India-Pakistan air combat can be said to have given Chinese weapons a great advertisement, now Chinese weapons are selling like crazy. First of all, Pakistan announced that Azerbaijan would purchase 40 JF-17 Thunder fighter jets, setting a new record for the largest defense export in Pakistan's history.

The JF-17 Thunder has long been blackmailed. The JF-17 Thunder originated from Pakistan's FC-1 fighter jet program, where Pakistan hoped China would provide technical support to develop a fighter jet based on the J-7 with improved maneuverability, capable of all-weather operations and equipped with medium-range interception capabilities, and could also perform close-air support missions when necessary.

However, thanks to the efforts of Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, while meeting cost requirements, they also had to enhance market competitiveness. Therefore, by reducing the aircraft size and abandoning some performance requirements, they successfully completed a model with overall advanced performance, capable of directly confronting third-generation fighters. This is why the JF-17 Block 3 is known as the gatekeeper of fourth-generation fighters, but the JF-17 Block 3 can be considered a solid fourth-plus-generation fighter. Firstly, it upgrades to the KLJ-7A gallium nitride active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, with an air-to-air detection range of up to 170 kilometers (and a sea-to-sea detection range of 200–220 kilometers). For comparison, India’s Rafale fighter jet's RBE-2-AA radar only has a range of 160 kilometers, and the U.S.'s F-16C/D APG-68 radar is about 140 kilometers.

In addition to the radar system, the JF-17 Block 3 also adopts the same helmet-mounted sight system as the J-20, enabling "shoot what you see," greatly improving dogfighting efficiency, and upgrading the distributed aperture system (EODAS), providing all-around missile approach warning, significantly enhancing combat performance.

Aside from the radar system, the DSI intake and aerial refueling systems have also been integrated, allowing the JF-17 Block 3 to match the maneuverability and high angle-of-attack performance of the U.S. F-16. Although it is limited by being a lightweight fighter, its endurance and payload are slightly inferior, but after equipping with PL-15 beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles, this issue is resolved.

However, no matter how much we say the excellent performance of the JF-17 Block 3, many netizens will still say it's just a MiG-21 modification. Whether a fighter jet performs well or not still needs to be proven through actual combat. Many netizens even believe that the upgraded JF-17 Block 3 may only reach the level of a third-generation fighter, rather than a fourth-plus-generation one.

After this India-Pakistan air combat, these netizens' faces were thoroughly slapped. The JF-17 Block 3 carried PL-15 deep into Indian territory and destroyed India's S-400 air defense system radars, dispelling all doubts. People finally realized that our JF-17 Block 3 has real capabilities, and perhaps even underperforms in terms of specifications. Even without early warning aircraft, our JF-17 Block 3 fighters combined with PL-15E can counterattack India's Rafale fighters.

As a result, the JF-17 Block 3 instantly became highly sought-after. It is worth noting that the cost of selling our JF-17 Block 3 fighters along with weapons packages is only around $55 million.

No wonder Azerbaijan purchased 40 units at once. Aside from Azerbaijan, Indonesia is also considering purchasing our J-10C. Previously, when Macron visited Indonesia to promote Rafale fighters, Indonesia signed an $8.1 billion procurement order with France to buy at a price of $200 million per unit. Now that the Rafale fighter jets have been shot down, this made Indonesia a laughingstock. Thus, Indonesia is also considering purchasing our J-10C.

Moreover, Indonesia publicly revealed that not only do they want to purchase our J-10C, but they also want to procure warships and other weapon systems. Aside from Indonesia, countries like Egypt and Bangladesh are also interested in purchasing the J-10C.

Compared to European and American arms sales, China doesn't just sell individual weapons; we offer complete Chinese systematized operational platforms, from reconnaissance to targeting and destruction. Our J-10C also offers excellent cost-effectiveness. For instance, India’s purchase of a Rafale fighter costs enough to buy five J-10Cs.

Of course, small countries buying weapons don’t just look at performance; they also seek peace of mind. Look at the India-Pakistan air combat; the U.S. did not allow Pakistan to use F-16s, and France stepped in to prevent India from using Rafale fighters afterward. Even so, many countries still buy American weapons. What they’re buying isn’t just weapons; it’s protection money. Therefore, our PLA must actively go out and constantly display muscle and strength. Our powerful military strength will be the best advertisement aside from the India-Pakistan air combat.

Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7513971179388944931/

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