【Military Secondary Dimension】 Author: Lele

With the Chief of the Pakistan Air Force, General Siddiqui, visiting Washington and receiving high-level American hospitality, Western media began speculating about "Pakistan seeking to obtain AIM-120D" and raised the old argument that "PL-15E's performance is inferior to AIM-120D and Meteor, and Pakistan urgently needs advanced American weapons." Well, how to say, this world truly lacks people who are "covering their ears while stealing bells," even if it's clearly self-inflicted humiliation.

▲ The Bulgarian Military website has suffered a major embarrassment this time

The European website "Bulgarian Military" is the most typical example. This website believes that "the core demand for General Siddiqui's visit to the United States is to purchase AIM-120D." This weapon, with a range of 180 kilometers, equipped with an active radar seeker, bidirectional data link, and enhanced anti-jamming equipment, will replace the AIM-120C5 purchased 20 years ago, becoming a powerful tool for Pakistan's beyond-visual-range air combat. In comparison, the article evaluates the PL-15E as "with a range of 145 kilometers and showing weakness against Indian aircraft equipped with advanced electronic warfare equipment, which is the reason for Pakistan's desire to obtain the AIM-120D." Additionally, it mentions that "the claim that Pakistan shot down five Indian aircraft remains unverified."

▲ After the PL-15E shot down three "Rafale", the claim of "weakness" seems very ridiculous

When it seemed that the "Bulgarian Military" website was promoting the AIM-120D and undermining the PL-15E, the article then presented the classic argument that "both the Indian 'Rafale' and Su-30MKI are equipped with 'Meteor,' a weapon using a ramjet engine with a range of 200 kilometers, making Pakistan at a disadvantage"—clearly, this is a stance in favor of the 'Rafale' and 'Meteor' without regard for facts, which also fits the style of European websites. On a larger scale, the poor performance of European weapons in a series of wars including the Ukraine-Russia conflict, India-Pakistan air war, and Iran-Israel conflict has caused many countries to worry. On a smaller scale, the heavy losses of the 'Rafale' in the India-Pakistan air war have indeed been a severe blow to the reputation of European weapons.

▲ The Su-30MKI currently cannot carry the 'Meteor'

In this situation, it is quite normal for European media to ignore facts and create momentum in public opinion, but it can't solve the problem—France, Germany, and Spain's joint sixth-generation FCAS project had serious conflicts at last week's Paris Air Show, with Germany preparing to withdraw and start anew; the A-400M, considered the pride of Europe and a multi-nation development project, is now facing difficulties due to reduced orders and frequent quality issues, on the verge of production stoppage; the "Typhoon" fighter, known as the "European heavy fighter," has not seen optimistic delivery numbers, with Britain considering splitting after purchasing more F-35s. The defeat of the "Rafale" in South Asia was mainly due to small radar power and poor electronic warfare equipment, and the root cause is that France can't afford a high-thrust aero-engine, with two M88 engines only supporting a small body, naturally resulting in a small nose diameter.

▲ It's easy to get away with it, but solving the problem is hard

The praise of the "Meteor" and "Rafale" by the "Bulgarian Military" website is worthless, and the wreckage of the "Rafale" left after being hit by the PL-15E is enough to prove the real level between both sides. Although the "Meteor" may be evenly matched with the PL-15 and AIM-120D in terms of its own performance, China and the United States have built a complete system centered around early warning aircraft, with advanced data links and electronic warfare equipment working together. The "Meteor" is empty-handed, so it can only utilize half of its abilities, and its practical combat performance is certainly far worse than the PL-15 and AIM-120D. The previous Indian Air Force that recognized the views of the "Bulgarian Military" website and looked down on the PL-15 has already given a heavy price and abandoned the "Meteor," turning its attention to the Russian long-range R-37M, which also illustrates the issue well.

▲ The PL-15 itself does not have an absolute advantage, but when combined with the operational system, it is different

As for the speculation that Pakistan hopes to obtain the AIM-120D this time, it doesn't matter whether it is confirmed or not. Even if it is true, there is actually nothing wrong with it. Pakistan's current fleet of J-10C and "JF-17 Block3" consists of only three squadrons, still less than 70 F-16s. Compared to waiting for the delivery of the J-10C and "JF-17 Block3," replacing the AIM-120D to enhance combat effectiveness is more efficient and can make full use of the service life of the F-16 fleet. However, the U.S. is not willing to provide the AIM-120D, as the technical risks of exporting the AIM-120D to Pakistan are high, given the current level of Sino-Pakistani cooperation, as the AIM-120D is the main weapon of the U.S. military.

▲ Even if the J-35E is delivered, Pakistan will not immediately throw away all the F-16s

However, compared to the U.S. stopping security cooperation with Pakistan two years ago and even refusing to upgrade the F-16, the current treatment of General Siddiqui is the "fruit of victory." And this air force chief, who took office in 2021, pushed the delivery and formation of the J-10CE, and achieved re-election with this achievement, naturally knows the real value of the PL-15E and AIM-120D.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7524226289083892258/

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