- Joined
- Jul 1, 2024
- Messages
- 562
- Likes
- 5,373

A personal theory regarding IAF's takedown of PAF AWACS (please correct me if I'm misrepresenting the timeline of events): The biggest advantage that PAF had over IAF was in terms of AWACS. So it was very plausible that IAF wanted to take this advantage out very quickly, as these AWACS would have guided the volley of missiles that PAF launched in the initial engagement, which may have hit one or two of our aircraft (and several decoys and drones we launched).
To achieve this, the S-400 was utilised, and the PAF promptly deployed their AWACS alongside civilian airlines, thereby halting our targeting efforts. This was confirmed by Wing Commander Vyomika Singh on May 9. If we had shot a civilian aircraft, then that would have been a major embarrassment for us.
So we did some more intelligence tracking and some international threatening, and PAF had to stand down from using civilian aircraft as a shield. That very night, one AWACS was taken out of the air by S-400 or at least damaged near the Dinga village in Pakistan.
PAF couldn't take any further risk and decided to push their remaining AWACS to a far-off base so that IAF wouldn't target them. And once they landed, India again bombed them with BrahMos, destroying or damaging their second AWACS.
So it became a Catch 22 situation where most of their AWACS can't either fly (because of long-range SAMs) or even land (in case they catch a BrahMos or SCALP missile). The first AWACS takedown would have also prompted PAF to launch CM-400AKG strikes on potential S-400 sites, which again failed.
You are mostly right except for the first paragraph. Their AWACS which is SAAB Erieye cannot guide Chinese missiles like PL-15E or for that matter anything Chinese apart from NATO missiles. It can surely guide F-16 launched AMRAAMs but not other ones which are of non-NATO origin. Their AWACS are most likely used to direct their fighter aircrafts in the direction of IAF formations to engage with them.
All the talk about Porkis developing their own data links is absolute BS. These morons don't have any track record of developing a ground based radar let alone a sophisticated radar which goes into a fighter aircraft. To think they will develop a data link and to think a Swedish Company SAAB will give access to source code to modify their AWACS is too good to be true in my opinion.