At first I intended to write on the balance of air power in the South Asia but feeling later that it would need a much detailed article, I switched to the topic of air to air missiles (AAMs) and restricted to India and Pakistan. Additionally AAMs carried by combat helicopters are not included here.
Air superiority over the battlefield or over a theater of war is primarily established through fighter aircrafts using air to air missiles and associated sensors and systems. Ground-based air defence systems on the other hand are designed to deny the use of airspace to the opponent. They can't establish air superiority by themselves.
What many people do not realize is that Indian Air Force today has more variety of air to air missiles than any other country on the planet. The Surface to Air missiles (SAMs) types are also varied. These missiles have been purchased from Russia, Israel, France and United Kingdom. The indigenous air to air missile program is an additional category. Variety poses its own problems for a defender. The onboard jammers (called self-protection jammers) carried by fighter jets give best results if optimised against certain threat types.
