PL-2
The "Pili"-2 air-to-air missile is the first domestically-made air-to-air missile that China has imitated. Its successful development filled the historical gap that China had no air-to-air missile. In 1961, the Soviet Union delivered to China a small batch of early MiG-21 F-13 aircraft equipped with R-3 air-to-air missiles . Therefore, China’s second air-to-air infrared guided missile, the Pili-2 3 air-to-air missile, was An imitation of the Soviet-made R-3 missile. After the breakdown of Sino-Soviet relations, China continued to produce an improved version of the Jili-2 missile, but the performance of the missile still fell short of the performance of the Soviet-made R-3S missile. Although published carry missiles in the mid-1960s, F-7 multiple photos of the aircraft, but, in fact, 10 years later, began mass production at full capacity Perak -2 missiles. In 1974, a prototype of an improved J-6 fighter plane was launched, which could carry two Pili-2 missiles.
Characteristically, the PL-2 missile featured a canard aerodynamic configuration, was slender, cylindrical, and semi‑spherical nose. The missile also had two pairs of triangular fins for control and two pairs of crossed trapezoidal wings. The PL-2 had a maximum speed of Mach 2.2. and was designed to counter fighters and medium bombers. Unlike the PL-1, the PL-2 missile used passive infrared homing, which allowed the attacking aircraft to retreat after missile launch.
From the appearance point of view, the domestic "Thunderbolt"-2 air-to-air missile adopts a canard aerodynamic layout. Two pairs of triangular rudder surfaces are located outside the cylindrical body where the rudder cabin is located, and two pairs of swept trapezoidal wings are located in the cylindrical shape where the engine room is located. The tail of the missile body, the two are configured in XX shape. This shape feature is exactly the same as the US "Sidewinder" AIM-9B air-to-air missile and the Soviet K-13 air-to-air missile. Even in terms of size, the three air-to-air missiles of China, the Soviet Union and the United States The same is true for missiles. So what is the inherent relationship between these three types of air-to-air missiles?
The PL-2 was based on the AA-2 NATO Atoll, the oldest of the modern Soviet air-to-air missiles. This story starts with the air battle across the Taiwan Strait. At the beginning of 1958, one of the American AIM-9B "Sidewinder" missiles, fired by a Taiwanese pilot during a coastal skirmish, did not explode and fell into the mud of a rice field. Another "Sidewinder" in September 1958 hit the side of the Chinese MiG-17 and did not explode, and was delivered to the airfield. On September 24, 1958. the Kuomintang Air Force fleet entering Wenzhou area was intercepted by the naval air force stationed in Luqiao. After shooting down two Kuomintang Air Force F-86 aircraft, PLA air force pilot Wang Zizhong was launched by another F-86 "Sidewinder". The air-to-air missile hit, and the pilot Wang Zizhong shed blood in the sky. This air battle is the world's first actual combat record for air-to-air missiles.
China obtained the "Sidewinder" missile wreckage in exchange for the lives of martyrs. It is really rare for China, where the missile industry was still in its infancy. After the battle, the HNA Second Division sent personnel to the scene south of Wenzhou and found the remains of the fighter Wang Zizhong was piloting, as well as the remains of the "Sidewinder" air-to-air missile, and several complete missiles of the "Sidewinder" that had missed the target but had not been exploded. The Ministry of National Defense immediately decided to survey and map the wreckage and requested that the same air-to-air missile be copied, codenamed "55".
At that time, my country had just introduced the Soviet-made K-5M air-to-air missile with the MiG-19, but it had not yet started to imitate it. The K5M adopted the "wave-riding" guidance method pioneered by the Soviet Union. Simply put, the missile was allowed to fly in a beam of radio waves. As long as the radio beam can point to the target before hitting the target, the guidance can be completed. However, this requires that the fighter must always keep illuminating the target. In fact, the wave-riding guidance is not suitable for air combat scenes with extremely rapid changes in rhythm.
The passive infrared guidance used by the AIM-9B missile allows the aircraft to leave immediately after launching the missile. This advanced guidance method can be described as surpassing the times and becoming the best choice for most combat missiles. The AIM-9B is the first combat model of the Sidewinder family. It just entered service with the U.S. Air Force in 1956. The "9.24 Air Combat" was its first combat. The acquisition of this batch of wreckage is for China, which is still in the cradle of air-to-air missile development. It was too rare. The central government immediately decided to use these samples to carry out imitations, and relevant analysis and testing began immediately.
The study of the trophy showed that the Americans managed to create an outstanding sample - lightweight, compact, uncomplicated in design and operation. When the Soviet Union learned that China had acquired the remains of the American-made "Sidewinder", it attached great importance to it. The Soviets sent two groups of experts to China to help analyze and research on the one hand, and obtain surveying and mapping data on the other. The opportunity to get acquainted with the Sidewinder device accelerated work on the creation of its domestic counterpart of the same class - the K-13 (R-3S) missile. When the Soviet experts returned home, China allowed the Soviet experts to take away a full set of surveying and mapping papers, test data, and part of the wreckage. If the Soviet Union got the treasure, they immediately started to imitate the "Sidewinder". After all, the Soviet Union is a superpower second only to the United States in terms of military technology. It had a solid technical foundation. It was successfully copied before China in 1960. In 1961, it began to equip troops and named it K-13 air-to-air missile.
