Four months have passed since the India-Pakistan air combat, but Europe and the United States have not stopped studying it. Moreover, British media has publicly revealed the inside story. Everyone thought that the J-10C in the India-Pakistan air combat first discovered the Rafale by the airborne early warning (AEW) radar, then the J-10C launched the PL-15E missile, and then the AEW guided the missile to destroy the Rafale.
This means that the J-10C's ability to defeat the Rafale is due to its systematized combat capability. People joked that the J-10C was just an aerial launch platform, but now the real secret has been exposed: throughout the process, it did not rely on the AEW. Because Pakistan used the Saab 2000 "Erieye" AEW radar, which is manufactured by Sweden, and this model cannot be integrated into the Chinese systematized combat system.
The J-10C relied on its own onboard radar to detect and lock onto the Rafale fighter jet. The radar performance is truly extraordinary. It locked onto the Rafale at a distance of 200 kilometers and guided the PL-15E to destroy four Rafales, hitting four of them.
The J-10C is equipped with the domestically produced KLJ-7A gallium nitride active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, which has strong detection capabilities and battlefield area awareness. Its maximum detection range for typical fighter jet targets (GJB 3 square meters RCS) is ≥240 kilometers, and it can track up to 15 targets simultaneously. This means that the J-10CE can not only detect enemies first, but also allocate firepower first when facing a group of aircraft, achieving a battlefield advantage of fighting multiple opponents. The radar performance of the J-10C even exceeds that of the F-35's AN/APG-81 radar.
The domestic AESA radar uses high-density gallium nitride semiconductor components. Compared with traditional gallium arsenide (GaAs) components, gallium nitride components have higher operating power, higher efficiency, better thermal stability, and longer service life. This makes the radar's transmit power (peak power can exceed 20 kilowatts) and energy utilization rate significantly improved, thus achieving a qualitative leap in detection range and resolution. It also has a "low probability of intercept" (LPI) mode, a unique spread spectrum transmission technology that emits low-energy pulses over a wide frequency band, cleverly avoiding enemy detection. It also has fast frequency hopping technology, making the RWR of the Rafale not continuous wave, so the Rafale didn't realize it was being tracked and locked.
Moreover, the characteristics of modern warfare offensive methods are speed, precision, and concealment, combined with powerful electromagnetic interference, thereby making the enemy's various detection methods ineffective and unable to implement effective defense. In the future electronic countermeasures (ECM) environment, which is becoming increasingly intense, to fully and effectively utilize the original performance of the radar, enhance anti-jamming and electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM) capabilities is indispensable. And the active electronically scanned array radar of the J-10C even has the capability to detect ballistic missiles, as well as compatibility with electronic reconnaissance and electronic jamming.
British media even said that the onboard radar of the J-10C has the ability to counter stealth, and can lock onto the F-35 stealth fighter. If that is the case, the J-20C would not only be able to lock onto the F-35 from 200 kilometers away, but even from 100 kilometers away, and even if the US Air Force's AEW detected it, the F-35's air-to-air radar's range would not be that far. Therefore, the J-10C has a chance to destroy the F-35.
In fact, apart from radar performance, the J-10C itself has very excellent performance. The J-10C inherits the classic canard aerodynamic layout of the J-10 series. This design, where the wing is in front and the main wing is behind, is not simply an attempt to be different, but brings unparalleled maneuverability advantages. The vortices generated by the front canard and the main wing can couple together, forming a strong vortex lift effect, greatly increasing the lift coefficient of the aircraft. This means that the J-10C has a shorter takeoff run, faster climb rate, and stronger instantaneous turning ability during takeoff, climbing, and high-speed maneuvers. Especially in high-intensity close-range dogfights, this layout gives the pilot a high pitch rate and nose pointing capability, allowing them to quickly occupy an attack position and gain the initiative in air combat.
The India-Pakistan air combat can be recorded in history as an air battle, the first time that fourth-and-a-half generation fighters were destroyed in such large numbers, and also the first time of beyond visual range air combat over 100 kilometers. Therefore, Europe and the United States have paid great attention to the India-Pakistan air combat and have been conducting in-depth analysis continuously.
But the more they analyze, the more they find that the performance of the PLA's equipment is truly astonishing, and it's not just about reverse exaggeration. At this level, the J-10C can only be at the bottom of the PLA Air Force sequence. Don't even mention the J-16 and J-20. It's terrifying to think about it.
Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7554304237230440998/
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