It seems like this General has mentioned the PL-15 before - and proposed the complete replacement of the AIM-120D and AIM-9X!
Speaking at a Feb. 12 media roundtable during the conference, Gen. Herbert Carlisle said Air Dominance 2030 supplants talk of a single sixth-generation F-X or F/A-XX to instead focus on multi-domain capabilities. He pointed to air, space and cyber capabilities as well as new munition loadouts.
"With the F-22 and F-35, two fantastic airplanes, air dominance in that [2030] time frame may not solely be an aircraft; it's the family-of-systems discussion," Carlisle said. "Stealth is wonderful, but you need to have more than stealth. Speed and maneuverability, sensor fusion, staying inside the decision OODA loop -- there's a portion of stealth that is hugely important and is part of it, but it's certainly not the only thing."
The general said long-range standoff munitions and even new air-to-air missiles to replace the AIM-120D AMRAAM and AIM-9X Sidewinder would be included in the air superiority discussion.
He said the capabilities being developed by America's potential adversaries, such as the Chinese PL-15 air-to-air missile, are "incredible."
"I believe if we look at this as we have in the past, we can figure out how to change the game and be better at it," Carlisle said, adding that high-powered lasers and microwave weapons are technical areas showing great promise.
I have the feeling that the PL-15, according to Gen. Carlisle, is not merely a Sino-AIM-120D, but actually the ultra-long-range ramjet missile PL-12D or PL-21... Or else, why would he propose the replacement of the entire AIM-120 line...
Could be hyperbole and shilling for the MIC, of course. But maybe China really has something in the works. This actually fits with the recent rumor about that PL-15 test-launch: If the PL-15 is the missile we (and Huitong) assumed to be (seen on the J-11B and J-20 since 2010/11), why would the first life-fire test only happen now? I'd say that the PL-15 is an entirely new missile not seen before.