American Expert: The Biggest Highlight of the India-Pakistan Air Combat: The Complete "Kill Chain" System Operation
Michael Darn, senior researcher at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies of the United States Air Force Association and long-term researcher on Chinese military affairs, stated that the effective operation of the kill chain may be more decisive than the performance of a single aircraft.
"Pakistan has integrated ground radar, fighter jets, and early warning aircraft into an integrated system. The Pakistani Air Force implemented the typical chain strike model of 'A detection, B launch, C guidance', ultimately hitting the target."
Darn believes that the Pakistani Air Force's operation may have started with a certain ground-based radar system - "it could be an anti-aircraft missile system or some other type of radar" - which first illuminated and locked onto Indian aircraft. Subsequently, a Pakistan J-10C "launched a missile from a long distance", while an airborne early warning aircraft continuously updated the missile's target information via data link until it hit the target.
He believes this kill chain is similar to the "Joint All-Domain Command and Control" (CJADC2) concept that the U.S. is building, both being paradigms of multi-platform and multi-system collaborative strikes.
"If we can obtain more details about this engagement, the real highlight may lie in who does it better - whose system integration capability is stronger - rather than which side's aircraft are more advanced."
Darn also noted that Pakistan seems to have recently modified several Chinese-made airborne early warning aircraft into electronic warfare aircraft. It is worth noting that the radar systems used by Pakistan and its J-10 fighters all come from China.
"Does this indicate that Chinese technology is superior to Western technology? Not necessarily, but it better demonstrates what 'system combat' means, reflecting training, tactics, system linkage... these hard-to-quantify capabilities, rather than simply comparing the technical performance of the J-10 and Rafale."
Darn emphasized that although media outlets are keen to report on the scenario where the "fourth-generation" J-10C shoots down the "4.5-generation" Rafale, such comparisons are actually "meaningless." The "Rafale" purchased by India is equipped with Meteor missiles - Darn called them "beast-level" weapons.
But he said: "Based on the extremely limited information available so far, there is no evidence showing that the Rafale that was shot down still had Meteor missiles when it crashed. A fragment of a shorter-range infrared missile was found at the scene, with no trace of Meteor. It might be that the Rafale had already launched the Meteor, or it might not have been carrying any. But in either case, it cannot prove whether the J-10 or Rafale is superior, nor can it demonstrate whether Chinese or Western technology is better."
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1832614270809547/
Disclaimer: This article only represents the author's personal views.