Pakistan’s PL-15 Missile Equipped JF-17 Block 3 is a Serious Game Changer - How India Can Respond to

[HAIDER]

(Indian perspective)

he Indian Air Force is planning massive investments fo the modernisation of its fighter fleet, and alongside ongoing orders for elite Su-30MKI heavyweight fighters and Rafale and MiG-29 medium fighters the country is pursuing the indigenous Tejas light fighter program and planning additional contracts for foreign jets. The MMRCA competition will select one of seven current contenders from Russia and the West to be manufactured in India under licence, with the MiG-35, Rafale and Su-35 considered the three leading frontrunners. Upgrades to the Su-30MKI are also ongoing ensuring that it will remain the country’s most capable fighter - including the possible integration of the next generation Irbis-E radar, AL-41 engines and R-37M hypersonic missiles which would make it far more potent in air to air combat.

Rafale Medium Fighter (left) and Su-30MKI Heavyweight Fighters




Despite considerable investments in modernisation, the balance of power in the air with neighbouring Pakistan may soon deteriorate as the Pakistani Air Force pursues a far cheaper modernisation program for its own fighter fleet centred around two main programs - the JF-17 and Project AZM. The most advanced variants of the JF-17 the JF-17B and JF-17 Block 2 currently have capabilities comparable to lower end Indian fighters. These jets are overall slightly superior to the Mirage 2000, but face a considerable disadvantage if facing the MiG-29 or Rafale - let alone the Su-30MKI which would retain an overwhelming advantage across the spectrum. These JF-17 variants nevertheless represent a considerable upgrade for the Pakistani Air Force from reliance on near obsolete J-7 and Mirage III fighters, and currently form the elite of the fleet alongside American F-16C Fighting Falcons. The JF-17 is the only Pakistani fighter other than the F-16 equipped with active radar guided air to air missiles - namely the PL-12 with a 100km range.

Pakistani Air Force JF-17 Light Fighter




While the JF-17 Block 2 represents is far from a qualitative peer to the majority of the Indian fleet, the upcoming JF-17 Block 3 variant unveiled in December 2019 appears set to be a game changer for Pakistani aerial warfare capabilities. The fighter integrates some limited stealth features, a more powerful engine, a larger AESA radar, the first ever infra red search and track system on a Pakistani fighter, new electronic warfare systems and PL-15 long range air to air missiles. With an estimated range of 200-300km, the PL-15 will outrange all of India’s existing air to air missiles built for use against fighters - from the 80km range MICA used by Rafale and Mirage 2000 jets to the 110km range R-77 used by the MiG-21, MiG-29 and Su-30MKI. With Pakistan potentially fielding over 100 of these new fighters, including both single and twin seat variants, the JF-17 Block 3 could be a serious game changer.

PL-15 Air to Air Missiles




Indian Air Force veteran Vijainder K Thakur stated in an interview with Russian state media outlet Sputnik regarding the threat posed by the new JF-17 variant that India’s focus on acquiring more capable fighters, at the expense of providing them with sufficiently capable missiles and sensors, could leave aircraft technically superior to the JF-17 such as the Su-30MKI at a disadvantage. He stated to this effect: “The India Air Force allowed itself to be outgunned by focusing on platform acquisitions, rather than weapon system and sensor upgrades. With sufficient military foresight, the IAF could have armed its Su-30MKI with longer range air-to-air missiles acquired from Russia rather than continuing to rely on the lesser ranged missile ordered years ago from Ukraine.” These Russian and Ukranian missiles likely referred to the R-37M and R-77 - the newer Russian missiles - rather than the older R-27 which is today produced in both Russia and Ukraine.

R-37M Hypersonic Air to Air Missile




India for its part does have options to regain its advantage. Equipping its small Rafale fleet with Meteor missiles would provide a partial return to parity, although as the Rafales are not built in India it would be more difficult to apply upgrades to the designs as frequently as Pakistan could do for the domestically manufactured JF-17. The performances of the PL-15 and Meteor are considered comparable, although China’s far greater investments in research and development for new air to air missiles means a more capable missile is likely to become available for the JF-17 long before it does for the Rafale. India’s two other leading options would be two purchase the MiG-35, which is highly likely whether as part of the MMRCA deal or otherwise, as these AESA radar equipped fighters can deploy R-37M and possibly K-77 missiles which can comfortably outperform both the PL-15 and the Meteor. Another would be to proceed with upgrading the Su-30MKI with the Irbis-E radar and R-37M missiles - technologies from the Su-35 which would provide it with an overwhelming advantage over the JF-17 Block 3.

