Any new developments from Shaheen exercise? In regards to Chinese flankers beating JF-17s, that doesn't mean much at all unless we know specifics of the exercises. Like it was mentioned a few pages back, Su-30s beat and got beaten by F-15s and EF-2000s in past exercises. Doesn't mean much unless we know all the details. In this case, it means nothing really. Probably Chinese media drumming up some nationalism with a "OMG look one of our fighters can beat two pakistani ones". Completely pointless. Only idiots will draw any conclusions from that alone. However, it wouldn't surprise me that even given a level 1vs1 playing field, Su-27 modernised variants will easily defeat JF-17. It's half the size, range, payload, and radar output. China never bought this because it's got short legs and that was unacceptable. Su-27 variants still King of the air in East Asia. PLAAF Su-35s are top dogs, nothing comes close (not counting F-22s in Japan ). Surprised J-11b are capable planes? Good luck with everything else then. It's like how people were comparing F-15J to J-11 a few years ago without knowing the F-15Js have not been modernised and would barely be able to go up against JF-17s today if nothing else is used as support. Soviet Union lost the Cold War partly because they couldn't keep up with the economic might of the USA and they went broke trying to strengthen their military. China has done the opposite and ought to invest more if anything.
Like I said in a previous comment, the article was published not to jeer at the PAF, but to report on the PLAAF pilot's tenacity. The relevant segment in the article is this:
这是一次2对2空战对抗,他与战友对抗巴方两架“枭龙”。然而,就在起飞前战友的飞机出现了小情况。
2对2变成了1对2,朱振华没有申请取消对抗。战机升空后,他放开手脚,敢打敢拼,经过数个回合“激战”,最终抓住稍纵即逝的战机取得空战胜利。“Mr.ZHU,good job!”酣畅淋漓的对抗后,巴方飞行员拍着朱振华肩膀说,不只是为他的技战术,更为他身上的血性。
The synopsis states that the PLAAF pilot took off with a wingman whose aircraft encountered problems and had to pull out of the exercise. However, the remaining pilot continued with the exercise even though he had the option of calling it off, and subsequently won a hard-earnt 1 v 2 victory. The PAF's pilots then congratulated and commended him on not just his skills as a pilot but his determined and persistent character. This innocuous account of an isolated event in an extremely comprehensive exercise somehow got spun way out of proportion by fanboys.