A Long Range Missile Alone Won't Fix India's PL-15 Problem

Swarajya  |  Prakhar Gupta

India's reported $1.2 billion acquisition of approximately 300 Russian R-37M long-range air-to-air missiles for its Su-30MKI fleet aims to counter Pakistan's Chinese PL-15 missile and J-10C fighter combination, addressing a perceived range gap. However, a serving Russian Colonel, A Yu Stepkin, writing in _Voyennaya Mysl_, argues that missile range alone is not the decisive factor in modern air combat.

Russia's experience with the R-37M against Ukraine, despite its superior range, has yielded few air-to-air kills over four years. Stepkin attributes this to critical information constraints, including Western military assistance, effective Ukrainian ground-based air defenses, Western reconnaissance support to Ukraine, and limitations in Russia's own reconnaissance and information support. He stresses that the reconnaissance imbalance, preventing reliable location of Ukrainian air defenses and making Russian flight profiles predictable, is paramount. The article concludes that the decisive variable in modern air combat is the sensor network, not merely the missile's range.

To read in details click here