Key points
- Pakistan Air Force shot down 5 Indian aircraft
- US, French officials confirm first-ever downing of French-made Rafale in a combat
- Fight pits Chinese jets, missiles against European weapons
- Global militaries analysing tactics, kit for future conflicts: Reuters
ISLAMABAD: Global militaries are anticipating crucial insights from the recent dogfight between Chinese-made Pakistani jets and French-made Indian Rafale fighters to prepare their own air forces for similar future battles.
Pakistan Air Force brought down five Indian fighter jets, including three Rafale fighters, one MiG-29, an SU-30 and an unmanned aerial vehicle, in retaliation for an overnight attack.
CNN reported, quoting security sources, that the dogfight was one of the largest and longest in recent aviation history.
Indian officials initially denied the downing of their aircraft, only to admit on the condition of anonymity later and told CNN that three of their aircraft “crashed”.
Major milestone
This was followed by a senior French intelligence officer’s admission of the downing of at least one Rafale fighter for the first time in an air combat.
Two US officials told Reuters that a Chinese-made Pakistani fighter plane shot down at least two Indian military aircraft, marking a potential major milestone for Beijing’s advanced fighter jet.
Rare opportunity
Reuters reported, citing analysts, that the aerial clash is a rare opportunity for militaries to study the performance of pilots, fighter jets and air-to-air missiles in active combat, and use that knowledge to prepare their own air forces for battle.
Experts said the live use of advanced weapons would be analysed across the world, including in China and the United States which are both preparing for a potential conflict over Taiwan or in the wider Indo-Pacific region.
One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters there was high confidence that Pakistan had used the Chinese-made J-10 aircraft to launch air-to-air missiles against Indian fighter jets.
Social media posts focused on the performance of China’s PL-15 air-to-air missile against the Meteor, a radar-guided air-to-air missile produced by European group MBDA.
There has been no official confirmation these weapons were used.
“PL-15 a big problem”
“Air warfare communities in China, the US and a number of European countries will be extremely interested to try and get as much ground truth as they can on tactics, techniques, procedures, what kit was used, what worked and what didn’t,” said Douglas Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, according to Reuters.
“You have arguably China’s most capable weapon against the West’s most capable weapon, if indeed it was being carried; we don’t know that,” Barrie said.
The French and Americans would likely be hoping for similar intelligence from India, Barrie said.
“The PL-15 is a big problem. It is something that the US military pays a lot of attention to,” a defence industry executive said.
On Thursday, the Pakistan military said it shot down 29 drones from India in its airspace.
Constant feedback
Western analysts and industry sources said crucial details remained unclear including whether the Meteor was carried and the type and amount of training the pilots had received. Arms firms would also be anxious to separate technical performance from operational factors, analysts said.
“There will be audits of what works and what doesn’t work, but I think the other overlay is the proverbial fog of war,” said Byron Callan, a Washington-based defence expert and managing partner of Capital Alpha Partners.
US arms companies are getting constant feedback about how their products are working in the war in Ukraine, he said.
“Better than expected”
“So I absolutely expect the same to be the case with India’s European suppliers, and Pakistan and China are probably sharing the same feedback. If the PL-15 is working as advertised or better than expected, the Chinese would like to hear that.”
A Western industry source dismissed claims while talking to Reuters that the rocket-powered PL-15 had longer range than the air-breathing Meteor but acknowledged that its capability “may be greater than was thought.”
