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Jane's Defence Weekly
China hints at new air-launched missiles
Robert Hewson Jane's Air-Launched Weapons Editor - London
Key Points
China appears to be developing ramjet-powered air-to-air missiles
A new short-range thrust-vectored missile may be available for service by 2010
A series of images released via the Internet has revealed a number of new Chinese air-to-air missile (AAM) programmes; Jane's has identified three new strands in Chinese AAM development including enhanced versions of existing weapons and hitherto unknown designs.
While very little information accompanies the images, they appear to confirm several anticipated trends in Chinese AAM technology, including advanced, agile dogfight weapons and extended-range ramjet propulsion systems.
In one image a pair of small AAMs are seen carried on shoulder launchers above an SD-10 (PL-12) active radar-guided missile: this is the first time such a 'three-shot' pylon has been seen on a Chinese combat aircraft. The weapons are carried by a Xian JH-7A strike aircraft - the first time that platform has been seen with such sophisticated AAMs.
The new small AAMs - if that is what they are - are unusual as they are not fitted with an infrared (IR) seeker. Both items instead have radomes, suggesting they might be active radar-guided weapons like the SD-10.
The photo of the small AAMs accompanies a series of budgetary and spending figures that appear to have been produced by a university or other research institute. The weapons are not identified but instead described as a demonstration - a combination of technological elements to prove a design concept.
Russian specialist seeker design house AGAT has developed a special, miniaturised version of its 9B-1103M seeker to fit such small-diameter missiles. The 9B-1103M-150 has a 150 mm wide antenna and AGAT representatives have told Jane's that it was produced in response to specific customer interest from outside Russia. AGAT declined to identify that customer.
AGAT has a significant relationship with China through its assistance with SD-10/PL-12 seeker development and sales of Russian AAMs such as Vympel's RVV-AE (R-77). AGAT has noted that a small agile missile fitted with a seeker like the 9B-1103M-150 would be immune to all standard IR-countermeasures. It would perform better in atmospheric conditions where IR guidance can falter and would open up the real possibility of 360° short-range engagements.
A second new short-range missile appears in an image labelled as PL-ASR (possibly Advanced Short Range) but a brief Chinese text identifies it as a PL-10. The PL-10 designation has previously been associated with China's attempts to reverse engineer the US AIM-7. Its association with this new, very different design is a mystery for now.
The PL-ASR (PL-10) is an agile, short-range, dogfight weapon with thrust-vectored controls (TVC). Its wingless, tail-controlled design uses narrow strakes along the main body to generate lift. Chinese sources note that development began in 2004 and it is expected to be cleared for use in 2010.
The similarity between the PL-ASR and South Africa's Denel A-Darter missile is striking. South Africa's aerospace industry has established strong links in China, for example on unmanned aerial vehicle programmes. There is no evidence yet that the two have co-operated on weapon programmes. China has already shown several key elements of the PL-ASR missile in public. In 2004 the Luoyang Opto-Electro Technology Development Centre (LOEC) exhibited a missile TVC system undergoing engineering tests. LOEC also displayed components for a 128 x 128 InSb staring IR seeker (plus seeker dome materials) which, like the TVC system, has almost certainly been applied to the PL-ASR.
China's third new weapon may be a ramjet-powered evolution of the LETRI (Leihua Electronic Technology Research Institute) SD-10 active-radar beyond-visual-range AAM. An illustration, of unknown origins, shows a remodelled ramjet-powered SD-10 alongside a standard SD-10 and the newly revealed PL-ASR. Such a trio of AAMs would make an excellent core weapons fit for emerging Chinese fighters such as the Chengdu J-10 family and Shenyang J-11B.
The ramjet-powered SD-10 has several design features that echo work done on Russian ramjet weapons developed by Vympel. Vympel, like AGAT, has already had a hand in China's indigenous AAM projects. The ramjet missile has an elongated nose with four added fins reminiscent of Vympel's R-27 (AA-10 'Alamo'). The two boxy intakes for the ramjet are also similar to those on Vympel's RVV-AE-PD (R-77M-PD), which failed to find financial support in Russia but may have ignited interest elsewhere.
