SOURCE: AFI
In the wake of the Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) underwhelming performance with the Chinese-supplied PL-15E Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) during the recent India-Pakistan aerial conflict, Pakistani defense analysts are now shifting their focus to the PL-17, a Very Long Range Air-to-Air Missile (VLRAAM). The PL-15E, touted as a game-changer with its 145 km range, failed to score a single hit on Indian Air Force (IAF) jets despite being deployed by PAF’s JF-17 Block III and J-10CE fighters during Operation Sindoor in early May 2025. This flop has prompted a new narrative centered on the PL-17, even as significant technical and strategic hurdles cast doubt on its feasibility for PAF operations.
The PL-15E’s failure was starkly evident during the conflict, which saw the IAF achieve air dominance for the first time since 1947, as noted by former IAF Mirage-2000 pilot Sameer Joshi. Despite PAF claims of downing multiple IAF aircraft, including Rafales and Mirage 2000s, Indian authorities and independent analyses confirmed no such losses. Debris of PL-15E missiles found in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, suggested they were fired in “fire-and-forget” mode at maximum range, likely missing their targets due to inadequate guidance and the IAF’s superior electronic countermeasures.
Now, Pakistani analysts are pitching the PL-17, a 6-meter-long VLRAAM with a claimed range of 400 km, as the next big leap. Designed to target high-value assets like flight refueling aircraft (FRA) and airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platforms, the PL-17 mirrors Russia’s R-37M, which has seen combat success in Ukraine. However, this optimism overlooks critical limitations. Neither the JF-17 Block III nor the J-10CE, PAF’s primary platforms for advanced missiles, has the radar capability to guide the PL-17 beyond 250 km. The JF-17’s KLJ-7A AESA radar, constrained by its smaller nose cone, achieves a detection range of only 100-120 km, while the J-10CE’s more powerful AESA radar can detect targets at around 200 km—still far short of the PL-17’s maximum range.
Moreover, the PAF’s reliance on Saab 2000 Erieye AEW&C aircraft for data-link guidance is a weak link. With a limited fleet of just seven Saab 2000 Erieye and a few Chinese ZDK-03 platforms being retired, the PAF cannot guarantee continuous coverage, especially in a contested environment where these assets would be prime targets for the IAF’s Rafale-Meteor combination or S-400 systems, both of which outrange the PL-17’s effective engagement envelope. The PL-17’s mid-course guidance, which depends on inertial navigation, satellite updates, and data-links before its terminal phase AESA and IR-homing, would be severely hampered without robust AEW&C support.
Adding to the skepticism, China has not announced plans for an export variant of the PL-17, unlike the PL-15E, which was downgraded for Pakistan. The PL-17’s massive size—20 feet long—also poses integration challenges for PAF’s current fleet, as it exceeds the capacity of even the J-10CE’s external hardpoints for practical deployment. In contrast, the IAF’s ongoing indigenous efforts, such as the Astra Mk-2 (160 km range) and the under-development Astra Mk-3 (350 km range), alongside potential acquisitions of the R-37M, position India to maintain its aerial edge.
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