India and Pakistan Confirm PL-15E's Real Combat Range Exceeds 200 km, China's Own Version Is the Focus

On the evening of May 7, 2025, the Indian Army launched a "Saffron" operation, conducting air strikes on Pakistan. In response, the Pakistani Air Force launched a strong counterattack — in this rare aerial battle involving about 110 aircraft and lasting for one hour, the Pakistani side successfully shot down 5 Indian aircraft, including 3 French "Rafale" fighters considered as the Indian Air Force's elite. The key hero of this battle was the Chinese-made J-10C fighter jet and its PL-15E long-range air-to-air missile. What shocked international military observers even more was that an official Indian source first "confirmed": the real combat effective range of the PL-15E far exceeded expectations, breaking through the 200-km barrier.

Misjudgment of Intelligence Led to Tragedy: Underestimation of Range Caused the Downfall of "Rafale"

Some reliable sources say that the Indian intelligence agencies greatly underestimated the range of the PL-15E missile, which became the main reason for the downfall of the "Rafale" fighter jets. The Indians previously thought this missile could only attack up to about 150 kilometers, but the "Rafale" pilots misjudged the safe distance. However, a Pakistani official directly stated that the PL-15E missile that shot down the "Rafale" was fired from about 200 kilometers away and hit it. Some Indian officials privately assessed that the actual range of the missile might be even longer, setting a new record for air-to-air attacks.

Pakistani Air Chief General Zahid Ahmed Babar Siddiqui personally supervised the command and issued instructions to focus on attacking the Indian "Rafale" fighters. The Pakistani tactics were clear: by combining electronic warfare suppression with the ultra-long range advantage of the PL-15E to set up an ambush, they carried out precise "sniping" against India's elite forces.

The PL-15E is a fourth-generation long-range air-to-air missile independently developed by China. It is particularly powerful, capable of attacking at any time and even when the target is not visible, able to engage multiple targets at once, and once launched, it requires no further attention. Its composite guidance system (which includes strapdown inertial navigation plus satellite guidance, bidirectional data link correction, and terminal active radar guidance) is highly advanced. However, what surprised outsiders the most is that the actual range of this missile is much farther than the 145 km stated by the Chinese government during exports. This is completely different from the conventional practice in the international arms market, where the performance of exported weapons is usually exaggerated (this is also true for American and Russian equipment). However, the PL-15E is the opposite, stating conservative specifications, but actually performing far better than advertised. The Indian military clearly did not see through this "unusual" aspect, and ended up suffering a major loss.

Experts at the Royal United Services Institute in the UK who study air combat, Brown, said: "The long-range attack capability demonstrated by the PL-15E is especially strong, and the Indian Air Force clearly had no preparation for it." The subsequent presentation of photos of the "Rafale" wreckage and related electronic warfare evidence by the Pakistani side has gained widespread international recognition of their victory.

This battle completely shattered the stereotype of Chinese weapons being "of low quality" — the practical performance of the PL-15E and J-10C proves that they are fully capable of competing with Western top-tier equipment. This conflict has sounded a warning bell for the global defense industry: the technical complexity and combat reliability of Chinese weapons have undeniably placed them in the first tier globally.

Focus Shifts to China's Own Version: Performance Is Even More Astonishing

Export version of the PL-15E is already so powerful, but what is more important to the outside world is that the performance of China's own "Plum Blossom - 15" (PL-15) missile must be even more remarkable. Its key indicators such as range, guidance accuracy, data link efficiency, and terminal anti-jamming capabilities will undoubtedly exceed the export version. Notably, the PL-15E obtained by Pakistan may be from the 2015 batch, and due to the special relationship between China and Pakistan, its performance is "full blood" rather than "monkey version". This means that the latest batches or upgraded versions of the "Plum Blossom - 15" recently deployed in the PLA have real combat capabilities that can make any potential opponent take notice.

This aerial confrontation between India and Pakistan is not only a successful practical test of China's advanced aviation weapon systems, but also a milestone victory. It has forced the international community to re-evaluate the global competitiveness changes brought by the rapid development of Chinese military technology with a new and more serious attitude — the era of high-end Chinese weapons has arrived, and in some areas, even the US and Russia need to face the gap.



Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7536102899655606794/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author. Please express your opinion by clicking on the [Up/Down] buttons below.