KJ-500 is probably better than Erieye in range and coverage (tri-array radome and all). As per Yankeesama there is no in service fighter aircraft is stealthy to the KJ-500 in any meaningful way.
The Kashmir conflict 2025.
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Decoy aircraft leads to confuse enemy, hidden aircraft with radar off fires; all electronic coverage provided by AWACS; SPECTRA could not pick the PL-15.
Worth highlighting that the PAF currently operates 12 Erieyes, including 05 later-inducted “ER” variants. While exact figures are not public, the general consensus places the Erieye ER’s detection range at around ~600–650 km Vs ~500 km for the earlier version.
There have also been unconfirmed reports suggesting that the older Erieyes may be undergoing MLU to ER standard at PAC Kamra. Notably, in the post-clash briefing the following day, the PAF spokesperson confirmed that the Erieye ER was part of the 7th May night package.
As always, the PAF has kept details regarding the Erieye fleet and Blinders Squadron (7 -8 Aircrafts) fairly limited — and at times somewhat confusing — in the public domain.
I’ve heard different things about whether Blinders were active on the 7th but the consensus seems to be that they either 1) jammed their own air defense assets as well as IAF assets or 2) didn’t have the power to disable IAF assets at range.
No, the Blinders were not part of the 7th May night package, or at least did not play an active role, although they were reportedly airborne during the operation.
Weren't Blinders sent to France at that time for some upgrades?
Guess that would be the airframe since CETC is responsible for the EW component.
No — there were unconfirmed reports suggesting that the DF-20s underwent extensive MLU, with the work reportedly carried out at PAC Kamra.
Seems likely, but as I mentioned in my post #4893, the PAF tends to keep such matters quite under wraps.
There were also unconfirmed reports that the original 4 DF-20s went through MLU, while at the same time PAF may have inducted an additional 3–4 units which were also reportedly brought up to standard with assistance from CETC.
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Great analysis! Respect to Sawhney for honestly giving credit to the J-10C and PL-15 and explaining how well they worked.
Speaking strictly of AEW&C aircraft - It is always better to have more eyes in the sky as redundancies than the opposite, especially when considering the electromagnetic spectrum domains that are only going to make things increasingly messy and challenging to deal with going forward, if not also to hedge against potential wartime losses.
Taking the 500-kilometer radius circles and plotting on the map, here's what is obtained:
Of course, the introduction of 5th-gens in the Indian Air Force in the future (whether that is expected to occur in the late-2020s or the 2030s) certainly will reduce their detectability radius for the AEW&C aircraft, which would only make the number of AEW&C assets a more important factor than ever before.