After successfully examining and imitating the American sidewinder, the Soviet Union then gave the design and technical information of the K-13 to the Chinese along with a the schematics of the MiG-21. When the Chinese military delegation went to the Soviet Union to discuss the introduction of MiG-21 fighters in 1961, the Soviet Union agreed to transfer their successfully copied K-13 missiles to China along with the MiG-21 fighters.
With the successful exploration and achievements of the Soviet Union, China decided to trial-produce the Soviet-made K-13 missile on the basis of the development of the "55" missile. In April 1962, China became familiar with the drawings and documents. In September 1965, the steering gear, missile wings, solid propellant and charge engines were the first to be finalized. Duplicate production of the Soviet design began in 1964. Upon receiving the K-13, the Chinese began license production of the missile and redesignated it as the PL-2.
Air-to-air missiles are much more complex and sophisticated than ballistic missiles. Take the AIM-9B as an example. Only 85 kilograms of missile body integrates rocket engines, wings, steering gears, seekers, fuzes, warheads and many other sub-systems. Including thousands of parts. At that time, the vast majority of people in the Chinese Air Force knew almost nothing about air-to-air missiles, and many technical details of Sidewinder missiles were too unfamiliar to our scientific researchers. Therefore, huge difficulties were encountered in the process of surveying and mapping imitation.
In January 1966, the seeker passed the appraisal. In June, the optical fuze and the control cabin were connected and debugged, and the ground inspection station passed the appraisal. From July to October 1966, a comprehensive performance evaluation test of the entire system was carried out at the National Range, including ground and air attack tests on flares. A total of 23 missiles were launched. The tests proved that the full elasticity is good and the control system works reliably. The first battle was successful, and all missiles were transferred to finalized batch trial production. A finalization test was conducted from March to July in 1967, with 19 missiles consumed and two target drones. The results proved that: after the high and low temperature and transportation tests, the product meets the tactical and technical requirements, the launch is safe and reliable, and the control system has high precision. Hit the target directly, and the ground detection station meets the requirements for use.
The Commission of Certification for Special Weapons of the State Council approved the PL-2 missile for batch production in 1967. In November, the National Air-to-Air Missile Modeling Committee approved the finalization and named it the domestically-made "Jili"-2 air-to-air missile. Production of the PL-2 missile increased into the 1970’s after the construction of two missile factories in the 1970s.
The Pili-2 missile's automatic homing head is equipped with a lead sulfide photodetector, and the detection angle is only 3.5 degrees. The target must be locked before the missile is launched, because the detection angle is very narrow, which requires the aircraft to accurately aim at the target and track the target within a cone angle of 25 degrees. The minimum effective range of the Jili-2 missile is 1,000 meters, and the maximum range is about 4,000 meters. The working time of the missile's solid propellant booster is only 2 seconds, and it can accelerate the missile to about 700 meters per second. The fragmentation warhead of this missile can produce about 1,000 fragments, and its combat effectiveness is fairly good, but its infrared proximity fuze is not sensitive enough, and ordinary interference measures can easily deceive it. According to photos recently published by China, it is inferred that the Pili-2 missile is still in use, to say the least, it is still in use on the JJ-7 ( Jiao 7 ) combat trainer. Projectile length: 2.83 meters Projectile diameter: 0.127 meters Wingspan: 0.609 meters Projectile weight: 85 kg Range: 7.6 kilometers Guidance system: passive infrared Maximum speed: 3,062.5 km/h
The first model of the PL-2 missile displayed flaws in its counter-interference abilities (i.e. its ability to discern the heat of an jet engine to the sun), its propensity for the optical fuse to explode early, and short range. Thunderbolt 2 has long been the only air-to-air missile available in China. But there are still many shortcomings of Pili-2, mainly including three points.
First, it belongs to the first generation of air-to-air missiles. The technology itself is immature, and it is especially vulnerable to interference from environmental factors. Pilots can use the maneuvering method of flying toward the sun to slide out at a large angle to avoid the incoming Thunderbolt 2 missile. At that time, its guiding head will target the sun with stronger infrared radiation. The second is that Thunderbolt 2 has been imitated several times, and the details are quite different from the prototype AIM-9B. It does not fully possess the advantages of the latter's design. It needs to be improved and optimized in continuous exploration. Third, limited by the technical conditions and manufacturing level of our country at that time, as well as the severe blockade of the two major camps in the East and the West, the performance of the Thunderbolt-2 will not be as high.
In the late 1970s, China developed an improved version of the Jili-2 missile, the Jili- 2A missile. The characteristic of the Jili- 2A missile is that it is equipped with an improved automatic homing head, and its anti-jamming capability has been enhanced. Its appearance is the same as that of the American AIM- 9D missile and the Soviet R-13M missile, but it has a tapered warhead, and the automatic homing head window for the uncooled photodetector is much smaller. The triangular aerodynamic control surface and tail stabilizer of this missile remain the same, but the body of the missile is slightly enlarged. Although the Pili- 2A missile is likely to be some kind of "temporary" substitute, it is still included in the Chinese Air Force's weapons and equipment sequence.
