The militaries of various countries are closely monitoring the developments of the air battle between Pakistan’s Chinese-made fighter jets and India’s French-made Rafale fighter jets.
The reason, according to sources, is that the militaries of the countries hope to find problems that will give them an advantage in future conflicts.
A Chinese-made Pakistani fighter jet shot down at least two Indian military aircraft on May 7, two US officials said, marking a potential milestone for Beijing’s advanced fighter jet.
This aerial clash between the two South Asian nations is a rare opportunity for the militaries to study the performance of pilots, fighter jets and air-to-air missiles in real combat and use that knowledge to prepare their air forces for combat.
Experts said the direct use of advanced weapons in this battle will be analyzed in detail by military experts from many countries, including China and the United States.
A US official said it was highly likely that Pakistan used a Chinese-made J-10 aircraft to launch an air-to-air missile at the Indian fighter jet.
Social media posts have focused on the performance of China’s PL-15 air-to-air missile compared to the Meteor, a radar-guided air-to-air missile produced by European consortium MBDA. There has been no official confirmation of the use of these weapons.
“The air combat communities in China, the US and some European countries will be extremely interested in trying to gather as much real-world information as possible about tactics, techniques, procedures, what kits were used, what kits worked and what kits didn’t work,” said Douglas Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
It could be argued that China has the most powerful weapon against the most powerful Western weapon, if Meteor is actually used, he said. “But we don’t know that,” Mr. Barrie said.
France and the US may be hoping India will provide similar intelligence, Barrie added. “The PL-15 is a big deal. It’s something the US military is very interested in,” said one defence industry executive.
Western analysts and industry sources say key details of the incident remain unclear, including whether Meteor missiles were used and the type and quality of training of the pilots.
Arms companies will also want to separate technical performance from actual operational factors, analysts say.
“There will be audits of the effectiveness and failures of this air battle, but I think the other concern is the fog of war,” said Byron Callan, a Washington-based defense expert.
According to him, US arms companies are constantly receiving feedback on how their products perform in the war in Ukraine. “So I fully expect the same to happen with India’s European suppliers, and Pakistan and China may also share similar feedback. If the PL-15 performs as advertised or better than expected, Beijing will certainly want to hear that.”
A defense industry source from a Western country operating Meteor said online images of a probe that appeared to have components from a missile had missed its target.
There are conflicting reports about whether Pakistan has a domestic version of the PL-15 from China — or a lower-range export version that was publicly announced in 2021. Mr Barrie, who has written extensively about the missile, said he believed Pakistan most likely only had the export version.
A Western industry source dismissed claims that the PL-15 has a longer range than the Meteor, but admitted that its capabilities “may be greater than what people think.” The Meteor’s range has not been officially announced. “It’s impossible to judge anything at the moment. We don’t know much,” the industry source added.
The PL-15’s range and performance have been the focus of Western attention for years, with its arrival seen as one of many signs that China has moved beyond its reliance on Soviet-era technology.
The US is developing the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile through Lockheed Martin, partly in response to the PL-15 and its beyond-visual-range performance, and partly in a reset of Western priorities toward China.
European countries are considering mid-life upgrades to the Meteor that could include propulsion and guidance systems, but analysts say progress is slow.
In March, US President Donald Trump awarded Boeing the contract to build the Air Force’s most sophisticated fighter jet, which is likely to include stealth capabilities, advanced sensors and advanced engines.
