When PAF designed the JF-17 they knew it might one day have to stand it's ground against SU-30s. Which is why they keep updating it's specs, and now with the Blk-3 they have Rafael to counter too. I do recall news articles that PAF requested capability change on the JF-17 to counter SU-30 when the 4th prototype was revealed.
AA combat has way too many variables to be like a video game. Technology has advanced but BVR weapon hit rates are questionable against ECM/countermeasure equipped maneuverable targets.
https://defenseissues.net/2013/04/27/usefulness-of-bvr-combat/
http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Rus-BVR-AAM.html
So a JF-17 might be the under dog but if it comes up against a SU-30 it will not be a easy kill for a SU-30 or Rafael where they merely press a button. A great deal of pilot skill and situational variables are involved.
Presence of data linked AWACs makes it more complicated for both sides as well.
https://www.quora.com/Is-there-any-...down-SU-30-MKI-and-Rafale-in-case-of-conflict
https://quwa.org/2016/07/11/jf-17-ii-introducing-bvr-precision-strike-updated/
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But the lack of new F-16s (or a modern fighter in lieu of it) was being felt, especially in the context of the Indian Air Force (IAF)’s modernization programs (centering on the Sukhoi Su-30MKI). Simply replacing the F-7s and Mirages was not going to be enough for the PAF, it needed something that not only offered a substantive improvement, but gave it a solution that was in line with the expectations of the day. The sense one gets from the 1990s and 2000s is that most of the PAF’s fighters did not and – for the most part – could not utilize the latest in combat technology. Even the Mirages, which could be equipped with some level of BVR and precision-guided strike capability, had a limit in terms of its longevity.
Put simply, whenever sanctions hit, the PAF had to depend on fighters that were a generation behind the ‘current.’ In the aftermath of the 1965 War, the PAF had to source F-6s from China, but like the rest of its contemporaries, it probably would have preferred grabbing the Northrop F-5 Tiger II. When it was supposed to have been receiving F-16s, the PAF had to deepen its dependence on F-7s and Mirage III/5s.
The JF-17 Thunder is a different story. It is a modern platform with the room to carry current as well as future subsystems. Yes, it is not a high-performance platform like the Dassault Rafale, but it is a platform capable of using most (if not potentially all) of the very same munitions and subsystems found on pricier alternatives. The only real bottleneck would be Pakistan’s financial capacities.
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And to add to this SU-30MKI carries a NO11M PESA radar. It's detection range is 140km against a Mig-29 class fighter safe to assume for a JF-17 should be lesser.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bars_radar
"N011M has a search range of 400 km and a tracking range of 200 km, with 60 km in the rear in the air-to-air mode. Detection range fighter type MIG-29 in area of review of over 300 sq. deg: - on towards course - up to 140 km; - in pursuit of - up to 60 km.
[4] Up to 15 air targets can be tracked at once in
track while scan mode with 4 of these engaged at once.
[5]The N011M can use a number of short range and speed search modes and is capable of identifying the type and number of multiple targets."
Now coming to JF-17 detection ranges are KLJ-7V1 105km vs 5m2, KLJ-7V2 135km vs 5m2 and KLJ-7A 170km Vs 5m2. And since JF-17 is PAF's own fighter and it makes these KLJ radars locally more improvements will occur from manufacturers and they will be passed onto existing fleet without hindrances or international negotiations.
The reason why the huge comparative improvement is the KLJ-7A is AESA and AESAs can achieve the same performance as a PESA but with a much smaller size, lower power and cooling requirements, then compared with a PESA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KLJ-7
https://thaimilitaryandasianregion.blogspot.com/2018/03/jf-17-to-get-chinese-developed-aesa.html
So in terms of detection the JF-17 has done a lot of catching up and you pretty much get the idea it is being done with a particular opponent in mind.