The PL-12 (, NATO reporting name: CH-AA-7) is an active radar-guided beyond-visual-range

air-to-air missile The newest and the oldest member of Rafael's Python family of AAM for comparisons, Python-5 (displayed lower-front) and Shafrir-1 (upper-back) An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying ...

developed by the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, sli ...

. It is considered comparable to the US

AIM-120 AMRAAM The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM (pronounced ), is an American Beyond-visual-range missile, beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. It is 7 inches (18 ...

and the Russian

R-77 The Vympel NPO R-77 missile ( NATO reporting name: AA-12 Adder) is a Russian active radar homing beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile. It is also known by its export designation RVV-AE. It is the Russian counterpart to the American AIM-120 AMR ...

History

Development of the PL-12 (SD-10) began in 1997. The first public information of the Leihua Electronic Technology Research Institute's PL-12 then called the SD-10 emerged in 2001. Development was assisted by

Vympel NPO Vympel NPO is a Russian research and production company based near Moscow, mostly known for their air-to-air missiles. Other projects include SAM and ABM defenses. It was started in the Soviet era as an OKB (experimental design bureau). Histor ...

and Agat of Russia.Medeiros et al.: page 92 Liang Xiaogeng is believed to have been the chief designer. Four successful test firings were made in 2004. The missile entered

People's Liberation Army Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the Peo ...

(PLAAF) service in 2005.

Design

The early batches of PL-12 missiles reportedly used the 9B-1348 radar seeker designed for the

missile. The development process was assisted by Vympel NPO and Tactical Missile Corporation and benefited from Russian technology transfers. But as of 2018, the PL-12 was no longer reliant on Russian components for missile production. The guidance system comprises data-linked mid-course guidance and active radar homing for terminal guidance. The missile uses Chinese rocket motor and airframe. The PL-12 may have a passive homing mode for use against jammers and

AEW AEW or aew may refer to: * Airborne early warning Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama f ...

aircraft. The maximum range is estimated to be . PL-12's overall dimension is larger than

. Per PLAAF assessment, PL-12's capability sits between AIM-120B and AIM-120C, and the improved PL-12A is claimed to be comparable with the AIM-120C-4. The domestic version of the PL-12 features a variable-thrust rocket motor with a range of , while the export variant SD-10 features a reduced range of . According to the

Royal United Services Institute The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, Rusi), registered as Royal United Service Institute for Defence and Security Studies and formerly the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies, is a British defence and security think tank. ...

, the range performance of PL-12 stands between AIM-120B and AIM-120C-5.

Variants

;PL-12: Domestic version with 60 to 100 km range. ;PL-12A: NATO reporting name is CH-AA-7A. Improved PL-12 with a modified seeker and digital processor. Reportedly fitted with passive mode for anti-radiation missions. ;SD-10A (''ShanDian-10'', 闪电-10): Export version of the PL-12. ;SD-10B: Enhanced SD-10A with better anti-jamming capability.

Operators

Current operators

; *

People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force The People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF; ) is the naval aviation branch of the People's Liberation Army Navy. Overview Historically, the PLANAF's main role has been to provide the navy's warships with air defense coverage. Part of ...

; *

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

(PAF) - 475 delivered of 600 ordered ; *

Myanmar Air Force The Myanmar Air Force ( my, တပ်မတော် (လေ), ), known until 1989 as the Burmese Air Force, is the aerial branch of Myanmar's armed forces, the Tatmadaw. The primary mission of the Myanmar Air Force (MAF) since its inception h ...

- 24 delivered of 60 ordered

References