AirForces Monthly – June 2018

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.

AFM

K-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-

4. 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 internet

An 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