Request all members to use this thread for any such scenarios & avoid the LAC thread.
As the Ukraine conflict extends beyond seven months, the myth that wars of the future will be short and swift has been broken. With very large asymmetric military advantage over Ukraine, Russia was expected to overrun the country quickly. Clearly, that is not happening
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@Rajput Lion
For some strange reason AM Chopra considers the Rafales good enough for the J-10 , J-11 & Su-27 but doesn't make any mention of the J-20 , J-16 , Su-MKK & the forthcoming J-31 .
Su-30MKK was procured by China as a strike fighter against US Carrier fleets. It's no match to our Su-30MKI or Rafale.
While the latter two aren't that important as of now with the MKK being a slightly inferior derivative of our own MKI & the latter yet to come into service , it's rather intriguing he hasn't mentioned the other 2 FAs especially J-16 though overall he seems rather confident we'd meet the threat till you read between the lines . After all AM Chopra here heads a government sponsored TT .
Whilst MKI and MKK both are Su-30 variants, both are totally different aircrafts. Our Su-30MKI is literally 2-seat version of Su-37 Terminator. In fact, it's even more advance than what Su-37 was supposed to be in terms of both Radar and TVC. It is an air-dominance fighter while Chinese MKK is just a striker with limited AtA capability.
Now, Rafale vs J-16 and J-20(since J-31 is still not operational). Hmm.. that's really interesting.
The following analysis is solely my own and others may disagree if they deem perfect.
I think while our Rafale-I outclasses J-11, Su-27, Su-30MKK and other Chinese fighters. China is looking to establish air supremacy with the help of J-10C/J-16/J-20 combo. These are three most dangerous PLAAF fighters till date because of their AESA radar + PL-15 combo. Now time for 1 vs 1 analysis(hypothetical since air warfare is much complicated than that).
Rafale-I vs J-10C:
While Rafale has better kinematics due to 2-engines, J-10C is also a Delta-Canard like Rafale. So, it's RCS is also quite less(DSI intake helps here) and thanks to AESA radar and PL-15 combo it packs a massive punch. But thanks to Meteor, even if both detect and shoot at each other at the same time, Meteor would reach J-10C quicker and neutralize it.
Winner: Rafale-I.
Rafale vs J-16:
While Rafale was developed to kill Su-27 Flanker, J-16 is just no ordinary Flanker. Till date, it's most advance derivative. China has replaced entire Metallic skin with CFC, thereby reducing Flanker's biggest weakness, i.e., RCS. Because of extensive use of carbon composites, it's also much lighter than normal Su-30. China claims sub 16 tonne empty weight vs 17.7 tonne of Su-30.
It's WS-10 engines produce more dry/wet power than AL-31F, which combined with its lighter weight, enhances its kinematic performance. It has most power AESA radar of any Chinese fighter. Its IRST is also QWIP based that is supposed to detect B-2 from 150 and F-22 from 110kms away. With all the above and with PL-15 along with AWACS killer PL-21(500kms range), this fighter poses one of the gravest threats to our fighters.
Now vs Rafale:
While China has reduced J-16's RCS, thanks to base Flanker design with podded engines, it's still somewhat more than J-10C. But to compensate that, it has most powerful AESA radar in Chinese service. So both Rafale and J-16 would detect each other at the same time using AESA radar or IRST.
But once again the advantage of Meteor comes in. PL-21 is not effective against Rafale being too big and heavy. And before PL-15 could reach Rafale, Meteor would swat J-16 away.
Winner: Rafale-I.