China hints at new air-launched missiles
Robert Hewson Jane's Air-Launched Weapons Editor - London
Key Points
China appears to be developing ramjet-powered air-to-air missiles
A new short-range thrust-vectored missile may be available for service by 2010
A series of images released via the Internet has revealed a number of new Chinese air-to-air missile (AAM) programmes; Jane's has identified three new strands in Chinese AAM development including enhanced versions of existing weapons and hitherto unknown designs.
While very little information accompanies the images, they appear to confirm several anticipated trends in Chinese AAM technology, including advanced, agile dogfight weapons and extended-range ramjet propulsion systems.
In one image a pair of small AAMs are seen carried on shoulder launchers above an SD-10 (PL-12) active radar-guided missile: this is the first time such a 'three-shot' pylon has been seen on a Chinese combat aircraft. The weapons are carried by a Xian JH-7A strike aircraft - the first time that platform has been seen with such sophisticated AAMs.
The new small AAMs - if that is what they are - are unusual as they are not fitted with an infrared (IR) seeker. Both items instead have radomes, suggesting they might be active radar-guided weapons like the SD-10.
The photo of the small AAMs accompanies a series of budgetary and spending figures that appear to have been produced by a university or other research institute. The weapons are not identified but instead described as a demonstration - a combination of technological elements to prove a design concept.
Russian specialist seeker design house AGAT has developed a special, miniaturised version of its 9B-1103M seeker to fit such small-diameter missiles. The 9B-1103M-150 has a 150 mm wide antenna and AGAT representatives have told Jane's that it was produced in response to specific customer interest from outside Russia. AGAT declined to identify that customer.
AGAT has a significant relationship with China through its assistance with SD-10/PL-12 seeker development and sales of Russian AAMs such as Vympel's RVV-AE (R-77). AGAT has noted that a small agile missile fitted with a seeker like the 9B-1103M-150 would be immune to all standard IR-countermeasures. It would perform better in atmospheric conditions where IR guidance can falter and would open up the real possibility of 360° short-range engagements.
A second new short-range missile appears in an image labelled as PL-ASR (possibly Advanced Short Range) but a brief Chinese text identifies it as a PL-10. The PL-10 designation has previously been associated with China's attempts to reverse engineer the US AIM-7. Its association with this new, very different design is a mystery for now.
The PL-ASR (PL-10) is an agile, short-range, dogfight weapon with thrust-vectored controls (TVC). Its wingless, tail-controlled design uses narrow strakes along the main body to generate lift. Chinese sources note that development began in 2004 and it is expected to be cleared for use in 2010.
The similarity between the PL-ASR and South Africa's Denel A-Darter missile is striking. South Africa's aerospace industry has established strong links in China, for example on unmanned aerial vehicle programmes. There is no evidence yet that the two have co-operated on weapon programmes. China has already shown several key elements of the PL-ASR missile in public. In 2004 the Luoyang Opto-Electro Technology Development Centre (LOEC) exhibited a missile TVC system undergoing engineering tests. LOEC also displayed components for a 128 x 128 InSb staring IR seeker (plus seeker dome materials) which, like the TVC system, has almost certainly been applied to the PL-ASR.
China's third new weapon may be a ramjet-powered evolution of the LETRI (Leihua Electronic Technology Research Institute) SD-10 active-radar beyond-visual-range AAM. An illustration, of unknown origins, shows a remodelled ramjet-powered SD-10 alongside a standard SD-10 and the newly revealed PL-ASR. Such a trio of AAMs would make an excellent core weapons fit for emerging Chinese fighters such as the Chengdu J-10 family and Shenyang J-11B.
The ramjet-powered SD-10 has several design features that echo work done on Russian ramjet weapons developed by Vympel. Vympel, like AGAT, has already had a hand in China's indigenous AAM projects. The ramjet missile has an elongated nose with four added fins reminiscent of Vympel's R-27 (AA-10 'Alamo'). The two boxy intakes for the ramjet are also similar to those on Vympel's RVV-AE-PD (R-77M-PD), which failed to find financial support in Russia but may have ignited interest elsewhere.