PL-2B
The last modified version of the Pili-2 missile is the Pili-2 B missile. It is heavier than the first two missiles, with an enlarged warhead, and the triangular aerodynamic control surface has almost moved forward to the tip of the missile body. It is said that other improvements of the missile include infrared proximity fuze and more reliable electronic devices. For a long time, this type of missile was called the Pili-3 missile by Westerners.
China began the development of its improved Thunderbolt 2B. Its performance has been greatly improved compared with the prototype, especially in terms of reliability and anti-interference ability. Unfortunately, it was not finalized until 1981, and it was said earlier. , China spent about 20 years in order to fully grasp the relevant technology of Pili 2. Although the Pili 2 now seems insignificant, it has independently supported the combat effectiveness of the Chinese Air Force for a long time. Until the late 1980s, it was still the only active air-to-air missile of the PLA Air Force.
The second, improved version of the PL-2, designated as the PL-2B, was approved for production in 1978. Versus its predecessor, the PL-2B had an improved homing head and fuse. Its counter-interference capabilities were improved, velocity increased, and the optical fuse became more sensitive. In addition, the velocity and electrical circuitry of the missile was also improved. In the end, the PL-2B had 60% and 95% commonality with the PL-2 in terms of parts and components respectively. Testing was conducted in 1980, in which the missile suffered problems of early bursting. The problem was solved by August 1980, and in October 1981, the PL-2B missile was certified for the military.
Due to the poor maneuverability and anti-jamming capability of the missile itself, the carrier aircraft can only launch attacks from behind the enemy aircraft, which cannot meet the needs of modern air combat.
The Pili-2 air-to-air missiles have been used Actual combat, but the results were not good. In March 1982, a Vietnamese MiG-21 reconnaissance plane crossed the Sino-Vietnamese border into China's airspace and made a reconnaissance flight along the Chinese side of the Sino-Vietnamese border. A J-6 dual plane of the Guangxi Air Force of the People’s Liberation Army was ordered to take off and intercept. When the PLA fighter discovered that the Vietnamese reconnaissance aircraft had occupied a favorable position behind the tail, the lead plane fired two Pili-2 air-to-air missiles to attack it, but it did not hit the target. , Causing the Vietnamese army reconnaissance plane to escape.
The defeat in this battle shocked the Military Commission and the Air Force. In the post-war inspections, the pilots were only blindly tracked down to the responsibility of the pilots. However, no major problems were found in the pilots’ attack actions and aiming, which was completely in line with the Pili-2 air-to-air missile. conditions of. At this time, someone looked at the Pili-2 missile itself.
The Pili-2 air-to-air missile was not only an air-to-air missile that was heavily equipped and used by the Chinese Air Force and the Navy at the time, but also the only air-to-air missile that the Chinese Air Force and Navy could use in actual combat. Prior to that, the Pili-2 air-to-air missile had not undergone an actual combat test after it was equipped with troops, and most of the Air Force pilots, including the pilots that participated in the battle, had not conducted live firing training in the air.
With the question of the Pili-2 air-to-air missile, the relevant technicians conducted a comprehensive inspection of the existing Pili-2 air-to-air missiles in the Air Force and found that most of them were substandard products. Less than 20% of them were barely qualified. The main problem lies in the infrared guidance. Seeker and missile engine. The intercept target distance of 60% of seriously unqualified missiles is only about 20% of the data provided by the manufacturer.
Relevant departments have also carried out nearly 400 sorties of aerial tests. In one aerial test, 20 Pili-2 air-to-air missiles were fired, and 19 of them were out of control. This result shocked the Central Military Commission and the Air Force as much as the failure to destroy the enemy aircraft, because it meant that the Pili-2 air-to-air missiles mounted by the Chinese Air Force and the Navy’s aviation forces were merely “furnishings” and could not be used in actual combat at all. If the Pili-2 air-to-air missile is unavailable, then the Chinese Air Force and naval aviation will face the dilemma that no air-to-air missile is available. Because at that time, apart from the Pili-2, China had no other air-to-air missiles that could be used in actual combat.
Looking back now, it's not surprising at all. The reasons are: First, the Pili-2 belongs to the first generation of air-to-air missiles, and the technology itself is not mature; second, it has been imitated several times, coupled with the restrictions of China's technical conditions and production levels, which determines that the performance of the Pili-2 will not be high. Where to go; Third, the time when China imitated the K-13 air-to-air missile was in a special period of time in China, and it was not surprising that the products produced by the factory at that time were of poor quality.
Choosing alternatives to the Pili-2 air-to-air missiles as soon as possible, so that the Chinese Air Force and naval aviation can use air-to-air missiles has become a top priority. In the following period, China stepped up the development of the Pili series of air-to-air missiles. Today, Pili missiles have developed a family of Pili missiles ranging from Pili-3 to Pili-15, and part of them have been exported. Its range and hit accuracy have been greatly improved.
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