The PL-5 (霹雳-5)

air-to-air missile An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft (including unmanned aircraft such as cruise missiles). AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid-fuel roc ...

(PL stands for Pi Li, "Thunderbolt" in Chinese, the generic designation for all PRC air-to-air missiles) is a short-range,

Infrared homing Infrared homing is a Missile guidance#Passive homing, passive weapon guidance system which uses the infrared (IR) light emission from a target to track and follow it seamlessly. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "he ...

missile used by Chinese fighters. It is based on AA-2 Atoll technology and resembles the

AIM-9 Sidewinder The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a short-range air-to-air missile. Entering service with the United States Navy in 1956 and the Air Force in 1964, the AIM-9 is one of the oldest, cheapest, and most successful air-to-air missiles. Its latest variants rema ...

. The PL-5 was designed and developed at China's Luoyang Electro-Optics Technology Development Centre (EOTDC), also known as Institute 612; its design team members included Chen Jiali (陈家礼), Dong Chunfeng, Hu Rongchao (胡荣超), Huang Bin, Zhang Ming (张明), and Zheng Zhiwei (郑志伟). It was reportedly produced at the Hanzhong Nanfeng Machine Factory (also known as the Hanzhong Air-to-Air Missile Factory) of the China Aviation Industry Corporation I. The PL-5 have been continuously upgraded by Luoyang and the latest variant, the PL-5EII, added a dual band, multi-element detector as well as a laser proximity fuse similar to the PL-9. According to the Chinese export/import agency CATIC, the PL5E has an all-aspect capability with the seeker having a maximum off boresight angle of ±25° before launch, and ±40° after launch. PLAAF J-10 and J-11 fighter jets mainly use the PL-8 missile, stealth fighters such as the J-20 and J-35 use the PL-10, which are more advanced short-range air-to-air missiles when compared to the PL-5. However, due to greater weight and dimensions of the PL-8 and PL-10 missiles, for F-7 and

JH-7 The Xi'an JH-7 ( zh, s=歼轰-7, t=殲轟-7, hp=jiān hōng qī – fighter-bomber; NATO reporting name Flounder), also known as the FBC-1 (Fighter/Bomber China-1) Flying Leopard, is a Chinese tandem two-seat, twin-engine fighter-bomber in ser ...

, the PL-5, PL-7 and PL-9 are still the preferable air-to-air missile at this stage.

Operators

Current operators

* uses PL-5 and PL-5EII * PL-5B and PL-5EII * * * 900 ordered, PL-5E.Arms Transfers Database
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. * * * * 100 ordered, PL-5E. *

References

Works cited

*
PL-5 SHORT-RANGE AIR-TO-AIR MISSILE, www.sinodefence.com

Air-to-air missiles of the People's Republic of China Military equipment introduced in the 1980s Short range air-to-air missiles {{missile-stub