I think PL-21 is used twice, first for the ULR_AAM and also for the alleged Ramjet AAM, which IMO is a hoax
Chinese air to air missiles
- Thread starter tphuang
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I think PL-21 is used twice, first for the ULR_AAM and also for the alleged Ramjet AAM, which IMO is a hoax
Indeed it appears to be the case. PL-21 has never been the official designation.
There is a cryptic post on Weibo mentioning that the PL-17, in recent years, almost had a chance to set the record for longest air to air kill (in live combat, not exercise). Guess we will wait years before details are unveiled. General opinion in the thread is that it happened during an aerial confrontation in the Western Theater Command.
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So, the question now is ... what is the PL-16 (as rumoured the new SR-AAM?) and how does it look like!
From what I've pieced together there is a genuine effort to miniaturize AAMs in China. My guess would be longer or equal range/kinematic capabilities to PL-10, but comes in a smaller package so more of them could fit in weaponsbay.
I am 70% sure they mean the Pelosi visit, based on how her plane was flying.
Poster said that’s not the case. There was never a plan to intercept Pelosi according to him.
Historically CCP values political legitimacy, in sharp contrast to Russia.
They mean confrontations with India during 2020 Ladakh crisis. When things were at their most tense in June to October of 2020 there was a real potential for war or at least some skirmish exchanges with fighters.
Western theatre command is nowhere near the Pacific. No attempts were made to intercept Pelosi. That was just a tabloid/ state sponsored hawk journalist who suggested pla should shoot down Pelosi. Her plane used the approach it did to gain coverage by US navy. No commercial plane is able to really pull maneuvers to dodge missiles reliably.
Western theatre command is nowhere near the Pacific. No attempts were made to intercept Pelosi. That was just a tabloid/ state sponsored hawk journalist who suggested pla should shoot down Pelosi. Her plane used the approach it did to gain coverage by US navy. No commercial plane is able to really pull maneuvers to dodge missiles reliably.
Said pilot is a confirmed J-11B pilot, but it is not inconceivable that he switched to J-16 some time between 2020 and 2022. We also know for a fact that J-16 and J-20 participated in "rapid raptor" style deployments to Hotan Airport during fall 2020. It is not inconceivable that assets were used in an aggressive manner since things were very heated on the ground post the stunt at Helmet Top hill.
Real question is how was the PL-17 utilized and what type of assets they were used against. Contrary to popular belief, it is not only capable of engaging slow-moving unmaneuverable high value assets (though they are the primary target). When Yankeesama still worked for Sina he wrote an article about how the missile can engage maneuvering targets at around 200KM if fired in a parabolic trajectory. In a more recent talkshow that requires paid membership he noted that PLAAF doctrine has high focus on killing enemies, even low RCS targets, from a long way away.