PL-12

Description

The PL-12 (霹雳-12主动式中距离空对空导弹) is the first domestic ARH AAM developed by Mainland China and the third to be developed in Asia (First by NCSIST as the TC-2 and the second by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as the AAM-4 [Type 99]) as part of the efforts to modernize PLAAF into the 21st century. By 1990s, the utilization of ARH AAM in battle has already been evolving thanks to the scaling-down of electronics; USAF and most NATO countries acquired the AIM-120 series while a major threat to southeastern China, ROCAF would soon acquire French MICA and indigenous TC-2 against the growing fleet of Su-27SK/J-11 interceptors. The need for a domestic alternative also rose as J-8F and future J-10 series would need to carry such missiles to upgrade the air force, thus leading to Project No.12 (十二号工程) and further evaluations tested on J-8F in early 2000s. The new missile, now goes by the name PL-12 joined PLAAF service by 2006 and been carried by all new interceptors post-2010.

As one of the earliest accessible ARH AAM in game as part of J-8F's armaments, the late introduction of this missile and good carriers with modern avionics can utilize its overall capability very well even at long-ranges; but be sure to leave the missile for the most valuable or careless targets to help securing the victory.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• J-8F

General info

Missile characteristics
Mass	198 kg
Guidance	ARH+IOG+DL
Band	I
Lock range	16 km
Launch range	80 km
Maximum speed	4.0 M
Maximum overload	38 G
Missile guidance time	80 secs
Explosive mass	11.78 kg TNTeq

Effective damage

With around 11.8 kg TNTe of explosive filler in the warhead, while it might not have as large blast radius as some of its competitors, thanks to the proximity fuse onboard any missile approaching and hitting aircraft is very likely to disable enemy jets for good, if not blasting them back to the hanger right away.

Comparison with analogues

• AIM-120A/B - Less powerful rocket engine, overload and warhead
• R-77 - A missile also in PLAAF service with higher overload and slightly higher overall burn time
• MICA-EM - Much higher overload while having much less explosive content
• Derby and R-Darter - Lesser explosive content while having higher overall thrust
• AAM-4 -Very high explosive content and slightly higher overall thrust, while having much less overload

Usage in battles

When players are newcomers to the era of active radar homing, players need to consider one major factor: the carrier's speed. As physics always prove that the carrier which has much more initial velocity can reach out farther, this is also the case for PL-12; for the main feature of most of its carriers (for the time being, only J-8F), be sure to go high and seeking for any targets which are within 40 km radius from the missile both for high or low targets. This also called for the situational awareness of players if they happen to spot the contrails of enemy interceptors or being to identify targets on the radar screen, let the datalink to do the work once the target has been locked and fired upon - guide the missile as far as possible before the onboard seeker turns on and track the intended target, depending on the action of the enemy, but in most cases they will meet a miserable end from the missile itself.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Long engage range than any previous SARH missiles
• Extremely high thrust
• Do not require further guidance once the seeker head is engaged
• Sufficient explosive content to cause extensive damage against enemy targets when near-miss

Cons:

• Relative short range to certain missiles
• Depending on the carrier, sometime only 2 missiles can be carried per flight

History

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Media

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See also

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• reference to the article about the variant of the weapon;
• references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.

External links

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