It may sound condescending - but since then they not only have gone a decade ahead in war-fighting concepts , but are responsible for providing you most of the technological capabilities and resources to be able to afford them.
At the end, what the PAF provided them may have been helpful “some years ago” - but without them the PAF and its pilots fly sanctioned piecemeal jets or museum pieces.
When you can barely pay the interest on the loans you took from them at very low rates to pay for them building you technical bases - arrogance is really the only way it sounds.
Oh, it's not condescending. At least, that was not at all what I had in mind when I wrote this.
Modern military development seeks systematized confrontation, not a competition of one particular weapon. When we describe a new weapon, we also associate it with its corresponding systematization. As in the example I cited earlier, take a 5G phone and use it in a place where there is no 5G network, and it is no longer a 5G phone.
The PLA is now working to build an advanced Army-wide integrated military information network. Its goal is to connect to every soldier and weapon. So far, we're still in the process of building it, and we haven't achieved that goal yet.
In the case of PLAAF, we want every warplane, every pilot, every missile, to be within this advanced information network. Currently, PLAAF still has a large number of older fighters and missiles that are not connected to this advanced information network. Therefore, PLAAF is not currently in the 5th Gen Air Force as a whole; it is still in a mixed 3rd, 4th, and 5th Gen mode.
There is no such thing as 4.5th Gen in the official documents. In Academician Yang Wei's paper there is this explanation:
Among the characteristics of the 5th Gen fighter, there are some characteristics that are fully integrated with the rest of the fighter. They cannot be transferred to the 4th Gen fighter through technology decentralization. These characteristics are also the signature characteristics of the 5th Gen fighter. Stealth, for example.
And the characteristics of the 5th Gen fighter's advanced avionics systems are characteristics that can be transferred to the 4th Gen fighter through technology devolution, thus enhancing the 4th Gen fighter's combat capabilities. And, these performance-enhanced 4th Gen fighters can make up for some of the shortcomings of the 5th Gen fighters, and the two generations of fighters can operate in tandem. These improved 4th Gen fighters can be called “4.5th Gen fighters”.
Therefore, we can consider that the 4.5th Gen fighter has the same or similar avionics system as the 5th Gen fighter. They are fully capable of operating together. Therefore, we can think in a reverse way that if the PAF's datalink and command system can fully support the 4.5th Gen fighters, then it can also support the 5th Gen fighters.
The PLA's official description of the J-10C is a 4th Gen fighter with avionics close to that of a 4.5th Gen fighter. Chinese official media partly adopts PLA's description and partly calls it a 4.5th Gen fighter. ------ China calls the J-16 a standard 4.5th Gen fighter.
Of course, we can also consider this a euphemism. We can totally consider J-10C/J-10CE as 4.5th Gen fighters (less controversy can be ignored).
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Modern airborne radar has limited detection range due to airframe size and engine power supply. The fire control radar locking range is about 30% to 50% less than its detection range. Even the most advanced fighter airborne radar has a detection range of about 200KM for a typical fighter target (RCS of about 5 square meters). Its attack lock range is reduced by 30%~50%.
The maximum range of PL-15 is more than 200 KM. it clearly exceeds the attack lock range of all fighter aircraft airborne radars. In order to realize its maximum range, it must use the “A-fire B-guide” mode of coordinated operation. PL-15 itself is designed for the 5th Gen fighter, of course, it fully supports the “A-fire B-guide” mode of coordinated operation.
The PL-15E's maximum range is limited to 145KM, which many believe is due to export restrictions. However, I personally believe that this is more likely to be due to the limitations of the J-10CE's on-board radar's attack lock range. Given the production capacity of the PL-15 production line, the PAF's 240 PL-15Es are not at all in the range that would require adjustments to the production line (to shorten the PL-15E's maximum range).
As a corollary, I don't think the PAF has the high speed data links and advanced command systems necessary to support the 4.5th Gen fighter for the time being. At least for the time being, we have seen no evidence of PAF using the PL-15E for “A-fire, B-guide” combat maneuvers. This is an introductory maneuver to the 4.5th Gen's systematization. If PAF can use JF-17B3, AWACS, UAVs, warships, ground radar and other facilities to guide PL-15E, then it will be a complete 4.5th Gen air combat system. Of course. I think PAF is currently trying to move in that direction. But at least for now we don't see it demonstrating its ability to do so. So I don't think PAF is in the 4.5th Gen Air Force simply because it introduced the “J-10CE + PL-15E”.
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I fully understand the impact of this view on the minds of our Pakistani friends. However, I do not see any problem in analyzing military issues in an objective and serious manner. So, those of my Pakistani friends who want me to apologize, please read and understand some of the basics carefully. I would prefer that we discuss the issue rationally rather than bluffing. According to my reasoning, IAF is also in 4th Gen Air Force like PAF, they are not in the caliber of 4.5th Gen Air Force. ------ Since neither IAF nor PAF currently have 5th Gen fighters, the term 4.5th Gen Air Force is used. The fact is that there isn't much of a systemic difference between the 5th Gen Air Force and the 4.5th Gen Air Force, they are differentiated by the 5th Gen fighters.
Across the board, PLAAF is currently only 40%-60% in the 4.5th/5th Gen air force range. We still have a large number of 3rd Gen and 4th Gen air forces waiting to be updated. We are not fully in the 4.5th/5th Gen air force at this time.