The Pakistan Air Force held a joint air exercise in Qatar called Shock-II, the highlight of which was the first confrontation between Chinese-made J-10C fighters and European-made Typhoon fighters. This is another successful demonstration of the Pakistan Air Force's introduction of Chinese fighters, and it is also another important test for Chinese fighters on the international stage.
The Pakistan Air Force is a loyal customer of China's first-class industrial products and an important promoter of Chinese fighters. The Pakistan Air Force not only has a variety of Chinese fighters, such as J-7, J-8, J-10C, Thunder, etc., but also often participates in international exercises and compares with Western fighters in actual combat, providing valuable experience and feedback for Chinese fighters. The Pakistan Air Force's trust and appreciation for Chinese fighters has also opened up more markets and opportunities for Chinese fighters.
According to foreign media reports, the "Shock-II" exercise is a difficult air combat simulation, aimed at improving the combat capability and coordination efficiency of the air forces of the two countries. The Pakistan Air Force sent fighters such as the J-10C and Thunder, and the Qatari Air Force sent fighters such as the Typhoon and Rafale, and the two sides engaged in a variety of air combat scenarios. In its official statement, the Pakistan Air Force highlighted the J-10C's performance, calling it a "highly advanced" fighter capable of "demonstrating its strength" against the Euro Typhoon.
The J-10C is China's latest fourth-generation and semi-generation fighter with a canard layout, equipped with active phased array radar and advanced air-to-air missiles, and has strong air combat capabilities. The "Typhoon" fighter is also the most advanced fourth-generation and half-generation fighter in Europe, which also adopts a canard layout, is equipped with active phased array radar and "Meteor" missiles, and is known as one of the strongest non-first-generation fighters in the world. The performance of the two is comparable, and the victory or defeat of air combat depends on the skills and tactics of the pilot.
It is noteworthy that the location of the exercise was the Doha airbase, and not the Al Udeid airbase, the largest in Qatar. This may be to avoid US electronic reconnaissance at the Al udeid airbase, so as not to leak the electronic characteristics of Chinese fighters, and also to prevent Chinese fighters from collecting electronic intelligence on US fighters. This also shows that the military competition between China and the United States has penetrated into the Middle East region and affected the military cooperation of various countries.
The exercise also had an implicit purpose of familiarizing the Pakistan Air Force with the performance and tactics of the Rafale fighter in preparation for a future confrontation with the Indian Air Force. The Indian Air Force has introduced Rafale fighters and deployed them in areas bordering Pakistan. The Pakistani Air Force plans to use the J-10C to counter the Rafale and has already received support from experts from China and Qatar.
Finally, foreign media also revealed that the Pakistan Air Force is also very interested in China's Air Police-500 early warning aircraft and may purchase them in the future. The Air Police-500 is China's latest early warning aircraft, capable of providing effective command and control for fighters such as the J-10C. This also refutes the rumors of India** that the Pakistan Air Force is going to abandon Chinese AWACS aircraft. In fact, the Pakistan Air Force has been constantly updating and refining the configuration of its Chinese fighter jets to counter the threat of the Indian Air Force.