http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #363 JUNE 2018 // 113
About the authors
Douglas Barrie is senior fellow for military
aerospace at the IISS. Piotr Butowski is a
freelance defence aerospace journalist.AFMK-74M2 is intended to match the performance of
the MBDA ASRAAM and the Raytheon AIM-9X
Sidewinder (see part one, May, p62-65). Judging
by the information available, the K-74M2 missile
is currently undergoing flight tests. According
to other reports, the first examples of the
Karfagen-760 seeker are still in construction;
it’s possible the missile is now being tested
with another, provisional seeker. The K-74M2
missile has not yet been displayed in public.
The Karfagen seeker also doesn’t appear to be
a full IIR seeker, which would leave the air force
at a disadvantage against any opponent with an
IIR-based AAM and would be a drawback for
Russian industry in an increasingly competitive
export arena. It seems possible the K-74M2
remains a ‘gap filler’ until a yet-to-be-identified
next-generation IIR AAM project is completed.
Extra venom
In aerodynamic terms the Python 4/5 family
from Israel’s Rafael is arguably the closest in
design layout to the Archer. Both have four fixed
surfaces coupled with four control fins at the
front of the missile. The Israeli design, however,
does not use thrust-vector control but relies on
far larger control fins, plus a further two control
surfaces to the rear of these for roll input. Mid-
body strakes leading to the tail may serve to
strengthen the body as the motor burns out.
The numerous fixed and moveable surfaces
add to the aerodynamic drag of the missile,
though this is in part compensated by the large
motor, and its comparatively low fly-out speed.
The Israeli Air Force introduced the Python
5 IIR-guided AAM to its inventory by 2003-
- This weapon took the Python 4 missile
body and introduced a dual-band IIR seeker
and the associated processor requirements,
along with an improved inertial measurement
unit. The missile can be used in lock-on-before-
launch (LOBL) and LOAL modes. It does
not, however, use a data link like the AIM-9X,
instead using inertial navigation to fly out to a
predetermined point to begin a seeker search
based on pre-launch input from the aircraft.
The Python 6 designation has occasionally
surfaced in association with a successor to
the Python 4/5 family, although the exact
configuration of any missile is still conjecture.
African spear
In the guided-weapons realm, Israel had a close
relationship with apartheid-era South Africa,
developing the radar-guided Derby/R-Darter for
the South African Air Force (SAAF) in the late
1980s and providing the Python 3 IR-guided
short-range AAM. Whether the two shared
any requirements analysis for an IIR weapon
remains speculation. However, compared
with the Python 5, South Africa took a very
different approach to the aerodynamic layout of
its equivalent weapon. Work on the V3E Agile
Darter began in the latter part of the 1980s – it
may also be known to the SAAF as the Assegai
(spear). The missile is similar in configuration
to the ASRAAM, with an aerodynamically clean
airframe, however, the A-Darter uses thrust-vector
control. This, combined with four tail control
fins, provides the required manoeuvrability.
The A-Darter programme has suffered
from a lack of continuous funding leading
to repeated delays. A 2006 deal saw Brazil
take a financial stake in the programme, with
defence firm Mectron as the local industrial
partner. A further recent complication is the
future ownership of Mectron, with Brazilian
parent company Odebrecht looking to
sell off at least a part share. The A-Darter
has yet to enter service with the SAAF.The pacing threat
The latest evidence of China’s sustained
investment and progress in developing AAMs
was the introduction into service of the PL-10
IIR-guided missile in 2016. As with the
Japanese AAM-5 (see accompanying boxed
item), the PL-10 adopts a similar aerodynamic
configuration to the IRIS-T, but with ‘butterfly’
rear control-fins with a cut-out on the upper
trailing edge. There are also four small
fixed fins to the rear of the seeker dome.In the 1980s and 1990s Beijing looked to
Israel and Russia respectively to meet its short-
range AAM needs. A deal in the late 1980s
saw China acquire the Python 3 from Israel,
and probably the ability for local manufacture.
The weapon is known as the PL-8 in the
Chinese inventory. During the 1990s it
purchased the R-73 as part of the weapons
deal associated with acquiring the Su-27.
Research and development into an IIR
AAM were under way by the turn of this
century, and it is likely that a number of
different aerodynamic configurations were
considered. In 2007, internet imagery of a
Chinese missile, called PL-ASR, emerged
showing a weapon not dissimilar to the
A-Darter. South African industry sources
have in the past confirmed the two countries
discussed their respective missile projects.
When the PL-10 was first exhibited at Airshow
China in Zhuhai in November 2016 it differed
considerably from the PL-ASR configuration.
Weight of the PL-10 is now given as 231lb
(105kg), rather than 196lb (89kg) as previously
suggested in a 2015 Chinese media report
on the project. Range of the PL-10 exceeds
12.4 miles (20km). The missile has been
carried for trials purposes in the shoulder
bays of the Chengdu J-20, and externally on
the Chengdu J-10 and Shenyang J-11B.
To fully exploit the PL-10 it will need to be
fielded in conjunction with a capable helmet-
mounted sighting system. China gained access
to this technology through its 1990s acquisition
of Russian systems and it has since developed
both its own version of Russian helmet-mounted
sights and embarked on its own designs.The future
The trend for IIR seekers is being continued
across the air-to-air weapons domain and the
PL-10 would appear to place China on near-
parity with the most capable Western short-
range AAM technology. The potential export
of such a system could also present the US or
European air forces with a capable air-to-air
threat in an environment or region not previously
associated with a high-end weapon.This Chinese J-16 twin-seat
strike fighter carries a mixed load
of wingtip PL-10s plus medium-
range PL-15s under the wings.
Development of the PL-10 began
in 2005 and it entered PLAAF
service in late 2016. It is also
expected to equip the People’s
Liberation Army Naval Air Force.
via Chinese internetAn A-Darter on the wingtip of a Gripen. The
A-Darter is also being integrated on the South
African Air Force’s Hawk Mk120 lead-in fighter
trainer/light attack jet and in November 2016
Brazil contracted Denel to integrate the
missile on the Brazilian Air Force’s new
Gripen E/F fighters. Denel