Sky dominance in numbers: Is India's air force stronger than Pakistan's?

In 2019, the Indian Air Force and Pakistan Air Force came into conflict after the Balakot airstrike (Balakot, Pakistan) by India on 26 February 2019, targeted terrorist group, Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Both countries have acquired big fighter jets. India have a HAL Tejas, Tejas Mk1A, Sukhoi Su-30MKI, Dassault Rafale, MiG-29, Mirage 2000, MiG-21, SEPECAT Jaguar, Mikoyan MiG-29, BAE Hawk, Embraer R-99, Beriev A-50, AMCA (5th-generation fighter jet), and others, Pakistan airforce has fighter jets like JF-17 Thunder Block III & J-10C, china's J-10 Vigorous Dragon, F-16 Fighting Falcon, Mirage III, Mirage 5, MFI-17 Mushshak, II-78, C-130 Hercules, Saab 2000, Y-12 and more.

Based on the World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft (WDMMA) Global Air Powers Ranking, the Indian Air Force ranks third, while the Pakistan Air Force ranks seventh. This ranking of airforce powers considers the strength of "TrueValueRating" (TvR). Currently, the IAF has 1,716 plus active aircraft on its list.

India have MCA (Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft), original stealth fighters. The AMCA aircraft are equipped with twin-engine, stealth, and multi-role fighters designed for airstrike missions, and sudden warfare. On the other side, Pakistan does not have any 5th generation aircraft in its list. It is working in the development of the 5th genration aircrafts.

India has more compact and high operational readiness surveillance systems compared to Pakistan. It has Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems like Netra & IL-76 Phalcon, 3 Netra AEW&CS and other 3 Phalcon systems. It also have plans to acquire more Netra systems. On the other side, Pakistan has surveillance systems like SAAB 2000 AEW&C, 9 SAAB-2000 AWACS aircraft, and other operational systems.

India has high-altitude helicopters like Prachand Light Combat Helicopters. While Pakistan has Turkish T129 ATAK & Chinese Z-10 helicopters that can support ground-based operations in warfare situations.

India has performed the 'Tarang Shakti' 2024 exercise with France, the UK, Australia, Germany, Spain, Greece and more countries. IAF has also perfomed air drills. In contrast, Pakistan has performed joint exercises in the Shaheen Series in partnership with China for security purposes.

Both countries have their advanced aircraft list but in terms of technology and surveillance, India has a strong side with HAL Tejas, AMCA, Prachand, and Akash missiles. While Pakistan aircraft have a dependency on China and Turkey for their technology and surveillance systems.