Pakistan's Homegrown Link-17 Kill Chain Helped Shoot Down India's Rafale Fighter Jets

[Riaz Haq]

Using a homegrown datalink (Link-17) communication system, Pakistan has integrated its ground radars with a variety of fighter jets and airborne early warning aircraft (Swedish Erieye AWACS) to achieve high level of  situational awareness in the battlefield, according to experts familiar with the technology developed and deployed by the Pakistan Air Force. This integration allows quick execution of a "kill chain" to target and destroy enemy aircraft, according to experts. This capability was demonstrated recently in the India-Pakistan aerial battle of May 7-8 that resulted in the downing of several Indian fighter jets, including the French-made Rafale.  

Pakistan PAF's Homegrown Link-17. Source: Secret Projects

Pakistan Air Force (PAF) pilots flying Chinese-made J10C fighter jets fired the Chinese PL-15 air-to-air missiles and shot down at least two Indian Air Force's French-made Rafale jets in history's largest ever aerial battle, according to multiple media and intelligence reports. India had 72 warplanes on the attack and Pakistan responded with 42 of its own, according to the Pakistani military. 

Speaking on a recent podcast, Michael Dahm, a senior fellow at AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, said the kill chain may have started with a Pakistani ground radar—“maybe a surface-to-air missile system, or some other type of radar system”—which “illuminated the Indian target.” Then, a Pakistani J-10C fighter “launched its missiles, probably at range, and finally, an airborne early warning and control aircraft used a midcourse datalink to update and guide the missile to the Indian fighter.”   “The Pakistani Air Force deployed …’ A’ launched by ‘B’ and guided by ‘C’” and hit the target, he added. 

PAF Kill Chain During Op Sindoor. Source: Blackbird

Link-17 enables secure and jam-resistant voice and data exchanges between connected assets. Combined with electronic warfare, it allows the Pakistani military to control the electromagnetic spectrum, giving access to the enemy communications and denying them access to their own.  It also enables networked participants to view in real-time each other’s sensor feeds, which could come from radars, sonars, electro-optical (EO) systems such as cameras, and others. Link-17 has given the PAF a network protocol that it can use with a wide range of aerial assets, especially domestically driven programs, such as the JF-17 Thunder. 

Military aviation analysts conclude from the results of the air battle that the Chinese technology is as good, if not better than, the western technology. However, it must be understood that the way the technology is actually deployed in the battlefield is as important in achieving good results as the technology itself. Also, the men count as much, if not more than, the machines.  The legendary US Air Force pilot Chuck Yeager called Pakistan Air Force pilots "the best in the world".  In another tweet in 2015, Yeager said "they (PAF pilots) kicked the Indians butt". 

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[Riaz Haq]

Tejasswi Prakash
@Tiju0Prakash
"Pakistan was in the front, with China providing all possible support...Turkey also played a key role. During DGMO-level talks, Pakistan had live updates of our key vectors from China,"

Deputy Chief of the Indian Army

Our Army is now compelled to publicly speak about its defence requirements, as the current political leadership seems too preoccupied with photo ops and optics to pay any real attention to national security.
#OperationSindoor

https://x.com/Tiju0Prakash/status/1941079746781094292

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The STRATCOM Bureau
@OSPSF
India’s Deputy Army Chief, Lieutenant General Rahul Singh shocked by Pakistan’s ISR reach into India.

He says that during DGMO deescalation talks Pakistan had live tracking of Indian assets preparing to launch missions, which would be responded to immediately if not called back:

https://x.com/OSPSF/status/1941088112702316951

[Riaz Haq]

Indian General Making Excuses for Losing to Pakistan

By AK Chishti

You know who keeps justifying losses again and again? Losers. Just like the Indian Deputy Chief’s briefing more about calming their own people than facing reality. Pakistan didn’t just hit hard, we hit their morale. #OperationSindoor tunrns Tandoor!

