It is undeniable that the Indian Air Force is indeed powerful, but it would be more accurate to say "huge".

Although the F-35AI was the most advanced fighter in the Indian Air Force and the best fighter that India could buy from the international market at that time, the F-35AI was not the main fighter in the Indian Air Force because the number of such fighters was so small.

At this time, the main force of the Indian Air Force was still the Su-30MKI, which numbered more than 300 units.

Is this fighter advanced?

More than a decade ago, that was really advanced.

In fact, even now, the Su-30MKI is the only heavy fighter in South Asia, but only a heavy fighter.

Why?

Because of this fighter, even Russia is not equipped in large quantities, but is specially improved on the basis of the Su-30 in accordance with the requirements of India.

It can be said that the Su-30MKI is not advanced in any way.

The most criticized is the backward passive phased array radar.

More than a decade ago, the Su-30MKI's radar was quite advanced, at least at a long enough distance to be able to lock onto the target even after seeing it.

It's just that by the time the third batch of JF-17 equipped with an active phased array radar appeared, the radar of the Su-30MKI lagged behind and became outdated.

In the Kashmir conflict of that year, the JF-17 of the Pakistan Air Force was often able to spot the Su-30MKI almost 200 kilometers away, and continued to track at a distance of 150 to 170 kilometers, equipped with SD-10C medium-range missiles, and reached a maximum firing range of 120 kilometers.

And what about the Su-30MKI?

The detection range of the JF-17 is also more than 200 kilometers, but the continuous tracking distance is less than 120 kilometers, sometimes even only 80 kilometers, even if equipped with R-77 missiles, the maximum firing distance of the JF-17 is between 80 kilometers and 100 kilometers.

In addition, the Su-30MKI is armed with R-27 missiles most of the time.

With such missiles, the maximum firing range of the Su-30MKI against the JF-17 does not exceed 60 kilometers, and usually only 40 kilometers.

Fortunately, it was an aerial standoff, not an engagement.

If it really evolves into combat, then the vast majority of Su-30MKI will not have a chance to avoid the SD-10C at all, and will not be able to bring out the super-maneuverability given by the vector nozzle.

Of course, this so-called super-maneuverability actually has to be marked with a question mark.

Why?

The working life of the Su-30MKI vector nozzle is only 20 hours!

What is this concept?

Needless to say, as long as it is used, it has entered the end-of-life stage.

In a high-intensity battle, 20 hours is a matter of more than a dozen air battles.

What's worse is that due to the limitation of the life of the vector nozzle, the pilots of the Indian Air Force rarely use this thing in their usual training, and it is basically just an ornament.

In addition, the Indian Air Force does not have an advanced trainer aircraft capable of imitating the Su-30MKI.

It can be said that most of the pilots of the Su-30MKI also know that this thing can be used, but how to use it, I'm afraid it's not very clear.

Of course, the super-mobility brought about by the vector nozzle may not be an artifact in close-quarters combat.

Why?

In close combat, in fact, it is more about the performance of combat missiles and the performance of fighter fire control systems.

To put it simply, advanced combat missiles such as the PL-10 and AIM-9X are extremely maneuverable, and can generally shoot down targets as long as they are locked on.

No matter how maneuverable a fighter is, it will certainly not be able to compare with a combat missile.

Then, in a dogfight air combat, the first thing to look at is whether you can lock on to the enemy aircraft first and launch missiles first.

Obviously, in this regard, the Su-30MKI still has no advantages.

Why?

The combat missile of the Su-30MKI is the R-73, and it is an initial model.

By the third batch, the JF-17 already had the ability to carry and use the PL-10, but due to financial constraints, Pakistan did not purchase this expensive combat missile for the time being.

Of course, with Pakistan's relationship with China, PL-10 can be obtained at any time.

In fact, Huaxia has long provided Pakistan with a batch of PL-10 training missiles, so that Pakistani Air Force pilots can master the skills of using such missiles.

Suffice it to say that just in terms of missiles, the JF-17 is two generations ahead of the Su-30MKI.

Although the maneuverability of the JF-17 is indeed inferior to the Su-30MKI, after all, the basis of the JF-17 comes from the J-7, and it is in the purpose of controlling costs, and the overall design tends to be conservative, but relying on more advanced combat missiles, as well as an optoelectronic targeting system that is not worse than the Su-30MKI, the JF-17 may not lose to the Su-30MKI in combat air combat, and the victory or defeat is half the same, so it depends more on the quality of the pilot.

Obviously, when it comes to the quality of pilots, it is even more incomparable.

Don't forget, Pakistan and China hold a large-scale joint air force training exercise every year, and it often lasts about a month.

According to the management, it is basically held alternately in the two countries.

Of course, due to the restrictions of the United States, the Pakistan Air Force can send fighter jets from China such as the JF-17 to participate in the joint training exercises.

It is through joint training exercises with Huaxia that the pilots of the Pakistan Air Force have very rich experience.

This is even more true when it comes to dealing with heavy fighters of this class as the Su-30MKI.

Don't forget, there are hundreds of heavy fighters such as the Su-27SK and Su-30MKK that are out of the same category as the Su-30MKI, as well as heavy fighters such as the J-11 produced by itself.

In order to take care of the Pakistan Air Force, Huaxia sends heavy fighters such as the J-11 to participate in joint training every year.

It was through sparring with the Huaxia Air Force that the Pakistan Air Force knew its heavy fighters well.

Although Huaxia's Su series fighters, as well as the self-produced J-11 and India's Su-30MKI, have some differences, such as the absence of vector nozzles, but the difference in essence is not big, in training and exercises, it is enough to simulate the Su-30MKI playing the imaginary enemy of Pakistani fighters.

What about India?

It is clear that the pilots of the Indian Air Force simply do not have such opportunities.

Why?

None of the opponents that India was able to find for the exercises had JF-17s, and the Indian Air Force was not armed with similar light fighters.

The only one that can be considered a generation with the JF-17 is the LCA, and the Indian Air Force has not purchased this fighter in large quantities.

In addition, the LCA has a noticeable difference in flight qualities from the JF-17.

Obviously, it is almost impossible for India to find an opponent similar to Pakistan's air force to train in peacetime.

Well, where did the pilots of the Indian Air Force go to gain experience in dealing with the JF-17?

In fact, this is the key reason why the Indian Air Force has freed the Su-30MKI from air supremacy missions after the purchase of Rafale, F-16E/F and F-35A, allowing it to return to the role of a heavy multi-role fighter to carry out ground strike missions.

To put it more bluntly, this heavy fighter, which was once held high by the Indian Air Force, has long been no longer the absolute main force of the Indian Air Force.

At least, in terms of air supremacy, more than 300 Su-30MKI have taken a back seat.