shiv wrote:What tactics would require 2 or 4 escorts flying with the AWACS if t is 100 km in Indian territory? The "escorts" would be better off ensuring that NOTHING enters Indian airspace rather than buzzing around the AWACS and creating photo ops.
Nothing should even come withing missile range of that AWACS. That means shooting down Pakis in Pakistan and that AWACS is to find them and get them in Paki airspace and not to let them within 50 Km of the AWACS and then have escorts doing heroics.
Its not an ideal world. There are gaps in surveillance that can result for example in between the time it takes for one set of fighters to leave station and another to take station. This could be due to anything from delays in human responses to bad weather etc. There are ways to camouflage a set of fighters configured for attacking the AWACS amidst others destined for tactical ops. Multiple bearings can be used to ensure that the outer ring of fighters on the defensive side are spread thin attacking the tactical air. The list goes on.
If the enemy is smart, he is likely to try and punch through when such gaps occur. Then there are leaks during the knife fight that might occur even if the outer layer of fighters are engaged with the enemy fighters. The loss of situational awareness on board the fighters in the outer layer in the heat of battle will ensure that there are some leaks. The inner ring of fighters around the AWACS must be tasked with dealing this threat since the operators on the AWACS have not lost
their situational awareness and neither have the pilots of the inner ring. This inner ring may not be "escorts" in the classic sense but rather a group of fighters tied to the AWACS by a tight rope while the main fighter groups are tied to the AWACS as a loose rope. Maneuver flexibility is therefore reduced (as in the range of jobs that a fighter group can engage in) as you go inwards in this ring structure.
Also note that the further away you spread your fighters from the AWACS, the greater the surveillance arc they have to monitor. There are greater distances to cover and hence the time for response increases. Conversely, the closer you keep the fighters, the shorter the response time and distance required to travel. But at the same time you cannot get too close to the AWACS. hence the argument for outer and inner layer defenses.
If any aircraft come within missile firing range of the AWACS then it is failure.. All hostile a/c need to be detected and taken out.
True.
And the AWACS will be out of stinger range within Indian territory.
Not just stingers, but basically all but the high end, long range SAMs.