Su-57 Next Generation Fighter




Other options which are less likely to be pursued in the immediate future would be to acquire the Su-57 next generation fighter, or else to select the Su-35 as the winner of the MMRCA tender, with these heavyweight jets again retaining a sufficient performance advantage to reliably overcome the new JF-17 variant - and almost certainly its stealthy successor the stealthy Project AZM fighter as well. A Su-57 purchase remains highly likely by the mid-late 2020s, either as part of a licence production deal or as an off the shelf purchase. India is also jointly developing a new hypersonic air to air missile for the Su-30MKI with similar capabilities to the R-37 but a slightly longer range - and while intended primarily to neutralise enemy support aircraft a variant capable of threatening fighters could also become available.




JF-17 Block 3 Fighter Prototype

Tags
AL-41Chinese Arms ExportsIndian Air ForceIndian-Pakistani ConflictIrbis-EJF-17JF-17 Block 2JF-17 Block 3JF-17BMMRCAMeteorMiG-35PL-15Pakistani Air ForceR-37R-37MR-77R=27RafaleSu-30Su-30MKISu-35Vijainder K Thakur

 

[HAIDER]

Simple: By Dodging it!

The Dodgers of The East have already proven on 27Feb19...and have patches to prove it!

IAF dodges PL15 away!

This is stated rule in every training, for the sake of accuracy enemy plane should be in good range. 100km doesn't mean that once launch " it will hit the target" . Indian AF doctrine is range means range. If it says 100 km then it should hit the target.



Chinese and Russian air-launched weapons: a test for Western air dominance
Chinese progress; Russian resurgence; Going electronic; Long- and very-long-range engagement; A challenging future environment
Chapter One
Since the end of the Cold War, the air domain has been one of assured superiority for the United States and its allies. This dominance, however, rests on weapons and technologies that China and Russia are increasingly attaining as part of a broader effort to counter US capabilities, and to deny US and allied forces unimpeded control of the air.

These two nations – emerging and resurgent air powers, respectively – are developing their own ‘fifth-generation’ combat aircraft with the requisite low-observable characteristics. In parallel, they are pursuing air-launched weapons to complement these projects, and at the same time are recapitalising their weapons inventories with missiles that will enhance their ability to contest control of the air. Some of these weapons are now appearing on the export market.

In 2015–16, Beijing brought into service the PL-10 imaging infrared air-to-air missile (AAM). In 2018, it may well introduce the PL-15. These missiles markedly improve the combat air capability of its air forces. Meanwhile, Russia has brought into service two upgraded versions of existing weapons, along with a new long-range AAM, and this pace of development may continue. Indeed, Moscow is looking to further exploit a range of advanced technologies that are appropriate to guided weapons. This trend is, if anything, more pronounced in Beijing. For example, China has already started to use active electronically scanned array radars for missile applications. It is also developing dual-mode guidance seekers; working on increasing the average speed of weapons; boosting the manoeuvrability of its missiles; and, at the same time, improving on-board processing in order to enhance missile performance. Although Russia is also working on some of these areas, China’s efforts are better resourced.

Presently, air combat is increasingly enabled by accelerating technology developments in communications and on-board processing power that enable faster and more coordinated activity between dispersed platforms. As such, and as part of the modernisation of its air-combat capabilities, China is also seeking the ability to create and exploit friendly digital networks, while developing the tactics, techniques and procedures to degrade an opponent’s networked environment. With regard to air-to-air systems, this will likely include off-board targeting at extended launch ranges, where another platform (i.e. not the aircraft carrying the missile) would identify and provide the target location and in-flight updates to the missile.

Chinese progress
The extent of Chinese progress in the air-to-air guided-weapons arena was apparent with the introduction of the PL-10 AAM. This weapon provided a marked improvement in performance over the previous generation of short-range missiles operated by the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), and its development has placed China among the handful of nations with a defence-industrial base capable of producing such a weapon. The PL-10 uses aerodynamic and thrust-vector control, but the PLAAF will require an advanced helmet-mounted cueing system in order to exploit the manoeuvrability the weapon offers. During 2018, a missile designated PL-15 may also begin to enter front-line service. The PL-15 is an extended-range active radar-guided AAM and, when in service, would be the most capable AAM in the PLAAF inventory. Significantly, in late 2015, it was identified as a weapon of concern by General Hawk Carlisle, then head of the United States Air Force (USAF) Air Combat Command.



