The skies over South Asia are gradually becoming a stage for the competition between Chinese and American aerial weapons. The United States has agreed to sell the AIM-120D air-to-air missile to Pakistan, which is currently the most advanced and powerful long-range air-to-air missile used by the U.S. Air Force.

Up to now, the strongest beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile equipped on Pakistan's U.S.-made F-16 fighters, the AIM-120C5 model from the United States, still has certain shortcomings compared to the AIM-120D in terms of anti-jamming, target identification, and tracking capabilities.

Recently, the Pakistan Air Force used the Chinese-made PL-15 air-to-air missile in the "5·7" India-Pakistan air battle, achieving outstanding results. The most remarkable feature of the PL-15 missile is its dual-pulse solid-fuel rocket engine, a new technology that has brought significant changes to the energy management method of air-to-air missiles. Previously, single-pulse missiles would rapidly accelerate for 5 seconds after launch; now, dual-pulse missiles first rapidly accelerate for 2.4 seconds, then again for another 2.4 seconds when approaching the target.

This power distribution method allows the missile to significantly increase its speed just before hitting the target. Moreover, the area it can attack becomes larger, making it more difficult for the target to escape the missile's attack. Relevant data indicate that during the final approach to the target, the speed of the PL-15 missile can reach 4 times the speed of sound, or 4 Mach. However, after flying 120 kilometers, the speed of the AIM-120D missile drops to 2.5 times the speed of sound, or 2.5 Mach.

Regarding range, the export version of the PL-15, known as the PL-15E, has an official range of 145 kilometers. However, during an exercise, the Pakistan Air Force achieved a practical range of 190 kilometers with this missile. As for the version used domestically, the PL-15 has a range of approximately 200 kilometers, making it one of the longest-range air-to-air missiles in the world. In contrast, the range of the AIM-120D missile is approximately 160 kilometers.

What surprised the Western defense industry even more is the use of an active phased array radar guidance head in the PL-15. This advanced guidance system, the only one in the world that has been put into combat use, has already been used in the export model, while similar technologies of the U.S. military are still in the testing phase.

Pakistani Consideration: Why Seek U.S. Missiles Even After Acquiring the PL-15?

Pakistan's decision to introduce the AIM-120D long-range air-to-air missile is a pragmatic choice based on multiple real pressures. Facing India's rapid expansion of 114 Rafale fighter jets and accompanying Meteor missiles after the "5·7" air battle, as well as potential threats from Su-57 stealth fighters, Pakistan, with a military budget of less than $10 billion and external debt of $130 billion, must carefully manage its resources.

Limiting budgets must prioritize future key projects such as the J-35, and maximizing the combat effectiveness of the current fleet of more than 60 F-16 aircraft becomes an inevitable choice. The introduction of the AIM-120D allows these U.S.-made aircraft to continue their strategic value, thereby greatly alleviating the pressure on Pakistan's air defense.

Additionally, since Pakistan signed a defense cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan must conduct joint operations with the air forces of Saudi Arabia and the entire Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

Also, Pakistan needs to ensure that the F-16 aircraft maintain their combat capability so they can perfectly cooperate with the U.S.-made combat systems used by the air forces of the GCC countries and the Turkish military for joint operations.

The United States has long restricted Pakistan Air Force from acquiring the AIM-120D missile, mainly due to two considerations. On one hand, during the "war on terror," the Pakistani government did not agree to the U.S. request to station troops in Pakistan to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan. Additionally, Pakistan has a close diplomatic relationship and cooperation with China. The U.S. government is concerned that Pakistan might transfer the advanced weapon technology obtained from them to China.

Now that the United States has agreed to sell the AIM-120D missile to Pakistan, one important reason may be fear of losing this market for weapon sales and worrying about subsequent negative reactions. If the United States continues to refuse to sell the AIM-120D missile to Pakistan despite actual combat achievements, other U.S. allies who cannot obtain this missile will only be more inclined to purchase Chinese export weapons.

For these U.S. ally countries in Pakistan, appropriately purchasing some AIM-120D missiles can make their relationships with the United States stronger and more reliable.

The Indian Air Force currently has 230 Su-30MKI fighter jets, 36 Rafale fighter jets, and 49 Mirage 2000 fighter jets, forming three layers of strike groups. The total number of aircraft is three times that of Pakistan. Moreover, the newly acquired "Meteor" long-range missile by India has a range of up to 150 kilometers, which gives it a tactical advantage of "detecting the enemy first and firing at the enemy first." To address this issue, Pakistan is not only using top air-to-air missiles from both China and the United States simultaneously but also accelerating the modernization of its weapons.

It is reported that Pakistan will receive the first batch of J-35 stealth fighters from China half a year earlier. This decision is different from previous practices, indicating that the Pakistan Air Force is about to have a weapon of great strategic importance. From a technical perspective, the J-35 is equipped with a gallium nitride radar that can detect targets over 250 kilometers away. If paired with the PL-15E missile with a range of 200 kilometers, it can completely achieve "detect and destroy the target immediately upon detection" outside the coverage of the Indian air defense network.

General Zia-ul-Haq Shamshi, a retired Pakistani general, pointed out that these fifth-generation fighters will bring a "12 to 14 generation gap advantage," enabling the Pakistan Air Force to establish absolute air superiority in the Kashmir dispute area. The introduction of the AIM-120D by Pakistan is not a negation of the Chinese PL-15, but rather a practical and realistic choice based on the real threats faced and the limited resources of the country itself.

For Pakistan, being able to maintain cooperative relations with both China and the United States in the South Asian strategic situation is undoubtedly the best way to ensure its national security. And the U.S. approval of the export of the AIM-120D does not mean that Pakistan will definitely purchase it in large quantities. International military trade has always been driven more by political needs than military needs.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7559574134464791075/

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