Now that the latest India-Pakistan War appears to be underway, we are getting a glimpse at how the two militaries are squaring off against each other. Thus far, the conflict is not playing out the way that many—this analyst included—assumed it would. 

In the run-up to open hostilities between the two warring subcontinental powers, many experts simply assumed that the Indians would trounce their Pakistani neighbors, given their larger size, manpower, and military budget.

Yet in the opening hours of the conflict, the Pakistanis seem to have gotten the better of their Indian rivals. Details about the fighting are still somewhat scarce, but in the early hours of Wednesday, May 7, 2025, Islamabad made a series of incredible announcements about aerial victories over India—which India, conspicuously, has made no effort to refute. 

Understanding Pakistan’s PL-15 Air-to-Air Missile 

Namely, Islamabad claimed that Chinese-made PL-15 air-to-air missiles—probably fired by Pakistan’s Chinese-provided J-10C warplanes—downed three Indian Air Force (IAF) French-built Rafale jets, one Indian-built Su-30MKI, and

© The National Interest