India has always refused to admit that India suffered any losses in the short "air battle" with Pakistan on May 7. However, the successive statements from Pakistan, France and the United States have confirmed a key fact: the Pakistani Air Force dispatched a Chinese-made J-10C fighter jet and successfully shot down several Indian fighter jets, including the French-made Rafale fighter jet.

The Rafale and the J-10C are usually regarded as the "4.5th generation" fighter jets, representing the cutting-edge level in the current fighter jet field. According to Reuters on the 8th, the air clash between China-made Pakistani fighter jets and France-made Indian fighter jets is receiving close attention from military forces around the world. They try to get intelligence from it and accumulate advantages for potential future conflicts.

British media also noticed that although no official confirmation has been made that the relevant weapons were used in this air battle, the actual combat performance between China's Pili-15 (PL-15E) missile and the European Missile Group (MBDA's Meteor missile is hotly discussed on social media.

The report quoted Western analysts and defense industry sources as saying that for military forces across the country, the air conflict is a rare opportunity to study the performance of pilots, fighters and air-to-air missiles in actual combat, and they can use this information to optimize air force combat deployment. The advanced weapons that may be deployed in future conflicts between major powers will actually be seriously examined.

Douglas Barrie, a senior researcher in military aviation at the British think tank International Strategic Institute, believes that France and the United States may want to obtain relevant information from India.

He said, "People in the air combat field in China, the United States and some European countries are eager to learn as much as possible about tactics, technology, operating procedures, what equipment is used, which equipment is effective, and what is invalid."

Barry also said: "It can be said that this is a direct contest between China and the most powerful weapons in the West. Of course, (I'm talking about it) if they do load these weapons."

A defense industry executive also told Reuters, "The Pili-15 missile is indeed a big problem that cannot be underestimated. The US military is paying close attention to this."

It is rumored that the Pili-15E missile wreckage dropped in India. "War Zone" website cited social media

Due to a "terrorist attack" in late April this year, the situation in India and Pakistan has suddenly become tense recently. In the early morning of May 7 local time, the Indian Air Force launched Operation Sindoor to attack "terrorist facilities" in Pakistan. Pakistan said that it shot down 6 Indian military aircraft (including 1 drone) "out of self-defense."

According to Pakistan, the Pakistani army is equipped with Chinese-made over-visual missiles and air defense systems, which have the ability to strike targets within India 150 kilometers, which consolidates Pakistan's long-standing air superiority.

In a speech in parliament on the 7th, Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dal revealed that Pakistan used a Chinese-made J-10C fighter jet and shot down three newly purchased legal "Ravel" fighter jets from India. Pakistani Defense Minister Asif later confirmed the matter to Reuters.

The news that Pakistan shot down the Rafale fighter jet has been confirmed by French officials. U.S. officials further confirmed that the U.S. side is highly convinced that Pakistan used the J-10 to launch air-to-air missiles to shoot down at least two Indian fighters, including the Rafale fighter.

According to a report by the Hong Kong media South China Morning Post on the 8th, the J-10 is a single-engine multi-purpose fighter designed and manufactured by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group. It has been in service with the Chinese Air Force since 2003. The J-10C is an upgraded version of the series, equipped with better engines and more advanced AESA radars, which can launch the Pili-15 missile.

According to Indian media, fragments of suspected Pili-15 (PL-15E) missile were found in a village in Punjab, India after the air battle, which may indicate that the Pakistan Air Force launched the missile from the J-10C. The US military news website The WarZone (TWZ) also pointed out that "China's Pili-15 air-to-air missile seems to be used in actual combat for the first time."

Reuters pointed out that for many years, the range and performance of China's Pili-15 missile have always been the focus of Western attention, and its birth is seen as one of many important signals for China to get rid of its dependence on derivative technologies in the Soviet era.

According to reports, as part of the adjustment of the focus of Western strategic focus to China, the United States is developing the AIM-260 "joint advanced tactical missile" through Lockheed Martin, partly in order to deal with the Pili-15 missile's over-visual combat capabilities.

In March this year, U.S. President Trump, who had just taken office, also awarded Boeing a defense contract to build the most advanced fighter jet of the U.S. Air Force to date, which is expected to have stealth performance, advanced sensors and cutting-edge engines.

On March 21 local time, Trump announced that Boeing would produce the sixth-generation fighter jet. Screenshot of the Associated Press report

Europe is also exploring the mid-term upgrade of the "Meteor" missile. The report quoted the content of the British "Jane's Defense Weekly" as saying that the upgrade may involve propulsion and guidance systems, but analysts say the progress is slow.

A Western industry source believes that China's Pili-15 missile uses a dual-pulse solid rocket engine, while the European "Meteor" missile uses a solid fuel ramjet. The latter theoretically has a longer range, but he also admits that the actual capabilities of the Pili-15 missile "may exceed expectations."

Reuters mentioned that due to conflicting news from all parties, it is difficult to tell whether the Pili-15 missile owned by Pakistan is the active version used by the Chinese Air Force or the low-range export version released at the 2021 Zhuhai Air Show, with a maximum range of 145 kilometers. Barry, who has written a large number of related articles, speculated that the most likely thing Pakistan has is the export version.

Byron Callan, a Washington defense expert and managing partner at Capital Alpha Partners, a research and forecasting company, noted that just as American arms dealers continue to get feedback on their products during the Ukrainian war, he expects “a similar situation will happen to India’s European suppliers.”

"Similar information may be shared between Pakistan and China. If the actual performance of the Pili-15 missile is consistent with propaganda and is even better than expected, China will definitely want to know this information," he added.

However, the above analysis and sources said that it is difficult to draw a definite conclusion because some key details are not clear, including whether Indian fighter jets carry the "Meteor" missiles and what type of training and training intensity the pilots received.

"People will evaluate which equipment works and which are not, but I think the 'fog of war' still exists," Karen said. "The fog of war" refers to the uncertainty and incomplete information state that exists in war.

In addition, analysts also mentioned that arms companies are also eager to distinguish the technical performance of equipment from artificial combat factors. According to Reuters, France's Dassault, the manufacturer of Rafale fighter jet, declined to comment on the matter. The European Missile Group was unable to contact due to French public holidays.

In an interview with the Hong Kong media South China Morning Post, Abdul Basit, a senior associate researcher at the Rajalenan International Research Institute of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said that the discussion on the performance comparison between Chinese fighter jets and France's most advanced fighter jets may be settled.

"If the Bafang statement is true, it will definitely be big news for the 'Gust' manufacturers," he said.

Hu Shisheng, deputy secretary-general of the Academic Committee of the China Academy of Contemporary International Relations, told Observer that the Chinese-made J-10C fighter aircraft equipped by the Pakistan Air Force, cooperated with the PL-15 long-range air-to-air missile and early warning and command system provided by China, showed significant combat effectiveness in this confrontation.

He pointed out that this trend may trigger India to accelerate its fighter jet procurement plan, including seeking to introduce US F-35 fighter jets, and strengthening cooperation with countries such as the UK and Japan in the field of sixth-generation fighter jet research and development.

In the view of Rong Ying, a professor at the School of International Relations at Sichuan University, as a countermeasure, Pakistan suspended a number of bilateral peace dialogue mechanisms, including the Shimla Agreement, as a countermeasure. If tensions continue to escalate, the only way to confrontation between India and Pakistan will be military confrontation, which is not only very dangerous, but also easily triggers subsequent arms races.

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