PL-5B
Contents
Description
PL-5B is a domestic heat-seeker AAM developed by the PRC by Institute 612, Ministry of Aviation Industry (now Luoyang Electro-optics Technology Development Centre). A vast improvement over the previous model, the PL-2, with higher tracking rate and overload.
Vehicles equipped with this weapon
General info
- Length: 3.128 m
- Maximum overload: 20G
- Launch overload limit: 4G
- Lock distance from rear-aspect:5.5 km
- Max range: 18 km
- Warhead: 4.76kg HBX, equivalent to 7.62 kg TNT
Effective damage
The warhead of PL-5B was filled with 4.76 kg of HBX, equivalent to 7.62 kg of TNT and comes with proximity fuse that helps to blast enemy aircraft into pieces.
Comparison with analogues
At the same tier, the AIM-9J and the AIM-9P are very common and the PL-5B in many ways is similar to them in terms of explosive mass and overload, while it also suffers the problem of launch overload limiter. The Matra Magic R.550 is in many ways better than the PL-5B. But the PL-5B possesses a small but quite powerful attribute: an insane acceleration giving it also a good range. in the right hands, it can be pretty lethal.
Usage in battles
PL-5Bs can be used in 2 ways: surprising the enemy and long range snipes. Due to it's massive acceleration, the PL-5B can reach a higher top speed than conventional missiles at lower altitudes, for example: whereas a AIM-9P/9J would take 3-4 seconds to reach it's target from 2kms on the deck at high speeds, the PL-5 covers this same distance in less than 2 seconds. Which means that if you can catch your enemy off guard and fire a missile, in the next 2 seconds or even less, the enemy plane will be sent back to the hangar. This advantage in speed gives it also the possibility to hit targets at 2.5-3 kms on the deck at full speed in rear aspect. However you should be very cautious when you use this missiles because the higher top speed and weight of the missile make it feel like it only pulls 10 Gs and the G limit on launch is pretty crippling being at 4 Gs.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Higher explosive mass among the same tier IR AAMs that can make short work of enemies
- Sufficient 20G overload
- Sufficient top speed
- Immense acceleration
- Higher range than most conventionnal IR missiles except the AIM-9D/G
Cons:
- 4G launch overload limit is pretty troublesome
- Suffers agility problems due to the overall high mass and speed
History
The PL-5B started its development during the 1970s in parallel with its "brother", the PL-5A SARM when Mainland China was in their crisis (the Cultural Revolution). While it had already done aerial simulation tests in September of 1972, it came into service in 1986 while the PL-5A had been cancelled 3 years prior due to outdated technology.
After 2 decades of development and the technologies learnt from foreign IR AAMs, CATIC introduced the latest export-intended version of this missile- PL-5EII, with a brand new multi-band tracker and able to lock from front-aspect, enhancing this missile to a new level.
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 article about the variant of the weapon;
- references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
