China's PL-15 missile boasts impressive range, potentially exceeding the US AIM-120D. Unravel the technological edge that could redefine aerial combat.
By Kris Osborn, Warrior Maven
As recently as May of last year, Indian Air Force pilots found out how the Chinese-built PL-15 air-to-air missile was far more capable than had been anticipated, when a Pakistani Air Force Chengdu J-10C fired at an IAF Rafale at a range of 200km. d
The PL-15, a Chinese-engineered new generation air-to-air weapon, is built to attack air targets as far as 300km away, and its export variant fired by Pakistan is known to travel, and achieve hits, from as far as 200km. This range is quite significant, particularly given that the U.S. Air Force upgraded AIM-120D air-to-air missile is cited as operating with a range of 160-to-185km, according to a write up in Globalsecurity.org. The exact range of the AIM-120D is not available, for security reasons, yet the unclassified range extends to 185km. The AIM-120D AMRAAM arms the F-35 and the F-22, and a fleet wide software upgrade in recent years further “hardened” the missile against interference, improved its guidance technology and extended its range.
However, what happens if an AIM-120D-armed F-22 encounters a PLA Air Force PL-15 armed J-20? Certainly the outcome of an air combat encounter would depend on a number of critical variables such as detection range, targeting, air-maneuverability and precision guidance, so an exact outcome could of course not be guaranteed. There are, however, certain technological variables likely to inform the equation related to range, speed and targeting applications. The PL-15, for example, is engineered with longer-range, higher-resolution radar technology and, much like the U.S.. Air Force AIM-120D, has anti-interference technology.
PL-15 dual-pulse motor
Perhaps of greatest significance, the PL-15 optimizes propulsion power with what’s called a “double-pulse” solid rocket motor. As opposed to a single-burn motor which propels most air-to-air weapons, a dual-pulse motor operates with an ability to shut down and reignite the motor on command. This allows the propellant to be consumed in two-distinct phases rather than all at once, something which optimizes propulsion by improving power efficiency and range. In specific technical terms, a dual-pulse motor can generate a high-thrust boost followed by a second, delayed thrust phase for maneuvering as the weapon closes in on a target. The famous European “Meteor” missile, which is now integrated onto the F-35, also operates with a dual-pulse motor and is referred to as a weapon which is explained as a weapon which can “out-run” enemy fighter jets.
“The dual-pulse solid rocket engine is a kind of fuel charge divided into several sections with a flame-retardant heat insulation layer in the same combustion chamber. Each section of the charge has an independent ignition system. The control system determines the ignition time of each section of the charge to achieve The energy management mechanism is introduced to the working process of the engine to meet the technical requirements of the overall optimal trajectory of the rocket, and achieve the optimal allocation plan of the missile's longest range, no escape zone and terminal maneuverability,” a Globalsecurity.org essay states.
AIM-120D Upgrades
The software upgrades to the AIM-120D perform a similar function, as they improve energy management through the missile's flight path. Many additional details of relevance to the AIM-120D are not available, so a specific and fully accurate AIM-120D vs PL-15 comparison may not be possible, yet the PL-15 is also said to operate with a two-way data link, something which enables the weapon to adjust course “in-flight” to accommodate changing target information. Similar to a U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile, the much smaller PL-15 is networked with the ability to re-direct as needed, something of great tactical significance in any fast-moving, dynamic air-combat environment.
What’s less clear, however, is the possibility that the PL-15 can fire “off-boresight” meaning turn its direction in flight to hit a target “behind” the aircraft; the U.S. AIM-9X does have this ability, as the missile can essentially fully “turn-around” to engage a target to the side or even behind the jet.
AIM-260
If there is an actual range discrepancy between the PL-15 and AIM-120D, meaning the Chinese PL-15 could “hit” an F-22 at greater stand-off distances, it might explain why the Air Force and Navy appear to be fast-tracking a “new,” ultra fast-long range AIM-260 air-to-air missile. Live-fire testing has been underway for many years and the expectation is that the AIM-260 will fire from an F/A-18 Super Hornet and F-22. Given this, there is little reason to imagine the weapon would not also arm the F-35.
Very few details about the AIM-260 are known for understandable security reasons, yet the question of longer range is quite significant, given the known performance parameters of existing advanced fighter jets. The F-35, for example, has shown it can see and destroy groups of 4th-generation jets from ranges where it is not itself detected, so an ability to fire a faster, more precise and longer range air-to-air missile would greatly improve this advantage
There are many areas where air-fired weapons can be enhanced and improved upon, and both the Air Force and the Navy have extensive experience upgrading weapons. It would not be surprising if the AIM-260 had the ability to fire “off-boresight” like an AIM-9X.
Hardening Missiles
Upgraded missiles such as these have been engineered for greater resilience in flight, meaning they have been hardened against enemy efforts to “jam” their targeting and guidance systems. One method of hardening or developing countermeasures against jamming is understood as frequency hopping. A weapon’s RF signal can be programmed to transition from one frequency to another in the event the initial frequency is disrupted or jammed by enemy interference. This of course increases the likelihood that the attacking missile will successfully continue through defenses to hit its intended target.
There are also new generations of seeker and sensing technologies enabling weapons to change course in flight and adapt as needed to changing target information. Many weapons are increasingly engineered with data links and built-in receptors capable of receiving input and responding to new signals. The SM-6, for example, can be fired from ships with what’s called a dual-mode seeker, meaning it can send its own forward “ping” in flight to adapt to moving targets and “track” a return signal.
The US Air Force is even progressing quickly with a collaborative or networked weapons program known as Golden Horde, an emerging technology wherein bombs can exchange key data between themselves while in flight to respond to changing target dynamics and transmit time-sensitive details between weapons themselves.
The exact arrival of the AIM-260 is likely not known publicly, yet it would make sense if the weapon were moving into advanced phases of testing, development and procurement.
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University