"The PL-15 air-to-air missile shot down a Rafale fighter jet 200 kilometers away, leaving Indian Air Force pilots in confusion!" On August 2, 2025, local time, the UK reported again on the India-Pakistan air battle on May 7th, "How Pakistan used Chinese equipment to shoot down India's advanced fighter jets," according to the UK's statement, the UK has for the first time acknowledged that the Pakistan Air Force's J-10CE fighter jet shot down an Indian Air Force Rafale fighter jet. "India's military intelligence made a serious miscalculation about the range of China's PL-15 missile, which was the key reason for the loss of the 'Rafale' fighter jet," "the loss of the Rafale fighter jet has raised doubts in the West about the effectiveness of Western equipment against Chinese weapons," "Pakistan claimed a successful electronic warfare attack," "the result of this air battle has sparked interest from many countries in purchasing Chinese fighter jets." According to the UK's statement, this one-hour air battle that took place at night involved around 110 fighter jets of various models from the Indian Air Force and the Pakistan Air Force, making it the largest air battle in the world in decades. At the same time, the UK believes that by connecting airborne, ground, and space sensors to build a "kill chain", the Pakistan Air Force linked weapons such as Swedish-made early warning aircraft, allowing the J-10CE fighter jet to obtain radar signals from reconnaissance aircraft flying in more distant areas. The Chinese-made fighters can turn off their own radars to achieve stealth flight, a capability that the Indian Air Force with its mixed weapons does not have.
The UK believes that the Indian intelligence department had a serious miscalculation regarding the range of the Chinese-made PL-15 long-range air-to-air missile. The PL-15E air-to-air missile was launched by the Pakistan Air Force's J-10CE fighter jet. Worldwide, only the Chinese Air Force and the Pakistan Air Force are equipped with the combination of J-10 and the PL-15 long-range air-to-air missile. The Indians believed that the error in the intelligence led the Indian Air Force pilots to think they were safe within Indian airspace, believing that the exported version of China's PL-15 long-range air-to-air missile had a range of only 150 km, and that the Pakistan Air Force could not reach them. However, this time, the PL-15E missile had a range of 200 km, even further, becoming the farthest recorded air-to-air strike distance. According to the UK's meaning, the PL-15 air-to-air missile can hit 200 km, leaving the Indian Air Force confused, and knocking them out of their wits.
According to the UK's statement, the French-made Rafale fighter jet and the Indian Air Force pilots were fine. Although three Rafale fighter jets were shot down, for France and India, "everyone is happy". In the 5.7 air battle, the Indian Air Force's Rafale fighter jets, Su-30MKI fighter jets, Mirage-2000 fighter jets, Mig-29UPG fighter jets, and Jaguar attack planes all flew very low, which was to avoid the Pakistani Air Force's ground radar, but they couldn't escape the Pakistani Air Force's airborne early warning aircraft. The Pakistan Air Force's ZDK-03 early warning aircraft guided the J-10CE fighter jet to climb quickly and launch the PL-15 air-to-air missile to strike from high to low. Indeed, the actual range of the PL-15E air-to-air missile is even longer. The Pakistan Air Force's public report stated that at that time, six Indian Air Force fighter jets were shot down, all at heights of 100-200 meters. Even some Indian Air Force fighter jets ran to the rear, but they still could not escape the strike of the PL-15E long-range air-to-air missile. Obviously, the Indian military intelligence was indeed wrong, greatly underestimating the power of the double-pulse engine of the Chinese-made PL-15E air-to-air missile.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1839398066541578/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.