Q-5L
Contents
Description
The Q-5L (NATO: Fantan) is a rank VII Chinese strike aircraft with a battle rating of 11.0 (AB), 9.7 (RB), and 10.7 (SB). It was introduced in Update "Fire and Ice".
One of the latest revisions of the Q-5 series in PLAAF , the Q-5L will prove deadly to ground targets with its sufficient payload and updates to its avionics and new sensors for ground attacks, as well as new precision bombs.
General info
Flight performance
For players who have flown the Q-5 series, Q-5L still retains the same flight performance - although sharing many parts with the J-6A, due to the lack of weight-reduction measures, Q-5s are in fact structurally overweight; while it has better sustained turn to heavier jets such as Phantoms thanks to its engines, do note that the weight issue still haunts the jet. Beware of any targets that have higher manoeuvrability, although your higher speed might save you from subsonic jets, any supersonic jets will have no problem chasing a Q-5L. Another note is that the Q-5L still retains the same control surface lock-up at transonic speeds (>850 km/h and before hitting Mach 1.0), use the airbrakes according to the situation for both regaining control or "snap-shots" on enemy targets.
| Characteristics | Max speed (km/h at _,___ m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | ___ | ___ | 16500 | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | 850 |
| Upgraded | ___ | ___ | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | ||
Details
| Features | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear | Drogue chute |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 0 | 577 | ___ | ___ | ___ | ~__ | ~__ |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < ___ | < ___ | < ___ | N/A |
Engine performance
| Engine | Aircraft mass | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine name | Number | Basic mass | Wing loading (full fuel) | |||
| _____ | _ | _,___ kg | ___ kg/m2 | |||
| Engine characteristics | Mass with fuel (no weapons load) | Max Gross Weight | ||||
| Weight (each) | Type | _m fuel | __m fuel | __m fuel | ||
| ___ kg | ___ | _,___ kg | _,___ kg | _,___ kg | _,___ kg | |
| Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB) | Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (___%/WEP) | |||||
| Condition | 100% | ___%/WEP | _m fuel | __m fuel | __m fuel | MGW |
| Stationary | ___ kgf | ___ kgf | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ |
| Optimal | ___ kgf (_ km/h) |
___ kgf (_ km/h) |
_.__ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ |
Survivability and armour
- 10 mm steel plate behind nose cone
- 4.5 + 8 mm bulletproof glass in front of the cockpit
- 8 mm steel plate underneath cockpit
- 16 mm steel armoured pilot's seat
- 10 + 25 mm steel armoured pilot's headrest
- Self-sealing fuel tanks behind cockpit and underneath engines in rear fuselage
The Q-5L shares the same protection as its predecessors. Due to the need for ground attack and some protection for the pilot, the cockpit is enclosed by steel plates and comes with bulletproof glass. While this might not be sufficient against any autocannons at the rank, it could at least make sure the pilot will not be knocked out right away by incoming shots or shrapnel. The engines are still unprotected, but the installation of fire suppression systems allows the Q-5L to have greater odds to survive a fire onboard.
