The Pakistan Air Force is facing severe challenges in training its pilots.
The training system of the Pakistan Air Force is somewhat similar to that of the Chinese Air Force over a decade ago. Initially, primary flight training is completed on aircraft such as the MFI-395 and T-37, followed by advanced flight training on the K-8P trainer. After completing the K-8P, Pakistani Air Force cadets are assigned to three squadrons: the 16th, 20th, and 23rd, one of which is a tactical training squadron of the Training Command, while the other two are operational squadrons. Despite being operational squadrons, they are also responsible for combat training tasks. After completing combat training in these three squadrons, Pakistani pilots are then transferred to other squadrons to fly fourth-generation fighters.
While this system may seem functional, the current situation is different from before. The Pakistan Air Force faces two main challenges:
The transition from existing fourth-generation fighters to fourth-and-a-half-generation fighters. For example, the J-10CE and FC-1 Block3 “JF-17 Thunder,” with Pakistan likely to purchase 72 units of the former and a similar number of the latter. This suddenly transforms the Pakistan Air Force into a predominantly third-and-a-half-generation air force. Based on our pilot training experience, relying on the J-7B/E to train pilots for third-and-a-half-generation fighters is challenging, and similar-type training is necessary, posing a significant problem for Pakistan.
The age of the existing J-7P/PG fleet. The J-7P was delivered no later than 1993, and the F-7P was completed by 2002, with current service lives ranging from 20 to 30 years. Given the known retirement lifespan of around 3000 flight hours or 20 calendar years for the MiG-21 series, under specific load spectra, many of Pakistan’s J-7P/PG aircraft are already in overextended service and find it difficult to execute operational tasks. Even if they could, they must be replaced, and Pakistan’s Air Force itself estimates that these aircraft have at most five to six years of remaining life.
As a result, regardless of whether transitioning from the K-8P to the J-7PG and then to the FC-1 and J-10CE or flying a third-generation jet after completing the K-8P, the Pakistan Air Force struggles to meet training demands. The existing pilot training system is unsustainable, leaving the only option as the purchase of advanced trainer aircraft. Once they decide to buy advanced trainer aircraft, Pakistan’s options are very limited. NATO equipment may not be accessible, and Russian Yak-130 or South Korean T-50 do not align with Pakistan’s current predominance of Chinese-style main combat equipment.
Configuration Preferred by Pakistan
Some may question the current rumors, stating that Pakistan’s purchase of the L-15 advanced trainer is for the Lead-In Fighter Training (LIFT) configuration, serving as a basic trainer and an introduction to combat (Fighter Lead-In Training, FLIT), rather than the Air-to-Air and Air-to-Ground Fighter Trainer (AFT) configuration, which balances both air combat and ground attack missions. The significant difference between the two configurations is that the AFT uses a turbofan engine with an afterburner for supersonic flight, providing inherent air combat intercept capabilities. In fact, the J-7P/PG fighter jets currently possessed by the Pakistan Air Force theoretically have some air combat capabilities. If Pakistan is indeed abandoning the purchase of the AFT configuration, does it mean giving up the ability of its trainer fleet to perform tactical missions? Furthermore, since the LIFT configuration cannot achieve supersonic flight, can it meet the requirements for training?
This is not a significant issue. On one hand, from the perspective of the flight performance of modern advanced trainer aircraft, supersonic flight is not a strict technical requirement. Traditional advanced trainer aircraft, such as the J-7 trainer, used mechanical hydraulic control systems, and the flight performance differed between subsonic and supersonic flight. There were significant differences in control feel, and pilots had to experience supersonic flight to feel the differences in flight characteristics between subsonic and supersonic flight. Therefore, advanced trainer aircraft and fighter trainer aircraft with supersonic flight capabilities were considered a necessary performance parameter. With the advent of advanced trainers equipped with fly-by-wire control systems, which can simulate the control performance of the aircraft through flight control computer calculations, even if the aircraft is in the subsonic regime, the fly-by-wire system can simulate the control characteristics of the supersonic regime by adjusting control parameters, allowing trainee pilots to experience the characteristics of supersonic flight on the control stick.
On the other hand, considering the load spectrum characteristics of fighter aircraft, if a tactical aircraft needs to fly supersonically or carry a large payload, perform high-g maneuvers, etc., its load spectrum performance and flight actions are relatively gentle. In contrast, daily flights in a high-performance advanced trainer, which are stable and steady, are quite different. With higher speeds and greater dynamic pressures, carrying larger loads has a greater impact on the aircraft structure. These factors can affect the aircraft’s lifespan. As a financially constrained air force, when the Pakistan Air Force purchases advanced trainer aircraft, economic considerations are likely the primary factor. They would prioritize ensuring that the aircraft can be used for a long time, ideally for thirty or forty years.
January 2024
Source: China Arms