I don't recall exactly, since I read those parts 7 to 8 years ago. It did open up my mind to just how much closer the actual engagements are taking place despite the maximum search range of radar and of the BVR AAMs. If J-7s could beat Su-27s, that means Su-27s cannot effectively keep tracking a small aircraft at more than 30 km out or utilize R-27s at more than 15 km out that all the engagements all end up as WVR engagements. Maybe Su-27s were detecting J-7s sooner, but J-7s noticed with RWR where Su-27s were coming from and were able to counteract that by breaking that tracking. And just as importantly, BVR AAMs range really don't mean much when the NEZ against a small, fast maneuvering aircraft is under 20 KM. Especially for a semi-active guided missile like R-27, Su-27/Mig-29 will also have to keep lock on the opposing aircraft for pretty much their entire duration. I also remember reading 10 years ago that USAF really wasn't using AIM-120 beyond 30 km against other fighter jet.
Of course, technologies have improved since then. The seekers on the active guided AAMs have gotten better. In the case of PL-15, it even has jam resistant AESA seekers. The newest missiles have better kinetic performance. AESA radars with LPI properties are also allow fighter jets to turn on their radar at longer range. Even with that, you still probably don't want to be firing at a 4th generation aircraft from more than 50 to 60 km out even with the most capable medium/long range AAMs like AIM-120D/PL-15/Meteor. Just think about that little missile seeker coupling with long range guidance from launching or friendly fighter trying to find a fast turning 4th/5th generation jet with the latest generation ECM. After some time, it will run out of energy. Of course, all of this could allow the attacking jet to move closer and fire off second or third missiles to destroy the target jet. On the other hand, it could also cause the target jet fly away more quickly and expose the attacking jet's position to other jets.
As a whole, I don't know if we can just use maximum range of these AAMs to compare them. It's good to know they have long NEZ. That means they have a lot of energy to chase targets. It's also good to know they have advanced seekers and anti-jamming properties, because that will allow them to lock onto target sooner and have better chance of hunting them down. But a lot of times, the engagement will still happen within WVR where SRAAM with the latest IIR seekers, strong IRCCM capabilities and 90 degree off bore sight allow better chance of hunting down advanced, high maneuvering and stealthy fighter jet.
I know I keep coming back to Russians, but they are really behind everyone else in missile, missile seeker and missile CCM technology. The most fanciful aircraft platform isn't going to be able to do that much with 90s era R-73 or early 2000s R-77 against modern fighter jet.
