{"id":18940,"date":"2025-05-12T13:55:36","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T13:55:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=18940"},"modified":"2025-05-12T13:55:38","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T13:55:38","slug":"how-pakistan-became-chinas-air-power-showroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=18940","title":{"rendered":"How Pakistan became China\u2019s air power showroom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

India-Pakistan air battle showcased China’s fighter jets and tech.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between the night of May 6 and 7, Pakistan and India were locked in the fiercest air battle of the 21st century. As many as 125 fighter jets took the sky, the numbers advantage tilted heavily in India\u2019s favour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the dust settled and the fog of war lifted, Pakistan\u2019s claim of downing five Indian Air Force jets \u2014 including three of its prized Rafale fighters \u2014 sent shockwaves through global military circles. The fact that the French-made 4.5th-generation Rafale was shot down in combat for the first time since it took to the skies was newsworthy in itself. But what stood out even more than the kills Pakistan claimed was the technology it reportedly used to achieve them: Chinese-made fighter jets, missiles, radar, and electronic warfare systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the aerial engagement, analysts and defence industry sources \u2014 both Western and Chinese \u2014 have spoken to various news outlets about why the live deployment of such advanced weapons, potentially usable in future great power conflicts, will be scrutinised in meticulous detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think this brings us back to a type of aerial combat we haven\u2019t seen in a long time,\u201d Newsweek <\/em>quoted Walter Ladwig, Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), as saying. \u201cFighter jets had taken a backseat, but now we\u2019re witnessing a clash between states deploying their frontline weapons. This is what state-on-state war looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAir warfare communities in China, the US, and several European countries will be extremely eager to extract as much ground truth as possible \u2014 tactics, techniques, procedures, what equipment was used, what worked and what didn\u2019t,\u201d Douglas Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told Reuters<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As open-source evidence mounted that Pakistan\u2019s newly acquired J-10CE fighter jet had downed a Rafale, shares of the Chinese aviation firm Chengdu soared more than 40 per cent in just two days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Rafale is a very modern aircraft and a top-line fighter in the Indian arsenal,\u201d Ladwig told Newsweek<\/em>. \u201cIndia\u2019s acquisition of it was a cornerstone of its air force modernisation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The likelihood that it was downed by a state-of-the-art Chinese fighter came as a \u201cpleasant surprise\u201d for Beijing, noted Yun Sun, a Chinese military specialist at the Stimson Center in Washington DC, in article by the Financial Times<\/em>. \u201cThere\u2019s no better advertisement than a real combat situation\u2026 the result is quite striking,\u201d he was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Financial Times<\/em> piece, defence attach\u00e9s from China\u2019s Western rivals were already \u201cimpatient\u201d for India to share radar and electronic signatures from the J-10CE in combat mode, so that their own aerial defence systems can be trained accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the most important global aspect \u2014 this is the first time Chinese military equipment has been tested against top-tier Western systems,\u201d said Sushant Singh, a lecturer at Yale University\u2019s South Asian Studies programme, in remarks to the Financial Times<\/em>. \u201cHowever this ends, the final reckoning will have implications for Taiwan and for how Western defence firms respond to China\u2019s combination of low-cost and high-tech capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to The Telegraph<\/em>, Hu Xijin, former editor of China\u2019s state-owned Global Times<\/em>, stated that the battle demonstrated \u201cChina\u2019s level of military manufacturing has completely surpassed that of Russia and France,\u201d adding that Taiwan should now be \u201ceven more scared.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For China, the skirmish tested not only the aircraft but also the systems it employs \u2014 like the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar system it is equipped with and the PL-15 beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missiles it can be armed with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aurangzeb Ahmed, Pakistan\u2019s Deputy Chief of Air Operations, confirmed that variants of the PL-15 missile were used in the engagement. The hour-long aerial battle, he boasted, \u201cwould be studied in classrooms,\u201d adding, \u201cWe knocked some sense into these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert Tollast, a researcher at RUSI, told the Financial Times<\/em> that the use of the PL-15 missile could be \u201chighly significant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf confirmed, we\u2019ve now seen a Chinese-made AESA paired with a beyond-visual-range missile used in combat,\u201d Tollast said. Western nations and Russia have tested their own AESAs for decades, but details from just this single skirmish \u2014 such as how many missiles were fired per hit \u2014 \u201ccould be tremendously useful for China in evaluating the capabilities of its systems,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinese military analysts have long viewed the PL-15 as a top-tier BVR missile. \u201cBut if a hit is confirmed, this becomes a public demonstration of Chinese aerospace prowess,\u201d Fabian Hoffmann, a missile researcher and non-resident fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, told The Telegraph<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is another signal that, in a Taiwan conflict, we shouldn\u2019t assume Chinese tech would perform like Russia\u2019s in Ukraine,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The PL-15 is guided mid-flight by an AESA radar located on the launch platform or a separate vehicle. Near the target, its own onboard AESA radar activates, locking on and homing in with high precision. A dual-pulse motor gives it an additional burst of speed around 10 kilometres from impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese are very fast weapons,\u201d Hoffmann was quoted as saying. \u201cThey essentially have a \u2018no-escape zone\u2019. The shift from external to onboard radar also lets the launching jet disengage and avoid counterfire. There\u2019s survivability for the launch platform, and lethality for the missile itself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Rick Joe, an expert on China\u2019s military advancements, the Pakistan-India aerial engagement \u2014 regardless of the actual kill tally \u2014 has significantly boosted the profile of China\u2019s tactical air capabilities, both among the general public and former sceptics. \u201cFor those who have been seriously tracking China\u2019s defence sector, the fact that the J-10C and PL-15 are performing as advertised should come as no surprise,\u201d he told The Express Tribune<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to estimates by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, approximately 81 percept of Pakistan\u2019s military equipment originates from China, including more than half of its 400-strong air force fleet. The military hardware China supplies has evolved along with its own defence industry, Andrew Small, a Pakistan-China relations expert at the German Marshall Fund, told Financial Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apart from cooperation on nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, much of what China used to supply was low-end like tanks, artillery and small arms, Small noted. \u201cNow, Pakistan is becoming a showcase for some of China\u2019s newer capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