Fig 1: China’s air-to-air missile inventory

* in development



However, the PL-10 and the PL-15 are not the only systems with which the US and its allies are having to come to terms. China is also developing a very-long-range AAM intended to be used to attack high-value targets such as tanker, airborne early-warning, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft. Furthermore, Beijing appears to be pursuing two or more configurations of rocket-ramjet AAMs.

By the early to mid-2020s, China will clearly have a broader – and far more capable – range of air-to-air weapons to complement the combat aircraft that are now in development. These will likely force the US and its regional allies to re-examine not only their tactics, techniques and procedures, but also the direction of their own combat-aerospace development programmes.

Russian resurgence
Meanwhile, Russia has also begun to recapitalise its air-to-air-weapons inventory, after funding cuts forced a two-decades-long lull in procurement activity. For example, some 30 years after it was first test fired, the air force has now introduced a version of the Vympel R-77 (AA-12A Adder) medium-range active radar-guided missile into service. The R-77 entered production in the 1990s to meet export orders, with the export variant publicly called the RVV-AE. However, only test rounds of the baseline version were procured by the Russian Air Force. It took until 2015 for the air force to introduce into service a variant of the R-77 – the improved and upgraded R-77-1 (AA-12B). This was first deployed operationally in late 2015, when Su-35S aircraft operating from Khmeimim air base in Syria were shown carrying the weapon.

Along with the R-77-1, the air force has also begun to take delivery of an improved version of the short-range R-73 (AA-11 Archer) – the R-74M (AA-11B) likely entered the front-line inventory around the same time as the R-77-1. The R-74M has a greater maximum range than the R-74 and is fitted with an improved seeker. Also noteworthy was the introduction into service of the R-37M (AA-13 Axehead) active radar-guided long-range AAM in 2015–16. This missile is the primary armament of the MiG-31BM Foxhound interceptor. This weapon can also trace its design origins to the late 1980s.

At least some of the renewed stimulus in Russian guided-weapons development has been provided by China, partly as a potential customer and partly as an increasingly credible export rival. The R-37M is being offered as a candidate weapon for the Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker, which China has already purchased, and the missile may be part of the aircraft’s weapons package. Meanwhile, China’s PL-10 AAM is already being offered for export, as is the active radar-guided medium-range PL-12. The high-agility imaging infrared PL-10 is significantly more capable than Russia’s R-74/R-74M, while the baseline PL-12 appears to have a better performance than that of the R-77 (AA-12A).

The PL-12 programme – which started in the late 1980s – benefited greatly from Russian technology. The original version of the missile uses a radar seeker designed by the Russian firm Agat, with several other components also provided by Moscow. Without Russian support, the PL-12 programme would, in all likelihood, have taken considerably longer and produced an inferior weapon. Today, however, Beijing is no longer reliant on Russian missile-technology assistance; it is now at least Moscow’s equal, and, perhaps in some areas, it is now in the lead.

Going electronic
China appears to be one of the few nations to have used an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar on an AAM, rather than a traditional mechanically scanned planar array. The PL-15 has been widely reported as using an AESA. Meanwhile, Japan’s AAM-4B AAM is also fitted with an AESA seeker, while there is speculation that the US AIM-120D variant of the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile also uses an AESA rather than a mechanically scanned seeker.

AESA technology is increasingly being used as the primary sensor for combat aircraft, with mechanically scanned array radars replaced by either fixed or moveable electronically scanned arrays. These offer a number of advantages, including better detection performance in terms of range and against low-observable targets, greater resistance to countermeasures, a reduced probability of intercept and improved reliability. However, the high cost of introducing these systems (the transmit–receive modules that are the building blocks of AESA technology are comparatively expensive to produce) has, until now, acted as a brake on their introduction, particularly on single-use weapons such as missiles.

Several performance factors have likely contributed to these countries’ decisions to overcome the cost barriers relating to AESA technology on AAMs. In the case of China, where weapons research and acquisition is less constrained by funding restrictions, these factors likely included these systems’ improved performance against low-observable targets and greater resistance to countermeasures on target aircraft, such as radio-frequency jammers.

