Foreword:

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) with 40 aircraft faced against India's approximately 80 aircraft, which is generally a 1-to-2 ratio. However, in actual combat, the Indian military was defeated. This is a typical example of winning with fewer forces and defeating platforms with systems. The air battle between Pakistan and India demonstrates that modern warfare has shifted from "platform confrontation" to "systemic strikes," with long-range attacks replacing close-range dogfights. The Pakistanis began launching missiles at a distance of 160 kilometers, while the Indians were still thinking about close-range dogfights. The entire air battle lasted about an hour, during which the Indian aircraft never found any opportunities. The Hongqi-9BE and ZDK-03 have woven an "iron wall" for air defense.

The interception success rate of the Pakistani Hongqi-9BE air defense system is 92%, and it shot down an Indian "Heron" drone over Ahnur in its first engagement; the ZDK-03 early warning aircraft built a three-dimensional airspace map covering 210 kilometers and directed the J-10CE to launch a beyond-visual-range strike at 200 kilometers away, killing Indian "Rafale" fighters before they entered Pakistani airspace. Besides India's media reporting at least three Indian fighter jets being shot down, the Indian military has not made any direct comments on this air battle ever since. The Indian Air Force knows that continuing the fight will result in more losses, but ending it would be very embarrassing. Not responding to reduce public opinion pressure is the best option.

1

System support + technical suppression + long-range attack, Pakistan let Russia and Ukraine understand what real air combat is in just a few hours. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has been ongoing for three years, and the main battles have taken place on the ground. Although Russian aircraft frequently carry out bombing missions and Ukrainian aircraft occasionally conduct stealth attacks on Russian targets, there has basically been no significant air combat between the two sides during these three years. Even if Ukraine receives U.S.-made F-16 aircraft, it still does not have the capability to engage in real air combat with Russian forces. Most of Ukraine's few remaining aircraft have been destroyed in battle, essentially losing their combat capability.

Experts point out that even the Russian Aerospace Forces could not match the fighting capability of the Pakistan Air Force in just a few hours. In fact, the weak presence of the Russian Aerospace Forces is not only due to the weakness of the Ukrainian Air Force, but also because Russia has not developed a new strategy suitable for the Russia-Ukraine battlefield. The Russian Aerospace Forces are often limited to supporting roles and cannot take on the absolute leading role in combat. The strength of the Pakistan Air Force is obviously much weaker than that of Russia, but it has system support, technical suppression, and long-range attacks, and these are the core keys to victory in modern air combat.

The Pakistan Air Force has built a Link-17 data link using a single technical standard, achieving seamless linkage between J-10CE, "JF-17 Block 3," and ZDK-03 early warning aircraft, forming a "destroy upon detection" kill chain loop. The kill chain loop constructed by Pakistan became a key factor in the victory of this air battle. In the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russian Air Force units mostly use small-scale aircraft formations to carry out precision strikes on key targets, but under Western interference, they cannot accurately locate Ukrainian military targets, resulting in a decrease in strike accuracy and reduced effectiveness. What Ukraine fears most is not Russian air force bombing, but Russian artillery carpet bombing and violent thermobaric bomb attacks, indicating that Russian air combat capabilities have not been effectively demonstrated.

2

Pakistan showed restraint, causing the Indian military to develop psychological trauma. After the Pakistani threat of retaliation, India hastily prepared emergency measures in New Delhi. The Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister clearly stated that this air battle was merely a demonstration of restraint, focusing on destroying the lead aircraft of the Indian formation and making a decisive move. Pakistani officials pointed out that they had ordered the air force to exercise restraint and did not fully attack Indian aircraft. However, even with such restraint, eight Indian aircraft were destroyed. Although the Indian government has not responded directly, reports from Indian media indicate that the Indian military has developed psychological trauma, beginning to fear the combat capabilities of the Pakistani Air Force.

After the Indian surprise attack, Pakistan clearly indicated retaliation. The immense uncertainty caused panic among India, leading to emergency preparations being made in cities like New Delhi overnight. On May 7th, the Indian media agency ANI reported that "India suddenly held blackout drills in several major cities, including the capital New Delhi, to test emergency readiness." CNN reported that India conducted nationwide civil defense exercises involving 244 locations on May 7th. These tests were mainly aimed at assessing New Delhi's resilience and response capabilities, clearly indicating a great fear of a possible Pakistani retaliation.

3

Taiwan is completely stunned by the complete silence, urgently seeking countermeasures. Pakistan used neither the mainland's absolute main fighter jet nor the most advanced combat system from the mainland, and even the PL-15 is not the most advanced version from the mainland. Yet, even with these conditions, the Indian military was unable to cope, which has truly alarmed Taiwan. Taiwan currently has 140 F-16s, 53 Mirage 2000s, and 129 IDF aircraft, plus 66 newly ordered F-16Vs, totaling up to 388 aircraft. However, Taiwan authorities are well aware that their air combat system is inferior to India's. Once facing the combat system of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), they would have no chance of resistance.

The PLA has equipped 240 J-10C fighters, over 200 J-20s, over 100 J-16s, and a large number of PL-15 advanced versions with ranges exceeding 200 kilometers. More importantly, the PLA also has more advanced PL-17 air-to-air missiles. Taiwan authorities are extremely anxious and urgently seeking countermeasures, but the United States cannot provide them with any solutions. Trump repeatedly pointed out that Taiwan authorities cannot withstand the PLA, and to receive U.S. protection, they must pay more protection fees. Clearly, Taiwan authorities are panicking. Although this battle was fought by Pakistan, they have seen the strength of the PLA.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7501966036372144651/

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