India, meanwhile, has become the world\u2019s largest weapons importer, shifting from a dependency on Russian arms to purchasing from the US, France and Israel, which now account for nearly half of its recent acquisitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe big advantage the Pakistanis have is that their primary weapons supplier is China,\u201d The Telegraph<\/em> quoted Walter Ladwig as saying in a different piece. \u201cIndia may have a larger defence budget and modernisation programme on paper, but Beijing delivers.\u201d He pointed out that China has rapidly supplied Pakistan with armour, the jointly developed JF-17 fighter jet, and missile systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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India\u2019s primary suppliers \u2014 Russia and France, providing 36 and 33 percept of imports respectively \u2014 have been slower to meet orders. \u201cIndia\u2019s air force is still flying antiquated MiGs,\u201d Ladwig added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, Pakistan is the only country besides China operating the J-10C fighter. The Pakistan Air Force ordered 36 export-model J-10CE aircraft and 250 PL-15E missiles in 2020. The first six were delivered in 2022, and 20 are now in active service. Egypt is among nations that have expressed interest in the J-10C, while Uzbekistan is reportedly weighing it against the Rafale for its air force modernisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless, defence analysts urge caution when interpreting the results of this technological faceoff as pilot error or rules of engagement may have contributed to the Rafale\u2019s reported losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to The Express Tribune<\/em>, Dr James Patton Rogers \u2014 Executive Director of the Brooks Tech Policy Institute at Cornell and an expert on drone warfare, disruptive technologies, and international security \u2014 echoed that caution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you read Chinese media, you\u2019d think they\u2019re now global leaders in fighter jet manufacturing after one alleged shootdown,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we need to see Rafales in full operational deployment to accurately assess how vulnerable they really are to Chinese aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe claims we\u2019re seeing go beyond traditional dogfights,\u201d emphasised Dr Rogers. \u201cWe should be more concerned about China\u2019s electronic warfare capabilities\u2026 The J-10 seems capable of disrupting radar communication systems, impairing the Rafales\u2019 situational awareness and forcing them to land \u2014 or crash,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That, he believed, was most likely to raise red flags in France, the US and rest of the West regarding just how sophisticated these jets have become.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf the J-10s are now supposedly outperforming the F-16s, we may be witnessing a new benchmark of China\u2019s military capability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Asked whether this could shift arms buyers toward China, Dr Rogers responded: \u201cFor some countries that were leaning that way anyway, this is the justification that they needed to push them over the edge politically and to make that case\u2026 about why to go with Chinese goods over others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you can make the case that Chinese weapons are militarily superior, it takes lot of the other politics out of it and it’s easier to justify in this increasingly contested great power world we live in today,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wouldn’t be surprised if it has boosted the profile of Chinese arms, in particular J-10C and PL-15,\u201d added Rick Joe. \u201cWhether those nations will actually purchase PRC arms is another matter because procurement is a reflection of politics, cost, tech transfer, etc,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reference Link:- https:\/\/tribune.com.pk\/story\/2545190\/how-pakistan-became-chinas-air-power-showroom<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

India-Pakistan air battle showcased China’s fighter jets and tech. Between the night of May 6 and 7, Pakistan and India were locked in the fiercest air battle of the 21st century. As many as 125 fighter jets took the sky, the numbers advantage tilted heavily in India\u2019s favour. When the dust settled and the fog […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[29,18104,17488,18107,39,18105,36,3299,18056,60],"class_list":["post-18940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sample-category","tag-china","tag-chinese-fighters","tag-chinese-weapons","tag-how-pakistan-became-chinas-air-power-showroom","tag-india","tag-pafs-supermacy","tag-pakistan","tag-pakistan-air-force","tag-pakistan-india-war","tag-geopolitics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18940"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18942,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18940\/revisions\/18942"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}