Chinese air to air missiles

BasilicaLew

Junior Member
Registered Member
From the leaked PL-16 photo and some geometry it can be guessed that the PL-16 has 15% more range than the PL-15 ontop of the percentage better ballistic kinetics (i will get a percentage on that too tomorrow just mention me please). Also IMO I think it will have a modular Seeker head like SD-30 hensewhy they want more missiles in the aircraft, to allow it to counter stealth.
 

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siegecrossbow

General
Staff member
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From the leaked PL-16 photo and some geometry it can be guessed that the PL-16 has 15% more range than the PL-15 ontop of the percentage better ballistic kinetics (i will get a percentage on that too tomorrow just mention me please). Also IMO I think it will have a modular Seeker head like SD-30 hensewhy they want more missiles in the aircraft, to allow it to counter stealth.
I thought you meant a photo of the actual missile. Weren’t the slides posted here a while back? They were from a presentation by Sun Cong showing aircraft NEZ against different Chinese AAMs.
 

BasilicaLew

Junior Member
Registered Member
I did this btw, I found the diameter of boths ellipses by measuring it, and then from there I calculated the circumference, calculated the difference between the small and the big one, and got the value of 25.74% which would mean it has 25.74% better ballistic performance compared to the PL-15.
From the leaked PL-16 photo and some geometry it can be guessed that the PL-16 has 15% more range than the PL-15 ontop of the percentage better ballistic kinetics (i will get a percentage on that too tomorrow just mention me please). Also IMO I think it will have a modular Seeker head like SD-30 hensewhy they want more missiles in the aircraft, to allow it to counter stealth.
 

gongolongo

Junior Member
Registered Member
And still some online who are too academic about the whole process or too eager to downplay China's MIC achievements will not even entertain the idea that everything being shown is following the rule that nothing that is truly leading edge that China's working on is ever shown hence everything we see is from many, many years ago.

PL-15E used to shoot down French Rafales had retrieved missile wreckage showing they were made in 2012 iirc, many years before people were comfortable admitting PL-15 was in mass production.

PL-15 production apparently has already stopped because it's now 2 generations old for China. The USAF hasn't even yet fielded an equivalent AAM that is as advanced as PL-15 according to the US itself. That would be the AIM-260. China has already stopped producing this level of missile. Let that sink in for a moment and then apply your thoughts to the hypersonic gliders and cruise missiles we are being shown. It is still the same old China, play your fourth best, show your third best and have two higher tiers at the ready. The US used to operate similarly back when it was fit during the Cold War. It's since become an India, bragging about stuff they only started working on. At least they're not like India, bragging about PPT drafts.
It doesn't make sense to stop producing it though? Producing mature designs is important. Unless the PL-16 or whatever successor is just so far along. For missiles, quantity is as key as capability.
 

Blitzo

General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Registered Member
It doesn't make sense to stop producing it though? Producing mature designs is important. Unless the PL-16 or whatever successor is just so far along. For missiles, quantity is as key as capability.

My understanding is that PL-16 is not only meant to be much more capable than PL-15, but it may be more efficient and lower cost to produce than PL-15 as well due to advances in tooling and production techniques.
 

ougoah

Brigadier
Registered Member
It doesn't make sense to stop producing it though? Producing mature designs is important. Unless the PL-16 or whatever successor is just so far along. For missiles, quantity is as key as capability.

It absolutely does when the bulk of the fighters you are now producing are J-20 and J-35 which get 50% more missile capacity when you equip them with PL-16 rather than PL-15.
 
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