ORIGINAL: Dysta
ORIGINAL: Hongjian
Seriously; what I would give to know what Gen. Carlisle knows about that missile...[&o]
Nothing. But that doesn't mean the general is trying to play fool for himself. He surely have reason to raise concern (and attention to increase budget from congress for their next-gen BVRs) about PL-15.
And now I finally have little clue what PL-15 might be:
http://www.popsci.com/chinese-air-to-ai ... af-general
A 0.2m diameter of kinetic-kill BVR missile ranged between 150-200km in guess estimate, that is no doubt a longer range than AIM-120D, and 2/3 range of the retired Phoenix. However, it can be a totally different animal since it is a kinetic missile, rather than HE warhead used by both AIM-120 and PL-12 series.
The "concern" that general raised isn't just by its estimated superior range, but the absence of explosive warhead makes it both lighter and pack more fuel. The Hard-kill capability already demonstrated since the reported news of HQ-16, which is directly went through the target drone without explode itself.
If such of estimation is true, then you may expect the US is playing the bigger game in return.
Very interesting. Sounds like a long-range CUDA of some sort (minus the compact size). Seems like the missile we assumed to be the PL-12C was actually the PL-15 all along. This more or less fits to the prevalent rumors of the last few years, that a "Sino-AIM120D" of some sort was developed, featuring dual-pulse engine, AESA seeker and enhanced ECCM capabilities.
This is what the usually quite reliable aggregator has to say:
http://chinese-military-aviation.blogsp ... s-iii.html
It was reported that 607 Institute has been developing a new active radar homing AAM (dubbed PL-15?) comparable to American AIM-120D and may have evolved from the earlier PL-12C/D design. The missile was seen being tested onboard a J-11B fighter. Compared to PL-12, the missile features stabilizing fins and tailfins with reduced wingspans, suggesting its design is optimized for internal carriage by the 4th generation fighters such as J-20 and FC-31. PL-15 also features an improved guidance system (including duplex datalink and new active/passive dual mode seeker with enhanced ECCM capability). The missile is thought to have a new dual pulse rocket motor in favor of a ramjet engine, giving it not only a longer range (~200km?) but also a relatively small body size. It appears PL-15 has superseded the PL-12 series as the primary LRAAM for the 4th generation stealth fighters. The latest rumor (September 2015) claimed that PL-15 was test-fired successfully from a J-16.
The dimensions of that recent Chinese military BBS leak says:
目前国内某203mm弹径，4m长，重200kg（其中发动机140kg,其他部分60kg）的空空导弹。
采用了全球最领先的变推力（可调推力）固体燃料发动机。这种发动机，领先于单室双推力和双脉冲发动机
（美国AIM120改进型）不少。难怪美帝要追赶PL15的射程（看完本文献就知道为啥了）
203mm diameter, 4m length, 200kg weight (140kg rocket engine, 60kg is the rest).
Powered by a dual/"variable" thrust (双推力/变推力（可调推力）固体燃料发动机) , dual pulse solid-fuel rocket engine (双脉冲发动机).
That leaker proceeded to post a bunch of research papers detailing the kinematics of the variable thrust engine (and the cited dimensions are also from that paper):
http://lt.cjdby.net/thread-2076218-1-1.html
http://www.docin.com/p-111733678.html
Seems like the ramjet rumors are describing a completely different missile in development, and not the PL-15 that was recently launched from the J-16.
From the research papers, there are no indications of a ramjet engine, but indications that with certain thrust settings and an high-arc ballistic trajectory (where the missile flies to an altitude of 35km), the missile may even reach 320-400km slant range! The other infos in that research paper are really detailed and it takes quite a bit time to understand everything, but everything sounds quite incredible.
I'm no researcher, but that paper look legit and many of such revelations, such as the Wu-14 Hypersonic Glide Weapon that was tested 5 times in recent years, were first leaked via similiar research papers being made public by major leakers "suddenly discovering and reposting them on military forums"...
