Taiwan Worried over China-Developed Tactics in Indo-Pak Aerial Engagement

After years of underestimating Chinese fighter jets, Taiwanese defense observers are shocked amid claims that Pakistan’s Chinese-origin JF-17 and  J-10C jets launched the PL-15E long range air-to-air missile at Indian Rafale fighters and allegedly hit some of them.

“Chinese weapons and tactics have gained actual combat experience and will be more mature for possible operations in the Taiwan Strait, so we should be vigilant,” wrote Liberty Times a Taiwan-based specialist defense website.

A relatively intact PL-15E missile was found on the Indian side of Kashmir along with debris of several of these missiles indicating that a good number of them may have been fired at Indian targets, the publication writes.

The PL-15 has a range of at least 145 kilometers, which is significantly better than the Russian-made R-77 currently in service in India. In addition, the PL-15E can collaborate with other platforms that can provide guidance signals after launch to improve the hit rate at medium and long distances.

The publication noted that the Pakistan Air Force has carried out tactical innovation with the assistance of China. Through the integrated combat network provided by China, its J-10CE and JF-17 aircraft coordinated with the KJ-200 early warning aircraft besides ground-based air defense systems such as the Hongqi HQ-9, achieved cross-platform target locking and firepower distribution.

This mode allows the aircraft to launch missiles under the guidance of third party sensors without turning on the aircraft’s own radar, greatly improving the strike accuracy, while denying target lock-on to enemy  aircraft.

In this conflict, Pakistan is suspected of using the data sharing tactics provided by China, widely deploying PL-15E to successfully target advanced Indian fighter jets, showing that China's missile technology and tactics are more capable than earlier thought of.

The publication speculates that during the battle, Indian fighter jets may have entered the strike range of the PL-15E missile without detecting the presence of the J-10C aircraft and deploying countermeasures against the missile.