Pakistan Air Force

Oh.

Pakistan Air Force never entered the frame.

Pakistan Air Force never entered the-

Oh, oh, oh

... and they refused to also because they also didn't-

I mean, after a point when the lie was out in the open-

Ha

... and it's like, abhi toh sabko pata hai, even at that point, the Pakistan Air Force refused to engage because they're like, "This is suicidal for us to go into this terrain."

U.S. Navy's New AM-424 Malus, Countering China's Growing Air Power Commentary With its revealed range in excess of 250 nautical miles, the U.S. Navy's new long-range air-to-air missile constitutes a major upgrade in the ability of the United States to arrest China's quest for superior air power in Asia.

On May 7, 2025, Chinese air combat technology gave Pakistan a historic, beyond-visual-range victory when, during a record aerial engagement between 72 Indian Air Force and 42 Pakistan Air Force combat jets that did not enter the other's territory, Pakistan claimed to have shot down five Indian combat aircraft at ranges approaching a record 125 miles including three French-made 4.5-generation Dassault Rafale fighters.

Pakistan's victory was enabled by its acquisition of 20 Chengdu Aircraft Corporation 4.5-generation J-10C fighters, equipped with an estimated 105. to 125-mile range active electronically scanned array radar and armed with 125-plus-mile range Luozhong PL-15E long-range AAMs.

When long-range AAM engagements exceed the range of the fighter's radar, off-board cueing or guidance is necessary, such as from Pakistan's Chinese-made Shaanxi KJ.

For his leadership during the operation, he was awarded the Sarvottam Yuddha Seva Medal, India's highest wartime distinguished service honor.

He was responsible for numbing, blinding, and paralyzing the Pakistan Air Force and setting it back at least five years.

We'll talk about Operation Sindoor, and he will tell us about India's military capabilities, the lessons for Pakistan and China, the growing role of drones and technology, and whether the Indian Air Force has numbers, platforms, and preparedness it needs for the wars of the future.

Joining me in this podcast is my colleague, Ajit Dube.

See, uh, I always say that militaries don't fight war, the nations fight war.

You know, the nation as India has gone to war with Pakistan.

See, you see WAC is not fighting [laughs] with Pakistan Air Force.

Okay? So the policy directions are once they're clear- Which define the political objective.

China having sixth-generation fighter jets.

Does that make them militaristically more capable than their neighbors [beep]? Where does the Pakistani Air Force stand should some kind of a skirmish or a major battle take place?

We are the most threatened nation in the world.

We have two neighbors who are powerful neighbors, who have nuclear technology and weapons, and both of them we have border dispute.

Sir, what would you say about, uh, the collaboration between China and Pakistan to also develop jets? Because, I mean, as a mem- I wouldn't say I'm a member of the mainstream media, but as someone who is first a citizen and second someone who has a platform and regularly speaks about issues that affect India, um, one thing I saw in Sindoor was the average person really got to know a little bit about the, how the Air Force works, uh, after a long time because you have a very young population and mostly from the ages of 18 to, I would say, 35 to 40 who hadn't really experienced, uh, a constant reporting of the operation, uh, because they weren't conscious enough when Kargil happened, right?

Correct.

So they experienced all of this, and almost everyone was caught in the battle, uh, between what the Indian Air Force said and the Pakistani Air Force said.

So I'm not gonna get into that because it's, it's an endless loop.

But we spoke and spoke and spoke about the LCA endlessly.

And how LCA would be the starship enterprise and blow the Pakistan Air Force to pieces.

And here we are more than 30 years later, 32, 33 years later, and we've still not got the plane that we want.

It is such a disappointment for me.

Exactly right.

Well, the Pakistani Air Force is especially professional.

It's very good.

And its ground forces are very good, too.

And, you know, what they demonstrated in the Indo-Pakistani war last year.

armies they don't need western technology to be successful uh...

the the pakistanis were relying heavily on chinese-made fourth-generation export planes and the chinese-made p l fifteen air-to-air missile And what they discovered is that what the Indians discovered the hard way is that all of the Western and Russian airplanes that the Indians were using didn't amount to anything against the the Pakistani Air Force, at least in the first half of Operation Sindor.

And I think the reason is not necessarily because the Chinese technology is so much better.