Well, blk. 52 is 20+ years old by now, two full iterations of f-16 upgrades away from state of art.
No wonder.
JF-17/FC-1 Fighter Aircraft thread
- Thread starter johnqh
- Start date
No wonder.
asif iqbal
Lieutenant General
I think its in the context of the PAF F16 fleet and not a general comment
after all the Block 52+ is the most advanced Western aircraft in PAF so a comparison is made
This picture is doing the rounds on the old and new PDF sites as a possible JF17 carrying the PL15E missile. Anyone have any thoughts on it being possibly real/true ?
From the same PDF site - Apparently the JF17C's in PAF service is now operating the RD-93MA with an extra 5,000lb of thrust.
Nothing new.
Well, why not?
PL-15 is an overall better PL-12, within almost the same size and weight.
It's outright a given that it makes all the sense in the world to integrate it onto at least block 3 aircraft.
The main issue is whether KLJ-7A can exploit PL-15, or even the watered down PL-15E, to the full extent of its performance envelope.
Even if it can't fully exploit the outer reach of the missile against fighter-sized targets on its own - it's still a significant net gain.
The absolute majority of launches aren't against suicidal cooperative targets from extreme ranges, especially when shooter kindly radiates them to let them know.
Even if there are conditions where weapon outreaches the sensors - under most fighting conditions, it's fair to assume that it's the weapon which will be closing gap with the SA picture, and not wise-versa.
I am sure it can. Unlikely you will really fire it from more than 50km out against a modern 4th gen aircraft
The Block 50/52+ is as good as most Western aircraft were in 2015. The F-16s were the only combat aircraft for many NATO members. The F-16 was also the most common aircraft in the US inventory. Most of the said F-16s were Block 50 equivalents or lower. Outperforming all non-AESA F-16 variants is no joke.