World’s Largest BVR Dogfight: Thailand Studies Pakistan-India 125-Jet Aerial Clash

Defence affairs analysis

The massive aerial clash between Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and Indian Air Force (IAF) fighters earlier last month — widely described as the “largest Beyond Visual Range (BVR) engagement in history” — has quickly become a case study for air forces worldwide.

Thailand is among the latest to take a keen interest in the unprecedented BVR encounter, with its Royal Thai Air Force reportedly convening a seminar dedicated to analysing the Pakistan-India aerial standoff.

Images circulating on social media show the Royal Thai Air Force holding a forum titled “Analysis of India-Pakistan Air Conflict May 7–8, 2025,” which explicitly labelled the event as “the largest BVR air combat in history.”

According to senior Pakistani officials cited by major US broadcaster CNN, the engagement between PAF and IAF fighters was “the biggest air battle in history,” involving an extraordinary 125 combat aircraft from both nuclear-armed rivals.

CNN reports that despite both air forces staying within their respective airspaces, they exchanged missile fire at distances of up to 160 kilometres, launching advanced air-to-air missiles while relying heavily on their AESA radars for targeting and tracking.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed that PAF fighters faced off against at least 75 to 80 IAF jets during what he described as the largest BVR clash ever recorded.

“And we successfully shot down five of those Indian fighter jets,” Dar claimed.

As widely reported, India is alleged to have lost six fighters during the exchange — including three Dassault Rafales, one Sukhoi Su-30MKI, a MiG-29 Fulcrum, and a Mirage 2000.

India’s Rafale fleet, inducted in 2016, remains the IAF’s most advanced multi-role combat asset, designed for both air dominance and precision strike.

Dar further claimed that the IAF’s losses were inflicted by PAF J-10C fighters armed with China’s PL-15E BVR air-to-air missiles.

“The much-hyped Rafale fighters failed miserably, and the Indian Air Force pilots proved they lack proficiency,” the Pakistani minister asserted.

One PAF J-10C is specifically reported to have downed an Indian Rafale at an unprecedented distance of 182 kilometres using a PL-15 missile — an engagement Pakistani defence journalists have cited as possibly “the longest recorded kill in aerospace history,” though this remains unverified.

In comparison, Russian sources have previously claimed that a Russian Su-35S once shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 at 213 kilometres using the long-range hypersonic R-37M air-to-air missile, which has a maximum advertised range of 400 kilometres.