The PL-15 (,

NATO reporting name NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform mann ...

: CH-AA-10A) is an active radar-guided long-range

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 ...

developed by the People's Republic of China.

History

The PL-15 is developed by

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

-based CAMA. The missile was test fired in 2011 and referenced by Chinese state media in 2015. It was spotted in 2013 mounted on a prototype of

Chengdu J-20 The Chengdu J-20 (), also known as ''Mighty Dragon'' (), is a twinjet all-weather stealth fighter aircraft developed by China's Chengdu Aerospace Corporation for the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). The J-20 is designed as an ai ...

. The PL-15 entered

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 ...

(PLAAF) military service around 2015 to 2017. The carrying platforms include the Chengdu J-10C, the Shenyang J-16 and the Chengdu J-20. It has also been spotted on the Shenyang J-11B. The PL-15 has begun to replace the earlier

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 ...

as the standard

beyond-visual-range missile A beyond-visual-range missile (BVR) is an air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) that is capable of engaging at ranges of or beyond. This range has been achieved using dual pulse rocket motors or booster rocket motor and ramjet sustainer motor. In additi ...

for both PLAAF and

People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force The People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF; ) is the naval aviation branch of the People's Liberation Army Navy. Overview Historically, the PLANAF's main role has been to provide the navy's warships with air defense coverage. Part of ...

(PLANAF) fighters. In 2017, the United States began developing the

AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile The AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM) is an American beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) under development by Lockheed Martin. Designed to address advanced threats, the missile is expected to replace or supplement the A ...

(JATM) to replace the currently in-service AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) in order to better counter the PL-15. The AIM-260 JATM is planned to enter service in late 2022, with advanced variants of the AIM-120 AMRAAM serving as a stop-gap until the 260 can be fielded.

Design

The missile is measured between , longer and wider than other contemporary radar missiles. The cropped control fins are designed for internal carriage by

stealth aircraft Stealth aircraft are designed to avoid detection using a variety of technologies that reduce reflection/emission of radar, infrared, visible light, radio frequency (RF) spectrum, and audio, collectively known as stealth technology. The F-117 Nig ...

. It incorporates a dual-pulsed solid-fuel rocket motor, capable of a speed of Mach 4+ and a range of more than – comparable to that of the Anglo-French

MBDA MBDA is a European multinational developer and manufacturer of missiles.MBDA Inc. US Division Cor ...

Meteor A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as micr ...

missile. Compared to

ramjet A ramjet, or athodyd (aero thermodynamic duct), is a form of airbreathing jet engine that uses the forward motion of the engine to produce thrust. Since it produces no thrust when stationary (no ram air) ramjet-powered vehicles require an as ...

-powered Meteor, which advantages in sustained flight profile with a fly-out speed between Mach 3 and 3.5, the dual-pulsed solid propellant rocket motor of PL-15 potentially offers higher burn-out speed excess of Mach 5, then gradually loses its velocity at the terminal phase. The missile is guided by a miniature

active electronically scanned array An active electronically scanned array (AESA) is a type of phased array antenna, which is a computer-controlled array antenna in which the beam of radio waves can be electronically steered to point in different directions without moving the ant ...

radar seeker, sporting both active and passive modes for different mission set. It also features improved resistance to countermeasures. The hybrid guidance system supports a mid-course two-way datalink led by AEW&C aircraft and autonomous terminal radar homing. At the 2021

Zhuhai Airshow China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition (), also known as the Airshow China () or Zhuhai Airshow (), is the largest airshow and aerospace trade expo in China. It has been held in even years in Zhuhai, Guangdong since 1996. Hist ...

, China unveiled an export variant of PL-15 named PL-15E with a maximum range of . The export version has less range than the domestic version, possibly due to changes in propellant or rocket motor. This is similar to the situation between SD-10 and its domestic counterpart PL-12.

Variants

;PL-15: PLAAF domestic version with an estimated range of . ;PL-15E: Export version of PL-15.

References

;Bibliography * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pl-15 Air-to-air missiles of the People's Republic of China Military equipment introduced in the 2010s Weapons of the People's Republic of China

History

Design

Variants

See also

References