A new report submitted to the United States Congress acknowledges that Pakistan gained a military advantage over India during the four-day conflict in May, noting that Islamabad used advanced Chinese-made weapons to shoot down Indian fighter jets, including French-made Rafales.
The assessment appears in the US–China Economic and Security Review Commission report, which evaluates Beijing’s global security partnerships and their impact on American interests.
According to the report, Pakistan deployed several modern Chinese systems in active combat for the first time. These included the HQ-9 air defense system, PL-15 air-to-air missiles, and J-10C fighter jets.
The report also confirms that China offered Pakistan additional high-end equipment in June, including 40 J-35 fifth-generation fighters, KJ-500 airborne early-warning aircraft, and ballistic missile defense systems.
The report highlights the intensity of the clashes, stating that Pakistan and India struck targets deeper inside each other’s territory than at any time in the past five decades. The conflict began after India launched missile strikes inside Pakistan on the night of May 5 and 6, claiming to hit “terrorist targets” following the Pahalgam attack.
Pakistan responded with a major retaliatory operation, “Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos,” targeting more than 20 Indian military sites. The Pakistan Air Force also used JF-17 Thunder jets equipped with hypersonic missiles to destroy India’s S-400 air defense system in Adampur.
Hostilities between the two nuclear-armed nations ended on May 10 after the United States brokered a ceasefire agreement.