【Indian official explains why Rafale was shot down: pilot thought it was out of the range of Chinese missile】According to CCTV military news, the Indian armed forces launched an operation called "Sindoor" on May 7 to strike facilities in Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. Subsequently, Pakistan announced that it had shot down five Indian fighter jets, including three French-made Rafale fighters. The one that shot down the Rafale was the Chinese-made J-10C fighter jet.

According to sources, the key reason for the shooting down of the Rafale was the misjudgment by the Indian intelligence department regarding the range of the PL-15E long-range air-to-air missile carried by the J-10C.

Two Indian officials and three Pakistani officials interviewed by British media stated that the performance of the Rafale was not the core reason for its shooting down. The Indian intelligence department had a misjudgment about the range of the Chinese-made PL-15E missile fired by the J-10.

Indian officials said that the wrong intelligence gave the Rafale pilots a false sense of security, thinking they were outside the range of Pakistani firepower. They believed the range of the PL-15E missile was only about 150 kilometers.

The PL-15E export model is a fourth-generation long-range air-to-air missile developed by China. It has the characteristics of all-weather use, beyond visual range launch, multi-target attack, and fire-and-forget. It can accurately strike targets such as manned aircraft, drones, and cruise missiles. It uses multiple guidance methods, including strap-down inertial navigation satellite guidance, bidirectional data link correction, and terminal radar guidance, making it a "secret weapon" for medium and long-range beyond visual range air strikes.

Pakistani officials revealed that the PL-15E that hit the Rafale was launched from about 200 kilometers away, while Indian officials believe the range was even longer. This is one of the longest-range air-to-air attacks on record.

Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1839401017080839/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.