Saturday, October 12, 2019
Pakistan's Next War With India Will Involve Russia and China (Even If They Don't Join In)
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The 2019 India-Pakistan border skirmish resulted in major shake-ups within the Indian Air Force (IAF). The most accepted narrative, that of a loss of an IAF MiG-21 Bison to no losses of the Pakistan Air Force bodes poorly for the IAF. But interestingly, according to a July interview, the skirmish marked one of the first “hot” use of Pakistan’s new Chinese JF-17 “Thunder” fighters.The JF-17 is a relatively new single-engine fighter, meant to compete against other light fighters like the F-16, Gripen, and MiG-29 for export contracts. As the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is the only large user, most solid information about the aircraft is from Chinese marketing documents. But the July interview gives one pilot’s opinion on how the JF-17 stacks up against most common adversaries, from Sukhois to F-16s.The extent of the JF-17’s “hot” usage following the border skirmish was in patrols near the border. In some incidents, the pilot said that during these patrols, he was getting radar lock-on Su-30MKIs at ranges in excess of 100 kilometers.
However, this doesn’t mean that a JF-17 could kill with a missile at that range. The JF-17’s primary beyond-visual-range (BVR) armament is the PL-12 missile, which is still undergoing integration (as of February 2019). During the actual border air skirmish, PAF F-16s lobbed AIM-120C-5 AMRAAM missiles at similar ranges, which forced IAF aircraft to go defensive to dodge the missiles, but no kills were scored. As the PL-12 is said to have a similar range to the AMRAAM, it’s likely that its kinematic performance at range is similar, and it too wouldn’t be able to score a kill.
But if the JF-17 allows the pilot to “lob” a missile at planes at such ranges, it still might be a step ahead of the IAF’s Su-30MKIs. According to an NDTV report, the Russian R-77 missiles cannot engage targets past 80 km.
Despite the Su-30’s missile limitations, the JF-17 pilot said that the Su-30 was one of the most formidable threats the PAF faces. This is likely due to the strong engines and maneuvering capability of the Su-30, which allows it to recover energy quickly after maneuvering and makes it hard to shoot down in a within visual range (WVR) engagement. Interestingly, the pilot then goes onto state that he’s not that afraid of the Su-30 because he’s trained against F-16s with AMRAAMs, which he thinks is a far superior missile. The pilot also states that the MICA on the Mirage is also a significant threat.
This suggests that the pilot probably thinks that the fight will be largely decided, or largely influenced by the BVR stage of the engagement and that the JF-17’s capabilities in that arena are competitive to the F-16 and Mirage. However, the pilot does say that the JF-17’s limited BVR loadout is its main weakness, as most models of the JF-17 can only carry four BVR missiles, compared to the Su-30MKI which can carry eight or more.
The pilot also gives good marks to the JF-17 for reliability, flight characteristics, and maintenance. As the JF-17 is one of China’s “clean slate” designs, this bodes well for the reliability characteristics of the current generation of Chinese aircraft. However, the JF-17 still uses a Russian engine, and the PAF rejected offers to use Chinese engines in their JF-17s in 2015. Engines remain a critical weakness in the Chinese aerospace industry.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/pakistans-next-war-india-will-involve-russia-and-china-even-if-they-dont-join-87346
#Pakistan - Number of dengue patients rises to 50,000, at least 250 dead, say health officials
The number of Dengue patients across Pakistan crossed 50,000 on Saturday as health officials struggled to cope with the deadly epidemic on a mass scale, reports Daily Jang.
According to reports, at least 250 people have already died of dengue in different parts of the country over the past few weeks. The twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad are the worst-hit areas.
Health officials estimate that at least 25,000 people in the twin cities have tested positive for the dengue virus recently. In the two big hospitals of Islamabad alone, some 8,000 dengue cases have been identified.
The health departments has confirmed at least 35 deaths from the dengue virus in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. On Friday, another death was reported from the Morgah area of the Rawalpindi city.Reports suggest that at least 750 dengue patients are currently undergoing treatment at different hospitals in the twin cities, where the health staff taking care of them numbers only 35.At least 150 law enforcement officials have also fallen victim to the dengue virus. Authorities are not revealing the correct figures out of fear of a backlash by the general public.
Last week, two people died of dengue in Karachi, taking the death toll of people dying from the deadly disease to 14 in the metropolis. Meanwhile, thousands more people reportedly tested positive for dengue in Punjab.
Dubbed "breakbone fever", dengue is one of the world´s leading mosquito-borne illnesses and infects tens of millions across the globe annually.
Around half of the planet's population live in at-risk areas, mainly in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Outbreaks have ravaged Southeast Asia this year, infecting hundreds of thousands and killing hundreds.
Bilawal Bhutto to inaugurate Ratodero #HIV treatment centre on Oct 16
A treatment centre for those affected by HIV virus has finally been established in Ratodero, Larkana.
The centre will be for all, including child patients. It has been built by the Sindh health department with support of the UNICEF.
Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will inaugurate the treatment centre on October 16.
It is hoped that the new centre will provide some relief to the people of Ratodero, who previously had to travel to Larkana for treatment.
The files of patients receiving treatment at the Anti-Retroviral Therapy centre in Larkana are also being shifted to Ratodero, according to Dr Sikander Memon, the head of Sindh AIDS Control Programme (SACP).
As per the most recent statistics, the number of people affected by HIV in Larkana and other districts has jumped to 1,112, according to the SACP. Of these, 58 are adult males, 165 adult females, 547 male children and 342 female children.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has also directed that two committees be formed for the rehabilitation and long-term welfare of those affected by the virus and their families.
Poor being murdered economically by incumbent govt: Bilawal Bhutto
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari held a rally in Larkana Saturday against the inflation and unemployment in the country and said that poor people are getting economically murdered.
Addressing to his party workers, he expressed that the ‘puppet’ government has made the lives of people difficult. “Poor farmers of Pakistan are getting economically murdered by the incumbent government”, he said adding that they do not accept the PTI-IMF budget.
PPP Chairman went on to say that the Prime Minister Imran Khan promised employment in the country, and he also promised to build 5 million houses out of which not even a single one has been made so far. “Shops and homes of poor were destroyed in the names of policy. Where did his all promises go?” he asked.
The scion of Bhutto dynasty asserted that he is fighting the ‘selected’ and ‘puppet’ government while asking the people to support him in his struggle against the current ‘bloodsucking’ leadership. He said that the PTI-government cannot give relief to the people as they are sucking the blood of poor.
He also announced to hold a rally in Karachi on October 18.
https://nation.com.pk/12-Oct-2019/poor-being-murdered-economically-by-incumbent-govt-bilawal-bhutto?show=preview