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Syed Talat Hussain
@TalatHussain12
His stutters and stammers aside, what he is telling you is a) how I'll-prepared India was b) how bad was their war strategy c) how poorly they anticipated the adversary's capabilities d) how vulnerable their various flanks were in the combat zone. In so many poorly-strung sentences, he is saying: we were roasted.

https://x.com/TalatHussain12/status/1941185551127777530

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FJ
@Natsecjeff
"We were not fighting one adversary but three: Pakistan, China and Turkey"

Based on that logic, Pakistan could argue the same with India using weapons platforms from France, Israel and Russia.

https://x.com/Natsecjeff/status/1941141295080362318

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Conversation
Rabia Akhtar
@Rabs_AA
Imagine fearing an adversary so much, you convince yourself it wasn’t them but their friends that beat you. When a military starts believing that its adversary’s strength lies solely in foreign support, it stops preparing for the adversary itself. And underestimating an opponent by outsourcing their strength to others may soothe national ego but it is a dangerous way to lose the next war.

Lt Gen Rahul Singh’s statement is less a reflection of battlefield realities and more a projection of post-crisis insecurities. Yes, Pakistan absorbed hits and we took some damage. But what matters is what happened next. When the dust settled in May 2025, it wasn’t China or Turkey that forced India into DGMO-level talks, it was Pakistan’s calibrated, multi-domain response that exposed critical vulnerabilities in Indian assumptions.

The narrative that Pakistan acted as a 'front' and China 'tested weapons' is a convenient deflection from India’s own overreach and intelligence lapses. If 81% of Pakistani hardware is Chinese, then perhaps it's time to ask why India’s Israeli, American, Russian, and French-supplied systems still failed to prevent deep penetration strikes, drone swarms, and jamming of critical vectors.

Referring to Pakistan as a ‘live lab’ for Chinese weapons not only demeans Pakistan’s sovereign military capabilities, but also undermines India’s own credibility as a serious power if it believes its adversary's strength depends entirely on another's support.

If China is gaining operational feedback, that is a separate strategic reality. But the core issue remains: India initiated escalation, misread the deterrence ladder, and now wants to outsource blame. If anything, the May 2025 crisis exposed that imported hardware is no substitute for indigenous competence, India’s underperformance made that abundantly clear.

Next time, before India imagines hitting population centers, it might want to review the wreckage of May 2025, both literal and reputational. Strategic miscalculation is more an Indian mindset problem than a technology gap.

https://x.com/Rabs_AA/status/1941199617099444292

[Riaz Haq]

Alan Warnes
@warnesyworld
Spoke to #PakistanAirForce Chief ACM Zaheer Ahmed Baber yesterday. The PAF brought down the IAF's entire kill chain on May 5-10. Satellite downlinks were scuttled, radars jammed and GPS killed. IAF was fortunate not to lose more than four , yes four, Rafales.

https://x.com/warnesyworld/status/1942769008589090858

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Alan Warnes
@warnesyworld
It was no fault of the #Dassault #Rafale or #Thales #Spectra EW system that four were shot down. But the PAF's use of its new EW and cyber warfare ops in addition to the J-10/PL-15 combo. All part of a multi domain system created by the #PakistanAirForce CAS. I witnessed today.

https://x.com/warnesyworld/status/1942954111596384741

[Riaz Haq]

The Economist
@TheEconomist
Indian officials now admit to losing some aircraft in their recent conflict with Pakistan. They’re also starting to indicate the losses may not have stemmed from technological deficiencies
http://econ.st/4kGj2aX

https://x.com/TheEconomist/status/1946012090117812312

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They were used to hearing fighter jets from a nearby airbase. But this noise was louder and less familiar: a roar punctuated by repeated explosions. Residents of Akalia Kalan, a village in northern India, leapt from their beds as it grew closer in the early hours of May 7th. Outside, they saw a ball of flames pass overhead and crash into a nearby field. The wreckage was clearly identifiable as a fighter. Two bystanders died, according to villagers. The two Indian pilots had ejected earlier and were found, injured, in fields nearby.

