Preface:
The Indian military initiated hostilities and launched a large-scale surprise attack on Pakistan, deploying approximately 80 aircraft (including fighters, bombers, tankers, drones, and early warning aircraft) to carry out the attack. The result of this air battle between India and Pakistan is already known. Pakistan achieved a complete victory, shooting down eight Indian aircraft, including one Heron drone, without suffering any losses itself. During this air battle, the Indian military failed to detect or lock onto Pakistani aircraft, leaving them in a completely suppressed state.
Both the United States and France admitted that India lost in this air battle, with the Rafale fighter jets being completely suppressed. U.S. sources confirmed that during the attack, Pakistan carried out beyond-visual-range attacks from 160 kilometers away. Although the Indian government did not admit to the loss situation, Indian media acknowledged at least three aircraft were shot down, including an Indian Air Force Rafale jet. Fragments of the aircraft wreckage show that India's first Rafale fighter jet, No. 001, was also shot down in this air battle. This air battle is destined to become a classic and a landmark event.
1
Pakistan’s 40 aircraft faced off against India’s 80 aircraft, fighting at a 1:2 ratio and defeating the Indian forces within an hour. On May 7, Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar summarized the air combat situation between India and Pakistan and disclosed relevant information. Ishaq Dar pointed out that India deployed approximately 80 aircraft in this surprise attack, almost concentrating its most elite air power. To counter India's large formation of aircraft, Pakistan prepared around 40 aircraft.
Pakistan led with the J-10C fighter jets, while India led with the Rafale fighter jets. India's air combat formation was large but lacked advanced early warning aircraft support, thus lacking a systemic advantage. Pakistan has the advanced ZDK-03 early warning aircraft with strong aerial networking capability. Despite the numerical advantage of 2:1 for the Indian military, due to the lack of advanced system support, they suffered a crushing defeat in the actual air battle. After one hour of intense fighting, eight Indian aircraft, including three Rafale jets, were shot down.
The large-scale air raid codenamed "Operation Vermilion" was planned by the Indian military, attempting to launch a surprise attack on Pakistan's Punjab province and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir with 80 aircraft. However, this carefully planned military operation turned into the "most painful air combat defeat of the 21st century" within 42 minutes. Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed that five aircraft were shot down in one engagement by the J-10C. Although India had numerical superiority, it ultimately suffered a crushing defeat, telling us that quantity alone is insufficient. This battle overturned the traditional "quantity superiority theory," proving that modern warfare outcomes depend on systematic operational capabilities rather than the performance of individual equipment.
2
Pakistan showed restraint and left a way out for the Indian military, providing an opportunity for peace. Ishaq Dar confirmed that the Pakistani Air Force originally had the opportunity to shoot down 15 Indian Air Force fighters, but out of consideration for restraining further escalation of the situation, the Pakistani Air Force only shot down five fighters and two drones. The Pakistani leadership issued orders to maintain restraint, instructing their pilots not to go all-out, leaving room for the Indians and giving peace a chance. If 15 or more Indian aircraft had been destroyed, it would have placed additional internal pressure on the Indian military, making peace even more difficult.
India needs face, and Pakistan wants to hurt its opponent while giving them some face as well. According to a report on the India Times website on May 7, India will conduct a large-scale air combat exercise near the international border in Rajasthan, deploying fighters such as the Rafale, Mirage-2000, and Su-30MKI. India organized this large-scale exercise primarily to explain the situation to its domestic audience and to ease the pain of being severely beaten by Pakistan. Although Pakistan technologically outperformed India and comprehensively crushed India in terms of system advantages, its overall strength still has a noticeable gap compared to India.
The Pakistani military has built an "integrated air-space defense system." The ZDK-03 early warning aircraft detected Indian movements from 500 kilometers away. The J-10CE fighter jets were equipped with KZ900 electronic warfare pods, conducting full-band suppression of the Rafale SPECTRA system, causing their radar to fail and communications to be interrupted, turning them into "airborne targets." Under this system, Indian aircraft were locked on as soon as they took off. Pakistan only targeted some of the leading Indian aircraft for destruction. The PL-15E missiles used by the Pakistani military have dual-pulse engines, allowing for "silent hunting" outside the range of the Indian "Mica" missiles. Due to the lack of anti-radiation missiles, the Indian military was helpless against the Pakistani radar network.
3
India proactively reached out to Pakistan, showing a willingness to make amends and initiate negotiations. Russian Sputnik News reported on May 8 that Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that after India attacked Pakistan, the national security advisors of both countries held contact. India expressed that there was no plan to further escalate the conflict, indicating that India really didn't want to fight anymore. India clearly understands that initiating a full-scale war does not align with its own interests, but localized conflicts yield no benefits either; ending the conflict became the best choice.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7501900606290936359/
Disclaimer: This article represents the views of the author and you are welcome to express your attitude by using the "thumbs up/thumbs down" buttons below.