What's interesting is that many American think tanks such as CSIS and others have tried pretending top of the line Chinese weapons are potemkin villages. A CSIS wargame, for example, modelled that the J-20 was a 4.5th gen equivalent and Daniel Rice of CASI said the J-20 was a 4.5th gen. The Rafale is an actual 4.5th gen and it just got defeated by the J-10 PL-15 Combo. The J-10 C, fascinatingly enough, isn't even the best 4th gen in China; the J-16 is. Overly jingositic Indian commentators even said the Rafale could beat the J-20 in combat.
Seeing as how the J-10C is at best only the 5th most capable fighter in the Chinese military's arsenal (excluding the 6th gens) its very clear top of the line Chinese military hardware is just as deadly as advertised.
Many in this sub have enjoyed pretending Chinese weapons are useless hunks of metal. Hopefully the recent Indo Pak Skirmish kills this myth
Posted by AQ5SQ