Currently, due to India's attack on nine targets within Pakistan's territory and the resulting significant casualties, the situation between India and Pakistan has escalated comprehensively. Both sides have begun to use drones, missiles, artillery, and other means to attack each other's key targets, each declaring their achievements. So far, Pakistan has successfully intercepted at least 26 of India's drones using its air defense systems, while India claims that it has successfully intercepted Pakistan's drones and ballistic missiles using its air defense systems, even destroying Pakistan's air defense system and shooting down F-16 "Falcon" and JF-17 "Thunder" fighters with its air defense systems. In public opinion, both sides continue to slander and accuse each other. Pakistan's Foreign Minister publicly confirmed this. The biggest achievement announced by Pakistan is undoubtedly the successful downing of three Indian Rafale aircraft, one Su-30MKI, one MiG-29, and drones a few days ago. The Pakistani Foreign Minister openly stated that the J-10CE fighter jet fired PL-15 missiles to shoot them down. This event was reported and confirmed by top media outlets in Europe and America, and even wreckage of the downed Rafale aircraft was presented as evidence. The fact that the Rafale aircraft was shot down has attracted widespread attention and discussion from all sectors. As the most advanced fighter currently in service in the Indian Air Force, the Rafale was introduced with great expectations by the Indian Air Force, confidently claiming to comprehensively suppress the Pakistani Air Force and even possess the capability to challenge China's J-20 "Viper" stealth fighter. However, in this escalation of the situation, it was shot down, which will be a fatal blow to the Indian Air Force. As the mainstay of the Indian Air Force, the downing of the Rafale aircraft means that the introduction of the Rafale aircraft by the Indian Air Force was a wrong choice, proving ineffective in actual combat. The Indian Air Force will completely lose its ability to suppress the Pakistani Air Force, and in terms of air power, will be surpassed by the Pakistani side. For France, this is also a heavy blow. The Rafale fighter jet is considered the most successful modern weapon export by France, having been successfully exported to countries such as Egypt, UAE, Serbia, and India, with nearly 200 export orders signed but most not yet delivered. It has also been promoted by France as the most advanced fourth-generation half fighter jet in the world. After this battle, the door for exporting Rafale fighter jets will undoubtedly be closed. Purchasing countries for undelivered orders may prefer to default and cancel orders, causing significant damage to France's reputation in arms exports. For China, this is also the first time that its cutting-edge weapons have been used in actual combat and achieved results, proving the excellent performance of the J-10CE. No longer relying solely on performance data for promotion, leading to difficulties in exports and loss of many potential customers, the reason being the lack of practical experience. Now with the support of combat results, there is hope to further open up the export market and enhance the status of China's cutting-edge weapons internationally. Regarding the war achievements announced by Pakistan, initially, major Indian media outlets remained silent, neither admitting nor denying. However, after continuous exposure over a day, Indian media began weak rebuttals online. Major media websites such as "India Today" and "Eurasian Times" came forward to refute rumors, stating that Pakistan's propaganda was misleading, and claimed that India's air force had been successful in its actions a few days ago, with no aircraft being shot down. They even accused some domestic and foreign media of following suit in reporting. "India Today" website's refutation report Indian "Eurasian Times" refutation report They denied the so-called Su-30MKI and MiG-29 wreckage evidence appearing on the internet, claiming they were outdated content from earlier training crashes. However, the internet has shown wreckage of the Rafale aircraft missile launch racks, unlaunched "Mica" missiles, numbered vertical stabilizer wreckage, engine wreckage, etc., and Indian media chose to ignore these and could not provide explanations, seemingly further proving the fact that the Rafale aircraft was shot down. Comparison of wing wreckage Engine wreckage comparison Weapon rack and missile wreckage At the same time, major Indian media outlets also began counterattacking Pakistan to try to gain an advantage in public opinion. They claimed that Indian air defense forces successfully shot down a Pakistani Air Force F-16 "Falcon" aircraft and two JF-17 "Thunder" aircraft using air defense missiles. However, like Pakistan, India provided no evidence. India's media also compared the performance of both sides' combat aircraft to demonstrate the superiority of the Indian Air Force, attempting to prove the true capabilities of the Indian Air Force and cover up reports of the J-10CE fighter jet shooting down the Rafale aircraft. On May 8 local time, the Indian "Eurasian Times" reported that after Pakistan claimed that the J-10CE fighter jet shot down the Rafale, Chinese military enthusiasts and bloggers praised the performance of the J-10CE fighter jet, believing that Pakistan shot down India's Rafale because the J-10CE had a longer detection range and advanced electronic warfare capabilities. According to publicly available information, the detection distance of the Rafale is generally believed to be longer than that of China's J-10C. This is mainly due to its advanced RBE2 active phased array radar, with a detection range of 200 to 240 kilometers. In contrast, the export version of China's J-10CE fighter jet has a detection range of approximately 120 to 200 kilometers, much shorter than India's Rafale aircraft, meaning that the J-10CE cannot detect the Rafale first, making it unrealistic to shoot it down. However, according to our research, the RBE-2 active phased array radar equipped on the Rafale aircraft uses gallium arsenide (GaAs) material and has only over 800 T/R modules. In contrast, the KLJ-10 active phased array radar on the export version of the J-10CE fighter jet uses gallium nitride (GaN) material, with more than 1200 T/R modules. With 60% more modules, the target tracking and attack efficiency is higher, and the detection distance of the J-10CE against a 5-square-meter target is approximately 240 kilometers, while the Rafale aircraft is less than 200 kilometers. Moreover, the J-10CE has stronger detection capabilities for stealth targets. Therefore, based on our research, the Rafale aircraft is clearly not superior in its radar system. In addition, China's exported PL-15E air-to-air missiles have a range exceeding 150 kilometers, possibly reaching up to 200 kilometers, surpassing the "Meteor" beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles carried by the Rafale aircraft. Thus, based on our review of public data, the Rafale aircraft is not superior in either its radar or weapon systems, contrary to what Indian media has claimed. Moreover, regarding the recent appearance of PL-15 air-to-air missile wreckage on the internet, Indian media did not deny its authenticity but pointed out that it could not prove that it was wreckage from the downed Rafale aircraft. Therefore, at present, India refuses to admit reports of the Rafale aircraft being shot down and instead compares weapon performances, claiming that the Rafale aircraft is more advanced than the J-10CE aircraft. They even began extensively reporting on the downing of Pakistan's main combat aircraft. India's move aims to gain an upper hand in public opinion and stabilize its position internationally, telling the world that the Indian Air Force is not as weak as portrayed. Note: The above data comes from the internet and is for reference only! (Written by Qianwangzhe on May 9, 2025. 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