PL-11 (missile)

PL-11
Type	air-to-air missile
Place of origin	People's Republic of China
Service history
Used by	People's Republic of China
Specifications
Length	3.7 m (12 ft 2 in)[1]
Warhead	High explosive blast-fragmentation
Engine	Solid fuel rocket
Operational range	75 km (47 mi)[1]
Maximum speed	Mach 4[1]
Guidance system	Semi-active radar homing[1]
Launch platform	aerial

The PL-11 (Chinese: 霹雳-11; pinyin: Pī Lì-11; lit. 'Thunderbolt-11') is a medium-range semi-active radar homing (SARH) air-to-air missile (AAM) developed by a subsidiary of the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology in the People's Republic of China. It is a development or copy of the Italian Aspide AAM, which in turn was developed from the American AIM-7 Sparrow. The PRC may have started license production of the Aspide using imported parts but the license was cancelled following the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Development started in 1990,[2] and the first live-fire test occurred in 2002 from a Shenyang J-8 IIB.[3]

Description

The PL-11 was the People's Liberation Army Air Force's main medium-ranged AAM until the PL-12.[2]

The HQ-61 is the surface-to-air missile (SAM) variant of the PL-11.[2]

References

Citations

1. Wood, Yang & Cliff 2020, p. 41.
2. Wood, Yang & Cliff 2020, p. 37-38.
3. Wood, Yang & Cliff 2020, p. 19.

Bibliography

• Wood, Peter; Yang, David; Cliff, Roger (November 2020). Air-to-Air Missiles: Capabilities And Development In China (PDF). Montgomery: China Aerospace Studies Institute. ISBN 9798574996270.