PL-12 (original) (raw)

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Chinese medium-range, active radar homing air-to-air BVR missile

PL-12
A model of an export version of the PL-12, SD-10A, (bottom-left corner) with a Pakistan Air Force JF-17 on display at the Farnborough Airshow 2010.
Type	Medium-range, active radar homing air-to-air BVR missile
Place of origin	People's Republic of China
Service history
In service	2005-present[1]
Used by	People's Liberation Army Air Force People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force Pakistan Air Force Myanmar Air Force
Specifications
Mass	180 kilograms (400 lb)[2]

Engine	Dual thrust solid fuel rocket[3]
Operationalrange	70–100 kilometres (43–62 mi)[4][5]
Maximum speed	Mach 4+[3]
Guidancesystem	Active radar homing [6]
Launchplatform	Aircraft

The PL-12 (Chinese: 霹雳-12; pinyin: Pī Lì-12; lit. 'Thunderbolt-12', NATO reporting name: CH-AA-7 Adze[7][8]) is an active radar-guided beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile developed by the People's Republic of China. It is considered comparable to the US AIM-120 AMRAAM and the Russian R-77.[6]

Development of the PL-12 (SD-10) began in 1997.[1] The first public information of the Leihua Electronic Technology Research Institute's PL-12 – then called the SD-10 – emerged in 2001.[9] Development was assisted by Vympel NPO and Agat of Russia.[10] Liang Xiaogeng is believed to have been the chief designer.[11] Four successful test firings were made in 2004.[10] The missile entered People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) service in 2005.[1]

The early batches of PL-12 missiles reportedly used the 9B-1348 radar seeker designed for the R-77 missile. The development process was assisted by Vympel NPO and Tactical Missile Corporation and benefited from Russian technology transfers.[3] But as of 2018, the PL-12 was no longer reliant on Russian components for missile production.[3]

The guidance system comprises data-linked mid-course guidance and active radar homing for terminal guidance.[3] The missile uses a Chinese rocket motor[9] and airframe.[12] The PL-12 may have a passive homing mode for use against jammers and AEW aircraft.[9] The maximum range is estimated to be 100 kilometres (62 mi).[13]

PL-12's overall dimension is larger than AIM-120 AMRAAM. 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 70–100 kilometres (43–62 mi), while the export variant SD-10 features a reduced range of 60–70 kilometres (37–43 mi).[14] According to the Royal United Services Institute, the range performance of PL-12 stands between AIM-120B and AIM-120C-5.[15]

SD-10A on display with the JF-17 light-weight fighter at the Farnborough International Airshow 2010.

PL-12

Domestic version with 60[16] to 100 km[13] range.

PL-12A

NATO reporting name is CH-AA-7A.[17] Improved PL-12 with a modified seeker and digital processor. Reportedly fitted with passive mode for anti-radiation missions.[14]

SD-10A (ShanDian-10, 闪电-10)

Export version of the PL-12 with a reduced maximum launch range of 37–44 miles (60–71 km).[18]

SD-10B

Enhanced SD-10A with better anti-jamming capability.[19][16]

LD-10

Anti-radiation missile based on SD-10.[20]