Although the significance of this counterattack was not very large, the Pakistan Air Force achieved its goal, that is, effectively stifled the offensive momentum of the Indian Air Force.

After the attack, the Indian Air Force canceled the offensive operation for the night.

By the third day of the war, the Indian Air Force had not launched a large-scale offensive in the southern region, but had launched some small-scale harassment operations in order to contain the Pakistani Air Force.

Although it caused some problems for the Pakistan Air Force, it was of little significance.

On this day, the main battlefield was in the north.

After yesterday afternoon's counterattack, the Pakistani army has begun to adjust its operational deployment, or rather, it has found that the Indian Air Force is just like that.

You know, before the outbreak of the war, the Pakistan Air Force had always considered itself no match for the Indian Air Force.

Not timidity, but rational judgment.

In any case, the Indian Air Force has twice as many advanced fighters as the Pakistan Air Force, and has also acquired fifth-generation fighters such as the F-35AI, hundreds of heavy fighters such as the Su-30MKI, and even the F-16E/F and Rafale are medium fighters.

What about the Pakistan Air Force?

The workhorse was the JF-20 medium fighter, while the JF-17 was only a light fighter.

In addition, India's national power is clearly above that of Pakistan.

When demographic factors are taken into account, the disparity is even greater.

It is precisely for this reason that the Pakistan Air Force has been pursuing a so-called offensive strategy, which is actually to curb India's war impulse by maintaining a high offensive posture.

At its core, the Pakistan Air Force remains primarily defensive.

In fact, the first priority of the Pakistan Air Force is the territorial air defense.

This can also be seen in the configuration of fighters.

The JF-20 is an air defense fighter, and can even be regarded as a light interceptor, and its most outstanding performance is to carry out high-speed interceptions against incoming enemy aircraft.

Based on this judgment, when formulating the battle plan, the Pakistan Air Force was the first to withstand the frenzied attack of the Indian Air Force.

For decades, in all the combat plans developed by the Pakistan Air Force, the first task in the early stages of the war was to consume the Indian Air Force through internal operations, and then launch a counterattack after inflicting heavy losses on the Indian Air Force, or more precisely, the combat strength of the Indian Air Force.

There is nothing wrong with this tactic in itself.

Why?

Don't look at the fact that the Indian Air Force has more fighters, but all fighters are imported, and none of them can be completely domestic.

That is, during the war, it was very difficult for the Indian Air Force to get replenishment.

What about the Pakistan Air Force?

Although the main fighter of the Pakistan Air Force also relies on imports, starting with the JF-20, it has basically achieved domestic production.

Even if key components still need to be imported, it will not be too difficult to obtain.

In fact, the localization rate of Pakistan's JF-20 and JF-17 is very high, and there are still some stocks of parts that need to be imported.

Of course, they are all imported from China, and there is basically nothing to worry about.

As a result, the Pakistan Air Force's ability to fight for consumption is significantly stronger.

To put it bluntly, as long as the fighter production line is started and reaches the highest efficiency, even if it is not a pulsating production line, it is not a problem to produce more than ten aircraft a month.

Theoretically, the Pakistan Air Force would acquire about 30 fighter jets per month.

What about India?

Apparently impossible.

It is precisely in this way that the Pakistan Air Force has emphasized the importance of indigenous air defense, so all previous exercises have focused on indigenous air defense.

The first two days of fighting were exactly like that.

By fighting on the inside front, the Pakistan Air Force has made full use of the favorable conditions of the home air defense, coupled with a more efficient communication and command system, the Pakistan Air Force has demonstrated amazing combat effectiveness in the battle, achieving a high enough exchange ratio that Pakistanis can be proud of.

Just, is two days enough?

Clearly not enough.

At least, according to the combat plan previously formulated by the Pakistan Air Force, the internal air defense operation time will be at least half a month, and it is expected to inflict heavy damage on the Indian Air Force.

The result?

Obviously different.

After two days of fighting, the Pakistan Air Force found that the Indian Air Force was not as strong as it imagined, and the key is that the combat effectiveness of the Indian Air Force in the battle, especially the combat efficiency, was too low, and the loss of dozens of fighters every day was the best evidence.

You know, according to the best assumptions of the Pakistan Air Force, being able to shoot down 20 Indian fighters in the first two days is a very good record.

To this end, the Pakistan Air Force is also ready to lose twice as many fighters, that is, 40 units.

Apparently, it turned out to be exactly the opposite, with twice as many losses of the Indian Air Force as the Pakistani Air Force, and far more than 20 Indian fighters shot down.

If the Indian Air Force is so combat-ready, what is there to be afraid of?

As a result, on the third day of the war, the Pakistan Air Force launched a counterattack in the northern theater that morning.

In the first round of counterattack, the Pakistan Air Force dispatched 8 JF-20 and 16 JF-17.

As in the southern theater, the JF-20 first came out to attract the Indian Air Force's air defense fighters, and then the JF-17 attacked.

In order to reduce losses, all JF-17s carried LS-5s, moreover, dropped bombs at high altitudes.

It's not that Pakistani pilots are afraid of death, it's that there is no need to take risks.

To put it bluntly, a fighter is more valuable than a bomb.

It's just that the battle didn't go well.

Why?

Opposite is India's most prosperous northwest, New Delhi is just a few hundred kilometers away, and the Indian Air Force will definitely not be negligent in this direction.

8 JF-20s, apparently not enough to divert all Indian fighters.

As a result, the JF-17 group was intercepted by Indian fighters during the assault.

More than half of the JF-17s dropped bombs on Indian forces near the border, switching to air combat, while the other half of the fighters also dropped bombs near the border.

The bombing effect was not ideal, but it was shocking enough.

Why?

It was the first counterattack by the Pakistan Air Force in the northern theater since the outbreak of the war, and it used a large number of precision-guided bombs.

In a sense, this counterattack means that the initiative on the air battlefield has changed hands.

Whether for the sake of face or otherwise, the Indian Air Force must act immediately, at least to extend the scope of prevention and control to Pakistani airspace.

You know, in last night's counterattack, the JF-17 also used the LS-5 rocket extended-range glide guided bomb.

If the Pakistan Air Force had enough of these bombs, it would have no need for fighter jets to enter Indian airspace and drop bombs near the border line to blow up the Indian troops deployed at the front.

The ground forces have been defeated, can India continue to fight?

However, the counterattack of the Pakistan Air Force has only just begun, and it is far from the end of the time.