Pakistan’s First Combat Use of Chinese PL-15E Missiles
During the recent conflict with India, Pakistani aircraft fired the Chinese-made PL-15E air-to-air missile in combat for the first time. The missile was reportedly launched during an aerial skirmish with Indian aircraft along the border. The clash took place on the night of May 6-7, amid rising military tensions between the two nations. The Pakistani fighter jets, including the more recent JF-17 Block III and the more advanced J-10 CE, participated in the confrontation. According to the reports, at least one PL-15E missile was fired and was later confirmed when the parts were recovered in India’s Punjab region.
Pakistan purchased the PL-15E missile from China as part of a huge defense deal that was signed in 2021. The deal, worth approximately US$ 1.5 billion, consisted of 20 J-10CE fighter jets and approximately 240 PL-15E missiles. With this acquisition, Pakistan became the first international customer for the PL-15E, which is China’s export version of the PL-15 domestic missile. By early 2025, Pakistan integrated the missile with its JF-17 Block III and J-10CE fighter aircraft, increasing its beyond visual range (BVR) combat strength.
PL-15E is the long-range air-to-air missile developed to engage enemy aircraft at a maximum range of up to 145 km, making it one of the longer range air-to-air missiles available for export. With a dual-pulse solid-fuel rocket motor, the missile travels at velocities over Mach 5. It combines inertial navigation and mid-course updates with an active radar seeker (based on Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) technology). This allows it to accurately lock onto and destroy targets even in high-jamming environments. The missile has a high-explosive fragmentation warhead weighing approximately 20–25 kilograms. Both JF-17 Block III and J-10CE fighters are capable of launching PL-15E.
Pakistan’s use of the PL-15E marks a significant development in the region’s air combat capabilities. So far, India has been relying on missiles such as the Meteor (on Rafale jets) and the Russian R-77 (on its Su-30MKIs). Although the Meteor is one of the high-end BVR missiles, the long-range and ECM-immune seeker of the Chinese missiles might provide Pakistan with an edge in some scenarios. The first combat use of the PL-15E missile by Pakistan is a major milestone. It is not only an indicator of Pakistan’s capabilities but also illustrates the country’s increased dependence on the Chinese defense systems. It’s unclear how effective the Chinese missiles were in the recent air skirmishes but as India and Pakistan continue modernizing their air forces, the PL-15E might prove to be a key capability for Pakistan.