According to a Chinese military analyst, the air battle between India and Pakistan served as a massive advertisement for China's arms industry. Until now, China had little to show in terms of how its weapons perform in actual warfare.

Until now, China had no opportunity to test its platforms in a combat situation," Zhou Bo, a retired senior colonel in the Chinese People's Liberation Army, told the BBC. The Beijing-based analyst said the outcome of the air duel showed "China has some systems that are next to none".

The India-Pakistan clash of 2025 was not just a test of military might but a profound warning for democracies worldwide. In the age of cognitive warfare, the battlefield is everywhere and nowhere embedded in our devices,