IAF "OUTGUNNED by paf f 16" on 27 feb? - disagreed

Normally I agree with the expert @thevishnusom but with this piece I will have to disagree. The headline is bit incorrect and the reason for IAF su 30 not being able to engage enemy was solely not the range of missiles.

As I said the 2 su 30 MKI and 4 mig 21 bison along with 2 mirage 2000 were going to engage the 24 aircraft package of PAF fighters which were planning to drop h4 pgm on Indian military installations but because our jets took flight and surprised them by popping up from a geography which restricted their awacs to see them taking off ( Srinagar airbase for mig21) they had to drop the payload to evade and this caused the bombs to not hit our installations.

The su 30 MKI which were there were engaged by PAF f16 from across border at ranges of 100-120 KMS which is also the max possible range of missile ( the bvr are less effective at such ranges and this is one reason su was able to dodge all missiles). The IAF pilots did not expect the paf to fire from such greater distances as this is generally known that the longer distance gives more evasion time and the missile loses most of its energy and it is well beyond NO ESCAPE ZONE ( NEZ is a term for which the missile is most effective and nearly ensures kill). As the f16 fired the missiles the su 30 were warned by onboard systems and they performed evasive maneuvers while the f16 immediately fired the missiles and fled backwards ( it was more likely a deterrent attack more than a intended KILLSHOT). As the SU evaded the missiles the f 16 safely ran further and by the time the SU shook the attack off the f 16 were well beyond the ranges of the missiles onboard su 30 MKI. The su most probably were also at lower altitude and the firing of missile would have been just a waste as IAF pilots clearly know that the missiles would miss at such ranges.

No missile in world would have actually made a difference in this scenario as the super long range missiles are not very effective against highly agile targets like fighters and mostly used against slow force multipliers like tankers & awacs.

Calling OUTGUNNED is a bit over the top, OUTNUMBERED sure (24 vs 8) but OUTGUNNED? NO.


Also missile performance are not just based on paper specs but also depends greatly on the mother aircraft situation like its speed, altitude, energy and several other factors so comparision or saying things like having a certain missile would have completely changed the dynamics on that day shows a clear lack of understanding of the situation or unwillingness to acknowledge the factors involved.