Chinese air to ground weapons (missiles, PGMs, etc)

ougoah

Brigadier
Registered Member
I've thought about the possibility of H-20 having a secondary A2A role as well. The PLA may be intending to use H-20 as more than a mere stealth bomber -- one of the PLA affiliated media outlets directed stated in an article a year or two back that EW/ECM, data node, UAV control, ISR may be part of its role as well.
The weapons bay of H-20 would likely be enough to accommodate a respectable number of PL-Xs, and would be a very powerful A2A platform when acting in support of more conventional fighter forces.

But that obviously depends on how many H-20s end up getting bought as well as just how multirole H-20 may be.


In the interim, the carriage of PL-Xs aboard J-16 and maybe other flanker variants still represents a viable capability, and a new one that they did not have before.

I also feel the Mig-31, F-14 philosophy and the whole 3rd gen missile lobber idea is making a comeback. I am willing to bet the B-21 will have A2A abilities. Aircraft design have been able to combine several separate types already. There's already little obstacle for bombers to conduct A2A roles. In the past it was limited by missiles, seekers, guidance, and networking. None of these obstacles exist to the same degree today. Nor do they need aggressive performance if they are lobbing missiles from long ranges. Altitude and speed also help which is basically what these bombers are designed for as opposed to the terrain hugging controllability of certain attack aircrafts. Certainly in the interim, J-16 is the ideal and only fighter for this role in PLAAF.
 

Blitzo

Lieutenant General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Registered Member
I also feel the Mig-31, F-14 philosophy and the whole 3rd gen missile lobber idea is making a comeback. I am willing to bet the B-21 will have A2A abilities. Aircraft design have been able to combine several separate types already. There's already little obstacle for bombers to conduct A2A roles. In the past it was limited by missiles, seekers, guidance, and networking. None of these obstacles exist to the same degree today. Nor do they need aggressive performance if they are lobbing missiles from long ranges. Altitude and speed also help which is basically what these bombers are designed for as opposed to the terrain hugging controllability of certain attack aircrafts. Certainly in the interim, J-16 is the ideal and only fighter for this role in PLAAF.

In the interim I think J-16 and other PLA Flankers could carry PL-X if they wanted to. Heck if the PLA really wanted to, they could even make H-6Ks carry them. The kill chain of PL-X is likely dependent on offboard sensors anyway.

In the immediate future I expect J-16s to be the main platform, possibly also other older Flankers (J-11B/S) as well. That said we haven't had much news regarding PL-Xs development since it made a splash two or three years ago.
 

Inst

Captain
Do we have any updated information on the PL-10's actual aerodynamic range? Someone mentioned it resembled the French MICA missile, which is slightly heavier (+5 kg) and boasts a 80 km range. The short range air-defense version apparently has 50G maneuvering up to 7 km, then drops to 30G by 14km.

I remember having a source stating that the PL-10 actually had a range of 60 km, and this is quite believable if it's the actual aerodynamic range, with a 20 km NEZ (the stated operational range). This implies it'd have around 33G maneuvering at 40 km, which is quite credible.

The stated range for the competing Russian R-73/R-74 system is 40 km aerodynamic range, implying around 13-20 km of high G interception (50G).
 

Inst

Captain
The short ranged air-defense version is referring to MICA, by the way. The big question rather is whether the PL-10 can hit 9G maneuvering targets at 30-40 km. If it can, it's a good missile.
 

Deino

Lieutenant General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Registered Member
Me again with the request for help:

First I'm looking about information and second (if possible) some sort of diagrams concerning PLAAF AGM and AShMs mission profiles?

I'm actually looking especially for the KD-20, KD-63, YJ-83K and YJ-12 ... and as uch something comparable to the ones attached below.
Any help highly appreciated,

Best,
Deino

Russia Kh-15 mission profile 2.gifCM Mission profile.jpgBrahmos mission profile.pngBomber mission profiles - 1+.jpgTomahawk-mission Profiles.jpg
 

by78

General
Me again with the request for help:

First I'm looking about information and second (if possible) some sort of diagrams concerning PLAAF AGM and AShMs mission profiles?

