India Loses Its Top Fighter Jet, Implications for Future Air Combat

3 Advanced Rafale Fighters Downed - Stephen Bryen 

Three Rafale jets were shot down plus at least one Sukhoi and one MIG plus a large Israel reconnaissance drone were destroyed by Pakistan's Air Force...

Pakistan was operating over Pakistani air space when its J-10 jet (Chinese but co-produced in Pakistan) launched Chinese PL-15 air to air missiles. 

• The PL-15 is China's answer to the US AIM-120D AMRAAM (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile) which is an all weather, beyond visual range (BVR) missile. It has a range of 200 to 300 km (124 to 186 miles). 
• By way of contrast, the French MICA air to air missile has a significantly shorter range, around 60 to 80 km (37 to 50 miles). 

Thus the Chinese PL-15 as a stand off weapon has a significant advantage. It seems that paid off in the recent encounter...
Russia also has a BVR air to air missile, the R-77 which is being upgraded...

What happened to India in the latest firefight is bad news for NATO, which appears to be falling behind technologically and it is a warning to the United States to speed up development of an AMRAAM replacement...