Except, we have kills against then superpower U.S.S.R. We performed those kills on American backing. I am quite sure the Russians would be more than happy to avenge for their general humiliation in air-to-air combat. We should be only too pleased to oblige.
Let's see how things proceed in Afghanistan. Narendra Modi's visit is significant. There is a non-trivial possibility of history repeating itself, with Russian jets from Afghanistan replaced with U.S. jets.
The JF-17 is a networked system, and its true potential will come out in a networked environment. The following is just my theorization. It is one possible way in which PAF can wield this weapon. There are many other ways.
Against SU-30, the optimum configuration for JF-17 will be passive mode with radar turned off and target tracking done by AWACS. Depending on the AWACS capability, the SU-30's radar can be jammed by the AWACS. If the SU-30 makes the mistake of firing BVR that follows the jamming signal, it would be a fruitless exercise because the AWACS would be well out of range.
Now I just made up all of this. And since I have no clue about PAF's plans, my theory is probably incorrect. But I think this is one plausible manner in which the JF-17 would be very hard to detect for SU-30.
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JF-17B model at Paris airshow 2017. Air intakes are decidedly under the wings, as opposed to Block1/2. You can see the gap between the wings and the intakes. Is this merely a mistake or an airframe change that takes it closer to SU series?
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