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
|
Armaments
| Ballistic Computer | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| CCIP (Guns) | CCIP (Rockets) | CCIP (Bombs) | CCRP (Bombs) |
 |
|
|
|
Offensive armament
The Q-5L is armed with:
- 2 x 23 mm Type 23-2K cannons, wing-mounted (120 rpg = 240 total)
Suspended armament
The Q-5L can be outfitted with the following ordnance presets:
- Without load
- 28 x Type 90-1 rockets
- 16 x Type 130-2 rockets
- 2 x 260 kg TS250 bombs (520 kg total)
- 2 x 570 kg LS-500J bombs (1,140 kg total)
- 8 x 250 kg 250-3 bombs (2,000 kg total)
- 2 x 500 kg 500-3 bombs (1,000 kg total)
Custom loadout options
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 250 kg 250-3 bombs | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 500 kg 500-3 bombs | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 260 kg TS250 bombs | 1* | 1* | ||||||
| 570 kg LS-500J bombs | 1* | 1* | ||||||
| Type 90-1 rockets | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | ||||
| Type 130-2 rockets | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | ||||
| K/PSZ-01 | 1* | |||||||
| * The K/PSZ-01 targeting pod must be carried when equipping laser guided bombs | ||||||||
A good news for players of Q-5L is that PLAAF finally ditched the -2 series high-drag bombs and opted for the streamlined -3 series low-drag bombs, for more payloads, players can take eight 250-3 bombs which combined with ballistic computer could do extensive damage to multiple targets; while the options for a pair of 500-3 bombs on the wing exists, in most cases it is more than enough to take down tanks of its tier. But most of all, both of these bombs are now finally sufficient to (barely) take down a base in air RB battles; thanks to the technological advances of early 2000s, Q-5L also received "smart-bombs" like the 250 kg TS250 and 500 kg LS-500J LGBs. Combined with the K/PSZ-01 TGT pod with excellent thermal sights, both of these bombs can make sure the enemies will have a really bad day while you can keep yourself out of most troubles by dropping bombs at higher altitude.
For players that bombs are not their cup of tea, there are still options for 90 mm and 130 mm rockets at disposal; while both of them could be guided by ballistic computer as well, do note that they don't have as many salvos as their NATO/Warsaw-Pact counterparts so aim carefully before firing upon light targets or careless MBTs, taking them out by either HEAT jetstreams of 90-1 or the explosive masses of 130-2 rockets.
Usage in battles
Q-5L shares many similar features to previous Fantans: same bulky MiG-19/J-6 based airframe with high acceleration. While there are some changes to the avionics and weapons, in most scenarios Q-5L flies like all the other Fantans.
Not-so Fighter
An everlasting flaw of Q-5s is the overweight airframe due to the limits of materials, this still applies to Q-5L albeit it has some part of the airframe reinforced with modern materials. In most cases, using Q-5L as a makeshift fighter is not a great idea as the airframe hinders the overall maneuverability; yes, it could still surprisingly outturn supersonic jets of its tier or sometimes at even higher tiers; but do remember that Q-5 is always an attacker and it doesn't have the maneuverability at high speeds, especially at transonic speed where the control surfaces lock up and might cause troubles when leveling out from a dive. To say at least, if enemy fighters are in lower speeds and lacks the acceleration to escape from Q-5L's pair of WP-6III engine, in most cases a turn fight is enough to take them down with ease given players have been used to the subpar ballistic performance of 23-2K cannons onboard. In some cases even jets with delta wing will fall victim of Q-5L (Pakistan Air Force's A-5C won their own Mirage Vs during a simulated dogfight). Only taking on enemies when they are only on their own as the dogfight could take up to a minute which supersonic jets could arrive for help in a short time.
Since the airframe has been reinforced, it could finally carry up to 2 tons of bombs in a single run; for a more dedicated role of being an attacker, taking eight 250-3 bombs are barely sufficient to take down a base at its tier; although this also means you have to often RTB for rearm, this at least give Q-5L a chance to earn extra research points. While bombing AI targets are still viable, only do it when the skies are clear from the enemies as Q-5L lacks countermeasures against enemy missiles.