India has yet to confirm it officially but this was one of a number of its fighter jets that were lost in a four-day conflict with Pakistan in May. The Indian government disputes Pakistan’s claim to have shot down six warplanes, including three of its new French Rafale jets. But foreign military officials believe that five Indian aircraft were destroyed, including at least one Rafale. And Indian military officers, while refusing to confirm numbers, do now admit to losing some aircraft. What is more, they are starting to indicate that the losses may have stemmed from Indian errors rather than technological deficiencies.

[Riaz Haq]

CDS Anil Chauhan Emphasizes Need for Indigenous UAVs to Stay Ahead in Modern Warfare

Source: Deccan Herald
https://www.deccanherald.com/india/self-reliance-in-uavs-counter-un...

New Delhi: In the wake of Operation Sindoor that witnessed widespread military use of unmanned aerial vehicle for the first time in Southeast Asia,
Gen Chauhan’s comments come more than two months after the India-Pakistan conflict on the western front as Pakistan attacked Indian civilian and
military establishments by launching UAVs in 'waves' along with loitering munition and missile strikes.

Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan on Wednesday said self-reliance in drone technology is a “strategic imperative” for India as the country can’t win “today’s wars with yesterday’s weapons”.

Addressing a conference here, Gen Chauhan said UAVs had evolved as a “transformative force” that could shift the “tactical balance disproportionately.”

“For India, self-reliance in UAV and counter-UAV technologies is not only a strategic imperative, but also about safeguarding its interests and seizing the opportunities of the future,” he said.

Gen Chauhan’s comments come more than two months after the India-Pakistan conflict on the western front as Pakistan attacked Indian civilian and military establishments by launching UAVs in “waves” along with loitering munition and missile strikes

"Most of them were neutralised through a combination of kinetic and non-kinetic means. Some of them could be recovered in almost intact conditions," he said.

The CDS said Operation Sindoor demonstrated the need for indigenous development of UAS and C-UAS technologies, tailored to India's terrain and needs.

"We cannot rely on imported niche technologies that are crucial for our offensive and defensive missions; we must invest, build and safeguard ourselves. Dependence on foreign technologies weakens our preparedness, limits our ability to scale up production, results in a shortfall of critical spares for sustenance and round-the-clock availability,” he said.

Gen Chauhan cautioned that foreign weapons, sensors and their capabilities are known to all, and adversaries can "predict our tactics and doctrinal concepts" based on the capabilities of these systems. "But, if it developed on our own, then an element of surprise can be added, at least in initial encounters."

Underlining the criticality of evolution in weapon developments, the CDS said war fighting equipment like rifles, tanks and aircraft were becoming smaller, faster, lighter, more efficient and more affordable. "In today's warfare, you cannot win with yesterday's weapon systems. Today's warfare has to be fought with tomorrow's technology," he said.

"Asymmetric drone warfare is making large platforms vulnerable and driving militaries to rethink the conceptual aspects of air doctrines, development of C-UAS and adaptive moves of engagement," he added.

The CDS spoke at a workshop on UAV & C-UAS systems, organised by the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff and the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies.

[Riaz Haq]

Alan Warnes
@warnesyworld
As I leave, I still don't understand why the #Thales #Spectra EW system was such a failure for the #IndianAirForce #Dassault #Rafale when coming up against the #PakistanAirForce #J10/ #PL15 combo. Surely one of the most advanced EW systems should have warned the Rafale pilots?

https://x.com/warnesyworld/status/1945828468735807750

[Riaz Haq]

Jayant Bhandari
@JayantBhandari5
So India did lose five planes a few hours after it started a fight with Pakistan. The IAF was grounded for two days. What an embarrassment! A small nation of Ukraine is more competent. Indians have to stop self-delusions and start being realistic.

