The PL-11 () is a medium-range
semi-active radar homing
Semi-active radar homing (SARH) is a common type of missile guidance system, perhaps the most common type for longer-range Air-to-air missile, air-to-air and surface-to-air missile systems. The name refers to the fact that the missile itself is ...
(SARH)
air-to-air missile
The newest and the oldest member of Rafael's Python family of AAM for comparisons, Python-5 (displayed lower-front) and Shafrir-1 (upper-back)
An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying a ...
(AAM) developed by a subsidiary of the
Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology
The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) is a Chinese space agency and subordinate of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), it is referred to as ''The Eighth Academy'' of CASC. The agency was established in Augus ...
in the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. It is a development or copy of the Italian
Aspide
Aspide (the Italian name for the asp) is an Italian medium range air-to-air and surface-to-air missile produced by Selenia (then by Alenia Aeronautica, now a part of Leonardo S.p.A.). It is provided with semi-active radar homing seeker. It i ...
AAM, which in turn was developed from the American
AIM-7 Sparrow
The AIM-7 Sparrow (Air Intercept Missile) is an American, medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile operated by the United States Air Force, United States Navy, and United States Marine Corps, as well as other various air forces ...
. The PRC may have started license production of the Aspide using imported parts but the license was cancelled following the
1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...
. Development started in 1990, and the first live-fire test occurred in 2002 from a
Shenyang J-8 IIB.
Description
The PL-11 was the
People's Liberation Army Air Force
The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the Peo ...
's main medium-ranged AAM until the
PL-12
The PL-12 (, NATO reporting name: CH-AA-7) is an active radar-guided beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile developed by the People's Republic of China. It is considered comparable to the US AIM-120 AMRAAM and the Russian R-77.
History
Develop ...
.
The
HQ-61
The HQ-6, also known as LY-60, is a family of Chinese air defense missiles developed by the Shanghai Academy of Science and Technology, largely based on the Chinese PL-11 and Italian Selenia (now as Leonardo S.p.A.) Aspide missile.
Developme ...
is the
surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
(SAM) variant of the PL-11.
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pl-4 Missile
Guided missiles of the People's Republic of China
Air-to-air missiles of the People's Republic of China
Weapons of the People's Republic of China
Air-to-surface missiles of the Cold War