India has confirmed that the debris of the PL-15E air-to-air missile has been transferred to a third country for research. On July 7, 2025, local time, India said that after an aerial confrontation between the Indian Air Force and the Pakistan Air Force, India decided to transfer the Chinese-made PL-15E beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile debris to a friendly country. India stated: "This is a major development." According to sources from the Indian defense research institution, after the India-Pakistan air battle, the Indian authorities recovered eight pieces of PL-15E missile debris, two of which were almost intact. Despite the strong interest of countries such as the United States, Japan, and France in analyzing missile data, an unnamed country will receive the broken and partially undamaged missile debris for further study. India said: "This move highlights India's growing role in defense intelligence sharing and underscores the strategic significance of recovering Chinese weapons."
According to India's account, the Pakistan Air Force's JF-17 Xiaolong Block-3 fighter jets and the Chinese-made J-10CE fighter jets launched multiple PL-15E air force missiles to counter the Indian Air Force. The Indian authorities have found the eighth piece of missile debris, at least two of which are nearly intact, including key components such as the missile propulsion system, data link, inertial reference device, and active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar seeker.
According to the Indian defense research institution, eight pieces of PL-15E air-to-air missile debris have been found, two of which are intact. This means that on May 7, during the air battle, six Indian Air Force fighter jets were shot down by the PL-15E air-to-air missiles fired by the Pakistan Air Force's J-10CE fighter jets, and two more fighter jets, possibly the Rafale fighter jets, implemented interference, or it is more likely that they could not find targets of the Indian Air Force fighter jets, and all the Indian Air Force fighter jets escaped. This time, the Indian defense research institution has confirmed it. The Pakistan Air Force's J-10CE fighter jets, relying on the PL-15E air-to-air missiles, shot down three Rafale fighter jets, one Su-30MKI fighter jet, one MiG-29UPG fighter jet, and one Mirage 2000 fighter jet, completely consistent with the Pakistan military's reported results.
Now, India and France are blaming each other: France sold the Indian Air Force a monkey version of the Rafale fighter jet, without providing the strongest supporting electronic systems, ballistics, radar, and early warning systems. The Indian Air Force's radar warning aircraft uses a Russian body with Israeli Phalcon radar, which cannot communicate with the French Rafale fighter jet, significantly reducing combat effectiveness. The Pakistan Air Force's J-10CE fighter jet was able to lock on, thanks to the perfect combination of the ZDK-03 early warning and the Hongqi-9 air defense missile system.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1836979525343232/
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