India’s war with Pakistan. The former loses fighter jets, the latter uses Chinese PL-15 missiles

In the area of air battles where Pakistani pilots shot down Indian fighter jets, fragments of Chinese PL-15 air-to-air missiles were found.

Local residents posted photos of the wreckage on social media.

After the night air battles, where the Indian air force suffered its first losses in flight personnel, locals began to find wreckage of PL-15 missiles in the Hoshiarpur district of the Indian state of Punjab, which borders the disputed region of Kashmir.

In particular, some parts of the fuselage still have characteristic details and markings that allow the remains of the interceptors to be identified. The first photo captures the tail section of the missile with its distinctive plumage.

It is not yet clear whether these missiles caused the interception of the Indian aircraft, but their appearance confirms the use of J-10 or newer JF-17 fighter jets by the Pakistani Air Force.

The model of the missiles used is also unclear. Since 2021, the country has been armed with an export version of missiles with a limited range of up to 145 kilometers. At the same time, the full-fledged long-range version of the Chinese missile for its own fighter jets has a declared radius of 200-300 km, depending on the conditions and platform type.

Earlier, a specialized Pakistani publication reported that a week before the outbreak of hostilities, China allegedly shipped a batch of missiles directly from its own stocks, which have no export restrictions. At the same time, Pakistani JF-17C fighter jets were equipped with them for the first time.

This missile was initially designed for use by China’s advanced J-20 stealth fighter jets, which is why the design of their fairings was shortened to fit in the aircraft’s interior compartments.

The missile has an active homing radar and a two-way data link that allows the aircraft to transmit navigation commands and the missile to provide its own information to the aircraft. A two-pulse solid rocket engine provides the range.

So far, Pakistan claims to have shot down five Indian aircraft, which is partially confirmed by footage of the wreckage of at least two Indian fighter jets.

Local residents have been posting photos of the wreckage of aircraft engines typical of French Mirage and Rafale fighter jets. The latter was shot down by the wreckage with the tail number BS-001, which is attributed to a single-seat Indian Dassault Rafale EH.

Also in the Ramban district of Jammu state, a K-36DM ejection seat was found, which is used on MiG-29 and Su-30MKI fighter jets of the Indian Air Force. The use of the latter in the region is reliably confirmed by the fact of the use of the aviation version of the BrahMos cruise missiles, of which it is the only carrier.