage.

A New Strategy: Neutralize PAF First

To decisively curb Pakistan’s ability to support terrorist activities and challenge India’s air superiority, the IAF must adopt a proactive strategy that prioritizes neutralizing PAF’s critical assets before targeting terror camps. This approach involves:

  1. Targeting Long-Range Radars: Pakistan’s air defense network relies on a combination of Chinese and Western radar systems to monitor its airspace. Destroying or disabling these radars would blind the PAF, limiting its ability to detect IAF aircraft and coordinate a response. Precision strikes using stand-off weapons like the BrahMos missile or Spice-guided bombs could achieve this without requiring deep penetration into Pakistani airspace.
  2. Neutralizing AWACS Platforms: Pakistan’s AWACS fleet, though limited, provides critical early warning and command-and-control capabilities. Knocking out these platforms—either through air-to-air engagements or ground-based strikes on airfields—would significantly degrade the PAF’s situational awareness, leaving it vulnerable to IAF operations. The IAF’s Rafale jets, equipped with Meteor missiles, are well-suited for such missions, capable of engaging high-value targets at long range.
  3. Disrupting Vital Assets: Beyond radars and AWACS, the IAF should target PAF’s command centers, communication nodes, and airfields hosting its frontline fighters, such as the JF-17 and F-16. Disrupting these assets would delay or prevent Pakistan’s ability to mount a coherent response, allowing the IAF to dominate the airspace and proceed with strikes on terror targets unimpeded.
  4. Sanitizing Pakistani Airspace: Rather than conducting limited, surgical strikes, the IAF should aim to establish temporary air superiority over key areas of Pakistani airspace. This would involve suppressing enemy air defenses (SEAD) using electronic warfare platforms like the Su-30MKI with jamming pods and anti-radiation missiles. By clearing the skies, the IAF can ensure unchallenged access to terror targets, maximizing the effectiveness of its strikes.

The current approach of striking terror camps first and avoiding escalation with the PAF has several drawbacks. First, it allows Pakistan to maintain its air defense capabilities, enabling rapid retaliation or interference with IAF operations. Second, it emboldens Pakistan’s military establishment, which perceives India’s restraint as a lack of resolve. Third, it fails to address the symbiotic relationship between the PAF and terrorist groups, as an intact air force provides a protective umbrella for terror infrastructure.

By contrast, neutralizing the PAF’s key assets first would shift the balance decisively in India’s favor. A degraded PAF would struggle to contest IAF operations, allowing India to dismantle terrorist infrastructure with greater precision and minimal interference. This approach would also send a strong message to Pakistan’s military leadership, demonstrating that India is willing to escalate kinetically if terrorist provocations continue.

This strategy is not without risks. Targeting PAF assets could escalate tensions, potentially leading to a broader conflict. Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and its doctrine of “full-spectrum deterrence” add a layer of complexity, requiring the IAF to calibrate its strikes to avoid crossing critical thresholds. Additionally, Pakistan’s growing fleet of Chinese-built JF-17s and J-10CE fighters, coupled with its integration of advanced munitions, means the PAF remains a capable adversary despite its smaller size.

To mitigate these risks, the IAF must leverage its technological edge. Platforms like the Rafale, with its advanced AESA radar and long-range weapons, and the S-400 air defense system, which can neutralize Pakistani counterattacks, provide the IAF with the tools to dominate the battlespace. Coordinated operations involving electronic warfare, cyber-attacks, and precision strikes can further minimize the risk of escalation while maximizing impact.

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