“Look at our adversaries and what they’re developing, things like the PL-15 and the range of that weapon. General Herbert Carlisle, head of the Air Force’s Air Combat Command, told Flight Global that AIM-120 is of “exceedingly high priority.” It outranges the USAF’s latest version of the AMRAAM, the AIM-120D precisely the reason why Lockheed Martin has been urgently tasked to develop the AIM-260 and restore the balance back in favour of the USAF. Nonetheless, the PL-15 is the weapon of concern for the rest of the world, having an ability to match up to the long-range engagement envelope of the European MBDA Meteor and the Russian R-37M. In addition, F-15s, F-16s as well as F-35 and F-22 stealth fighters also carry this missile.Ī comparative analysis of the range indicates a slight edge for the Chinese PL-15 - whether that is enough to “nullify” American air superiority, remains an open question. Credit: Handout.į/A-18 Super Hornet C/D/E/F variants are armed with the AIM-120. Sources say China’s J-20 stealth fighter is getting a second seat, and improved, domestically produced jet engines. The missile’s warhead is composed of a blast fragmentation high explosive. It is used by US Air Force, Navy, and the Marine Corps (USMC).Īmerica’s first radar-guided line-of-sight AAM, it can cruise at speeds as high as 4 Mach, has an effective range of 110 kilometers and is powered by a solid-propellant rocket. What exactly is the PL-15’s opposite number?Įnter the Raytheon AIM-120 advanced medium-range AAM - a benchmark in missile technology. It can cover long-range and short-range air combat as well as surface attack. The PL-15E is guarded with a combination of inertial, satellite navigation, datalink, and radar. The estimated range of the PL-15 is reportedly 200 kilometers with a large NEZ (no escape zone). The export variant has lower specs, however sources say it has a greater range than its US counterpart. The AESA gives the PL -15 robust Electronic Counter Counter Measures (EECM), a fact not ignored by US defense analysts.Ĭurrently, the J-10C, J-16, and a few J-20s are armed with the PL-15. 607 institute which has a narrow acquisition beam. The missile’s active seeker uses an AESA aperture developed by No. It is powered by a dual pulse rocket motor and is equipped with a two-way datalink for dynamic retargeting in the air. The medium to long-range missile can travel at four times the speed of sound. This was done to fit into the internal weapons bay of the next generation J-20 “Mighty Dragon” and FC-31 fighters.Īccording to its manufacturer, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the PL-15E “has the ability to attack manned aircraft, unmanned aircraft, cruise missiles and other targets located more than 145 km away.”Ĭountry Garden’s cash crunch worries homebuyers The PL-15E has been redesigned with cropped main and tail control fins, with a smaller wingspan. ![]() The miniaturized AMR-1 active seeker, a copy of the Russian 9B-1348 seeker on the R-77, was developed with help from AGAT Research Institute in Moscow. The export variant, the PL-15E, which is currently in use by the People’s Liberation Army–Air Force (PLAAF), is an an upgrade of the PL-12.īased on the Russian R-77, the PL-12 was developed specifically to counter the US AIM-120 AMRAAM. No doubt those concerns were raised even further when China displayed the export version of its new Leihua Electronic Research Institute (LETRI) PiLi, more commonly known as the PL-15, an uber-sophisticated long-range beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile (AAM) at Airshow China in Zhuhai, The EurAsian Times reported. The Chinese air force is already “at parity … in key areas” with the US Air Force, and in a few important areas the US is clearly “behind,” officials said at the event. ![]() Speaker after speaker at the recent 2021 Air, Space & Cyber Conference, expressed the same urgency - a desire to accelerate modernization to deter Beijing’s rapidly growing military strength and aggression.īut perhaps Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said it best when he remarked to an audience of USAF brass, that his top priorities were, “in order … are China, China, and China.”
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