The inherent flexibility of AESA technology, in terms of its frequency agility, makes these seekers more difficult to counter by jamming. In contrast, traditional radar countermeasures involve identifying the frequency on which the threat system is operating, and then generating a jamming signal on the same frequency.

Efforts are also under way in Russia to develop AESA seekers for air-to-air applications, including the Izdeliye (Article) 180/K-77M, a development of the R-77, and a new design known as Izdeliye-270. However, some Russian seeker designers remain unconvinced of the value of moving from a mechanically scanned system to electronically scanned arrays. There have also been indications that the Russian microelectronics sector has struggled to produce transmit–receive modules to the required reliability and cost targets.

Long- and very-long-range engagement
In the late 1980s, Soviet guided-weapons designers were considering the development of long-range AAMs to be used against high-value airborne platforms, such as tanker and ISR aircraft, which traditionally remain far behind the forward edge of any air battle. The Novator KS-172 design, for instance, was intended to be used at ranges of up to 300 kilometres. However, it languished with little or no state support throughout the 1990s and beyond, before losing out in a 2009 competition with the Vympel Izdeliye-810 long-range missile. The latter is based to some extent on the long-range R-37M but it has an airframe modified for carriage in internal weapons bays, including on the fifth-generation Sukhoi Su-57 combat aircraft (the prototype is known as the Sukhoi T-50).

It is apparent that China has also decided to pursue a long-range AAM capability, quite possibly tracking Russian developments. Images of a large, long-range missile being carried by a PLAAF Shenyang J-16 combat aircraft appeared on the internet in late 2016. The weapon is estimated to be about six metres long; by comparison, the R-37M is just over four metres long. The design only had four control surfaces at the tail, with no mid-body wing, suggesting a missile design not intended for high manoeuvrability. The missile is well into development. Along with an estimated maximum range of greater than 400km, it probably also uses dual-mode guidance. The images appeared to show that as well as an active radar seeker, the weapon was also fitted with an infrared adjunct seeker. The use of dual-mode guidance would make the missile more resistant to counter-measures, and improve aim-point selection.



Fig 2: Chinese air-to-air missiles: notional engagement ranges

 

[Trailer23]

No footage of PL-15 Test online.

 

[HAIDER]

No footage of PL-15 Test online.

Only pic available ..but its kinda oversize

 

[Riz]

Why would u need anything when u can dodged any BVR..

 

[LKJ86]

Only pic available ..but its kinda oversize

It is not PL-15.

 

[Pakistani Fighter]

including the possible integration of the next generation Irbis-E radar,

SU 30 MKI's upgradation us going to be a headache for us. Wiki pedia says that iys radar can detect 3m2 target for upto 400km. That f**** huge.

Only pic available ..but its kinda oversize

I dont think its PL 15. @LKJ86 @Deino

 

[LKJ86]

I dont think its PL 15. @LKJ86 @Deino

J-10C with PL-10 and PL-15:

 

[Dil Pakistan]

It is in news that PL-15 is not 200 to 300-km range.
PL-15 should be 150 to 180-km range.

A new version in development PL-X (which may become PL-17) will be 200 to 300-km range.

China is going in the line of AIM-120C and D ranges

 

[PakSword]

SU 30 MKI's upgradation us going to be a headache for us. Wiki pedia says that iys radar can detect 3m2 target for upto 400km. That f**** huge.

And which missile will hit the target from that far?

Detection of enemy in the air is not a problem.. we have dedicated airborne assets to do that.

 

[Dil Pakistan]

J-10C with PL-10 and PL-15:
View attachment 624545

Carrying these missiles should also tell you the range of the radar --- !!! Shouldn't it?

 

[Pakistani Fighter]

And which missile will hit the target from that far?

Detection of enemy in the air is not a problem.. we have dedicated airborne assets to do that.

Russians have K77

 

[LKJ86]

China is going in the line of AIM-120C and D ranges

The range of PL-15 is longer than that of AIM-120D.
And the range of PL-1X can reach 700km.

 

[Dil Pakistan]

The range of PL-15 is longer than that of AIM-120D.
And the range of PL-1X can reach 700km.

View attachment 624549

Thank you.

What will be the radar for PL-1X ?
OR … will it be a satellite guided missile?

 

[Path-Finder]

vedick techlology will compensate.