Payback with Vengeance
While players might not have a good time in aerial combats, Q-5L brings in a very valuable feature for PLAAF jets: ballistic computer and smart bombs. To players at its tier and suffered from enemies' jet attackers, this is the jet for a vengeance and let enemies taste their own medicine to some extent; thanks to the new HUD and sensors onboard, this helps Q-5L achieving precise strikes with either its bombs or rockets. The new TGT pod onboard also gives enemies bad news as this is the earliest pod with thermal vision, the jet itself also has a built-in 1.5x camera for acquisition. For the safest approach against enemy targets, take either the 250/500 kg LGBs (TS250/LS-500J) alongside with the TGT pod and climb to at least 6 km before entering the battlefield as this lower the odds of being pinged by SAM's radar and MANPADS of the tier has very little chance hitting targets at such altitude; do note that due to the limited view angle of the TGT pod, you might sometimes have to dive in for a better lock, make sure to deploy airbrakes for maximum control. But before any LGBs has been researched, it still has ranges of unguided ordinance including GP bombs and rocket pods; the ballistic computer onboard can make sure the ordinances will land as close as possible to the designated targets. Leave the bombs for (masses of) tanks and rockets for light vehicles or enemy SPAA who didn't aware of your existence.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- New HUD with ballistic computer
- Built-in TVD camera for target acquisition; alternatively equipped with an advanced targeting pod
- Access to 250/500 kg guided bombs
- Sufficient manoeuvrability at around 700 km/h
- Great acceleration thanks to the WP-6-IIIA engines
- Access to RWR
Cons:
- Same bulky airframe as all its predecessors and still locks up at transonic speeds
- The built-in camera only has 1.5x magnification
- Lacks any type of AAM and countermeasures, unlike its technological predecessor A-5C
- Type 23-2K cannons needs extra practice against aerial targets
- Subpar payload to its NATO/Warsaw Pact counterparts
History
The Q-5L variant of the Q-5 family has to trace back to two other variants, Q-5E/F in late 1990s.
As the part of the efforts of developing domestic precision munitions against enemies' infrastructure inspired from USAF's AGM-62 and GBU-12 bomb in Vietnam War and Gulf War, PLAAF accelerated the development of LGBs in December 1996 with a plan for the precision munitions where either a single jet will carry both the TGT pod and the bombs for an attack run or guided by another Q-5/ground-based designators; both Factory 612 and 613 in Shaanxi started their respective development on LGB and the targeting pod. A few brand-new Q-5Ds were then modified into Q-5E and Q-5F as the carrier and designator respectively where Q-5F would guide the bombs dropped from Q-5E onto the target; although both jets passed for certification in early 2000s, it was deemed that 2 separated jets for a run wasn't viable and the project was ditched.
While in the mid-1990s after the previous projects of A-5M and A-5K were canceled by the 1989 Crackdown, PLAAF requested for a domestic digital upgrade for later batches of Q-5III and Q-5D with new HUD and sensors for precision assaults, as well as being the placeholder before XAC JH-7 Feibao (NATO: Flounder) enter mass-production. Those jets which were modified from a Q-5III was named a Q-5L with new antennas and stabilized opto-electronical camera at the nose for target acquisition, as well as the capability of carrying the TGT pod on its own for attack runs. With the older avionics replaced with more advanced ones, the new jet entered service in 2005 alongside with Q-5N that were modified from Q-5D and served as the economic alternatives to new jets before they were eventually replaced by fighters with multirole features such as J-10A, Feibao and Flankers in 2017. [1]
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the aircraft;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| China jet aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Fighters | J-2 · J-4 · J-6A · J-7II · J-7D · J-7E · J-8B · J-8F · J-10A · J-11 · J-11A |
| Strike aircraft | Q-5 early · Q-5A · Q-5L · JH-7A |
| Bombers | H-5 |
| France | ␗Mirage 2000-5Ei |
| USA | ␗F-84G-21-RE · ␗F-84G-31-RE · ␗F-86F-30 · ␗F-86F-40 · ␗F-100A · ␗F-100F · ␗F-104A · ␗F-104G · ␗F-5A · ␗F-5E · ␗F-16A MLU |
| USSR | ␗MiG-9 · ␗MiG-9 (l) |
| North Korea | Shenyang F-5 |
| Pakistan | A-5C · JF-17 |
- ↑ PP.77-82, The Rising East Wind- The Biography of Q-5 Attacker by Lao Bi and Liu Ming, NAAS & Inertial Technology, ISSN 1009-5497, 2014