https://x.com/JayantBhandari5/status/1946757503368503620

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Pravin Sawhney
@PravinSawhney
Folks, get real about PAF's Electronic Warfare capabilities seen in the air battle of May 6/7 night #operationsindhoor
Now, the PAF set up its Centre of AI & Computing (CENTAIC) in August 2020 - of course, with PLA help. CENTAIC priority project was Cognitive EW (EW with AI capabilities). For five years (2020-2025) surely the PAF was working & training on advanced EW.
Now, Rafale Spectra EW suite does not have AI supported EW.
Why? Ask
@IAF_MCC
.
Of course, good EW is one of the many reasons for PAF performance.
So, stop building narratives & focus on war preparedness - since Operation Sindoor has not ended. It has merely been paused by Prime Minister Modi!

https://x.com/PravinSawhney/status/1946751422902706191

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Rabia Akhtar
@Rabs_AA
HAL delays. Engine failures. Budget shortfalls. Meanwhile, India faces a two-front challenge. The Indian Air Force is in no shape for sustained deterrence, let alone escalation.

Sumit Ganguly hits hard: India’s Air Force Is in Crisis

https://x.com/Rabs_AA/status/1946605804678676607

"More than two months after engaging in brief combat operations with Pakistan, the Indian Air Force (IAF) finds itself in crisis. There were evident shortcomings in its performance during the May conflict—especially compared with its role in India’s wars with Pakistan in 1947-48, 1965, 1971, and 1999. In this year’s skirmish, the IAF lost several combat aircraft, though the precise number remains contested.

The IAF has a sanctioned strength of 42 operational squadrons, but its actual capabilities have shrunk to 31 squadrons at best due to India’s slow defense acquisition process. Worse still, in recent months, at least three of the IAF’s British-French Jaguar fighter jets have crashed during training operations, including in a July 9 incident that killed two pilots. The Jaguars were inducted into the IAF in 1979, and India still relies on them due to cost considerations and other hurdles"

[Riaz Haq]

How a Smaller Air Force Can Dominate the Skies: Why the Pakistan Air Force is No Longer Counting Fighters - Quwa

https://quwa.org/pakistan-air-force-news/how-a-smaller-air-force-ca...

The discourse surrounding military modernization in South Asia, remains stubbornly fixated on platforms. Every debate spirals into a comparison of fighter specifications, missile ranges, and fleet numbers. This platform-centric accounting – asking whether a Tejas is better than a JF-17 or how many J-35s Pakistan might acquire – is a simplistic way of assessing military power. It misses the forest for the trees.

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF), which has generally faced a superior numerical and, in many areas, qualitative adversary, has long since moved beyond this thinking. Rather, the PAF has cultivated a sophisticated “system of systems” approach to warfare, where the value of an individual asset is measured by its contribution to the integrated whole.

On May 7th of 2025, during the short but intense conflict with India, it was not the prowess of a single fighter that mattered, but the resilience and lethality of the entire networked system the PAF brought to the fight. Observers fixated on platforms are fundamentally misreading the nature of the evolving threat.

[Riaz Haq]

Alan Warnes
@warnesyworld
Obviously a man who understands what happened on May 6/7 between the #IndianAirForce and #PakistanAirForce. Even if it won't go down well with many of his compatriots.
@PravinSawhney

https://x.com/warnesyworld/status/1949196288739905649

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Pravin Sawhney
@PravinSawhney
CDS Anil Chauhan has said that #OperationSindoor is still on.
This has been said to give escape route to the government to not discuss the air battle on May 7/8 night with the opposition in the Parliament.
Without this, rest is of little consequence because both sides have understood their operational gaps & will fill them swiftly with appropriate weapons acquisition.
The air battle is a different ballgame for four reasons:
1. It is about building a digital ecosystem to support air power to operate at beyond visual ranges. Putting this hardware & software is time consuming.
2. It is about pilot training to optimally operate a complex digital system which takes years of training, dedicated & focus
3. It is about advanced Electronic Warfare. This is what no nation shares with another.
4. Between India & Pakistan, the air war will largely determine the campaign outcome.
Moreover, no sensible nation uses its air power against a peer military competitor on non military targets deep within enemy territory. Worse, to believe that after such act the enemy, when informed, will not retaliate is to live in a fantasy world.
I have great difficulty in understanding India's political & military leadership!

https://x.com/PravinSawhney/status/1948932600266883538