Illustrative image. (Chinese military)
A photo that emerged on Chinese internet on January 27 provided the first close up look at China’s PL-17 beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missile, which reportedly entered service around three years ago.
The large missile was first spotted during tests on a Chinese-made Shenyang J-16 fighter jet in 2016. It has since been reported that it can also be deployed on Su-30MKK and Su-35S fighter jets China imported from Russia.
The PL-17, which is powered by a dual pulse rocket motor, features a low-drag profile, and maneuverability is provided by four small control fins and thrust-vectoring engines. The new photo indicates that the missile is close to six meters in length.
There are not many confirmed details about the specification of the PL-17 but it is reported that the missile relies on inertial guidance, satellite navigation, and data-link to track its target in the first phase of its flight. During the terminal phase, the missile would turn on its active electronically scanned array radar seeker, which is said to be capable of operating in both passive and active modes.
The maximum range of the missile is reported to be 400 kilometers, with a speed in excess of Mach 4, which is four times the speed of sound.
The PL-17 was apparently especially designed to target high value airborne assets such as tankers, intelligence gathering and early warning and control aircraft.
Click to see full-size image. (X)
The PL-15, which is smaller of the PL-17 with a length of just under four meters and half the range, gained neutrality last year after it was successfully employed by the Pakistani Air Force to take down multiple fighter jets of the Indian Air Force, including at least one French-made Dassault Rafale, during a brief confrontation.
This confrontation very much validated the threat posed by modern Chinese-made BVR air-to-air missiles, ending any doubts.
The complex guidance system used in the PL-17 is believed to be very much the same used in the PL-15, and although the latter is reported to be faster at some stages, as it could reach Mach 5, the first will likely be as effective in long-range engagements.
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china will send 500.000 chinese cars yearly into canada.
these cars will be resended into america by canada.
canada-china big trade deal is finished.
globalist incursions into trade, brics associations, shipping, belt and road projects require defense
they require a military alliance so everyone in brics isn’t picked off one at a time by the americans and eu.
without the commitment and sacrifice an alliance would require brics is nothing but a target on their backs
they might as well stop complaining and be good vassals and do as they are told.
nice chance to test it shooting down us planes threatening iran, isn’t it?