The Pakistan Air Force has always claimed to have shot down an F-35AI, and in doing so, it is considered to have set a record for the first time to shoot down a fifth-generation fighter in real combat.

Of course, the Pakistan Air Force later came up with some barely plausible evidence, such as the JF-20's radar detection of the F-35AI's information, and the process of providing relay guidance for the missile, as well as the ZDK-05's radar detection of several missile explosions in the air.

It's just that India has never recognized it.

Interestingly, the Indian Air Force has not produced strong evidence to refute the Pakistan Air Force's arguments.

Even in wartime, the situation of combat units is a military secret, and after the war, the Indian Air Force can come up with evidence to refute it.

In fact, the most powerful evidence is the combat missions carried out later by the four F-35AIs that participated in the war.

You know, the Indian Air Force has only a few dozen F-35AIs in total, and each one is a treasure, so the combat operations of each one are clearly recorded.

In fact, the combat actions of any fighter are recorded.

It was only more than a decade later that the Indian Air Force admitted that it had lost an F-35AI that day, albeit not by Pakistani fighter jets, but by itself.

On the same day, the four F-35AIs participating in the operation were returning to the base, and the last one crashed due to improper pilot operation when landing.

According to the relevant records of the Indian Air Force, the pilot who flew the F-35AI made a serious mistake by not opening the parachute when landing, and the runway of the temporary airbase was not long enough and was a cement runway, as a result, the F-35AI rushed straight out of the runway.

Because the damage was so severe, it was impossible to repair it.

Why go to a temporary airport to land?

Because in the morning of the same day, Pakistan launched a limited counterattack, attacking the Indian air base near the border with cruise missiles.

It was really limited, and Pakistan used only a dozen cruise missiles.

The damage caused was not serious, after all, there were too many airfields to attack, so there were only about 2 missiles allocated to each airport.

In fact, Pakistan's counterattack is more about delaying the Indian Air Force's attack.

Apparently, the Pakistani military did not intend to crush the Indian Air Force with a counterattack.

As a result, this counterattack frightened the Indian Air Force, so that the Indian Air Force decided to transfer the most valuable fighter aircraft, that is, all 8 F-35AIs deployed in the southern theater of operations, to temporary airfields, and the 4 F-35AIs that were deployed at that time only received the news when they returned home.

That is, the pilots did not know what was going on at the temporary airfield.

After a high-intensity battle, or rather an interception, the F-35AI's pilot's mental state must have been highly stressed.

As a result, mistakes were made just at the time of landing.

In fact, this also reflects from one side that the quality of the Indian Air Force is indeed not very good, and even the best pilots are seriously lacking in training.

Of course, in daily training, the Indian Air Force may not let the F-35AI, which is more precious than gold, go to a temporary airfield.

The battle didn't end there.

In fact, the battle between 4 F-35AIs and 4 JF-20s only kicked off the prelude to the big air battle.

This was followed by 12 F-16Es.

According to the arrangement of the Indian Air Force, these F-16Es originally carried out bombing missions, that is, after the F-35AI knocked out the ZDK-05 of the Pakistan Air Force, these F-16Es were used to deal with Pakistan's air defense system, that is, the HQ-9B that has been in operation.

To do this, at least 4 F-16E carry anti-radiation missiles.

In addition, at least four F-16Es carried standoff munitions specifically designed to counter anti-aircraft missile launchers.

That is, in fact, only 4 F-16Es served as escort missions.

If it is near Lahore, these 12 F-16Es will certainly not be enough.

It's just that near Karachi, the Pakistani Air Force itself does not have many fighters, and there are only 20 JF-20s, that is, a group.

At that time, there were only 4 JF-20s in the air.

The 35 JF-4 that took off urgently after the F-20 AI sneak attack have not yet arrived.

In addition, more than 100 kilometers to the north, there are 4 JF-17s.

After spotting the F-16E group, four JF-20s immediately went out to meet them.

Because it was an internal operation, and because there were too few fighters in this direction, these four JF-20s only carried one auxiliary fuel tank on the central hardpoint in the belly, and the two heavy-duty hardpoints under the wings were all used composite pylons, each carrying two medium-range air-to-air missiles.

That is, each JF-20 carried 8 SD-10Cs.

The F-16E is not a stealth fighter, and even if the RCS value is much smaller than that of the Su-30MKI, it can be detected by the JF-20 at a distance of 200 km.

After entering the engagement distance, the four JF-20s first fired missiles at the four F-16Es that came forward.

The four F-16Es also launched a missile counterattack afterwards.

It's just that the F-16E carries the AIM-120A, not the AIM-120D.

Why?

AIM-120D is too expensive for India to buy much.

At that time, India purchased a small amount of AIM-120D when it purchased the F-35AI, so all these missiles were provided to the F-35AI for use.

Theoretically, the F-16E can also use the AIM-120D.

It's a pity that the F-35AI will certainly not be able to carry the AIM-120A.

For this, the Indian Air Force has long made provisions that the F-16E can only use AIM-120A.

After all, the U.S. military doesn't have many fighters that can use AIM-120A, so instead of spending money to dispose of the missiles in stock, it's better to send them to India as a favor.

Of course, India also paid a not too small amount of money for the refurbishment of these missiles.

Compared with the AIM-120D, the biggest gap between the AIM-120A is that it does not use a dual-thrust engine, and the range is much closer.

In addition, the AIM-120A has a slightly worse seeker and is significantly inferior to the AIM-120D in terms of anti-jamming capabilities.

For targets such as the JF-20, the AIM-120A can strike head-on at a distance of up to 60 kilometers.

Obviously, this distance is just too close.

You must know that the SD-10C's head-on attack distance against the F-16E must be more than 80 kilometers, theoretically 120 kilometers, and the actual combat can also reach about 100 kilometers.

A gap of nearly 40 kilometers is enough to determine the outcome of an air battle.

Only after completing the final guidance of the SD-10C did the 4 JF-20s turn to evade.

At this time, the F-16E was also providing terminal guidance for the launched AIM-120A, and then it was attacked, and there was no time to evade it.

All 4 F-16Es were shot down!

Four JF-20s, after successfully avoiding the incoming AIM-120A, turned again and began to intercept another eight F-16Es.

At this time, four JF-17s from the north had also arrived.

In the face of threats from both directions, all eight F-16Es hurriedly threw away the missiles and bombs they were carrying, and turned back as fast as they could.

It's dishonorable, but saving your life is more important than anything else.

The point is that none of these F-16Es carry much anti-air ammunition, and even if they continue to assault, they may not be able to break through the JF-20's defense.

Besides, with bulky anti-radiation missiles and standoff munitions, there is no way to conduct air combat.