I'm actually looking especially for the KD-20, KD-63, YJ-83K and YJ-12 ... and as uch something comparable to the ones attached below.
Any help highly appreciated,

Best,
Deino

View attachment 61840View attachment 61841View attachment 61842View attachment 61843View attachment 61844

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. You will find many images of various brochures from Chinese weapons manufacturers. I haven't gone through all of them myself, so I can't say for sure if you will find what you're looking for. It's a lot of leg work without guaranteed reward, but it might still be worth a try.
 
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by78

General
Anti-runway bomblet dispensers, or anti-runway penetration bombs.

250kg-class:
50226744733_7341696fc6_h.jpg


500kg-class:
50226744963_52856ca83a_h.jpg

50227612982_3991314223_h.jpg

50227613087_e1745e04a8_h.jpg

50227613607_bdf73d0931_h.jpg
 

Deino

Lieutenant General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Registered Member
Anti-runway bomblet dispensers, or anti-runway penetration bombs.

250kg-class:
50226744733_7341696fc6_h.jpg


500kg-class:
50226744963_52856ca83a_h.jpg

50227612982_3991314223_h.jpg

50227613087_e1745e04a8_h.jpg

50227613607_bdf73d0931_h.jpg


Here's the video


But does anyone know this missile?

Screenshot_20200816-070034_YouTube.jpg

Looks like an older one, more like the original YJ-6, which was the pre-predecessor to what later became the KD-63
 

Figaro

Senior Member
Registered Member
Indigenous airborne munitions dispenser can paralyze airfield in one shot
By Liu Xuanzun Source: Global Times Published: 2020/8/16 19:00:55

China has revealed a type of domestically developed airborne munitions dispenser, a hybrid weapon that lies between an air-to-ground missile and a guided bomb droppable by an aircraft from a safe distance, that can release hundreds of submunitions that cover a large area. This kind of weapon can effectively paralyze an airfield in one shot, leaving enemy warplanes grounded or destroyed, experts said on Sunday.

Formally classified as a guided glide dispenser bomb, this highly accurate, modularized weapon weighs 500 kilograms. While it looks like a missile, it has a square cross-section to hold more submunitions. This design can also reduce the weapon's radar cross-section, enhancing the weapon's stealth capability, making it more difficult to intercept, according to a report by China Central Television (CCTV) on Saturday.

When dropped, the dispenser can open its wings, which can provide extra lift force and controllability and allow it to have a range of more than 60 kilometers, the CCTV report said, noting that this means the aircraft carrying it can safely drop the weapon without entering the enemy's air defense zone.

Each dispenser can carry 240 submunitions of six types, which when released will cover more than 6,000 square meters, CCTV quoted a senior engineer at the weapon's manufacturer, China North Industries Group Corp (NORINCO), as saying.

When attacking groups of tanks and armored vehicles, the dispenser can use anti-tank submunitions that can penetrate tanks' armor from the top, or it can equip regional lockdown submunitions when attacking large facilities like airfields, CCTV reported.

A typical munitions dispenser like this can disable an airfield for an extended period with only one shot, because the sheer number of submunitions means the whole runway will be destroyed, and it is also possible that some of the submunitions will be mines, which will make attempts to repair the runway very risky, a Chinese military expert told the Global Times on Sunday on condition of anonymity.

This will provide crucial battle opportunities, because it means the enemy would not be able to make any warplane sortie, and the user of the dispenser can seize air superiority and gain tactical and even strategic advantages, the expert said.

A separate CCTV report in March 2019 showed a Chinese J-16 fighter jet equipped with a weapon that looked very like a munitions dispenser. The report speculated at that time that the weapon had been commissioned into the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force.

In addition to the J-16, China's JH-7 fighter bomber and H-6 bomber could also be equipped with the dispenser, the expert said.

Foreign media reported on Saturday that the island of Taiwan has officially signed an agreement with the US to buy 66 F-16V fighter jets. Chinese mainland military analysts said that if a reunification-by-force operation breaks out, the PLA would destroy Taiwan's airfields and command centers, giving the F-16Vs no chance to even take off, and giving those already in the air no place to land.

NORINCO has also developed airborne munitions dispensers for export, including the TL500 that made its appearance at Airshow China in previous years, Shanghai-based news website eastday.com reported on Sunday.

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