PL-4 (missile)

The PL-4 (Chinese: 霹雳-4; pinyin: Pī Lì-4; lit. 'Thunderbolt-4') was an air-to-air missile (AAM) developed by the People's Republic of China. It was designed by the 612 Research Institute and the Zhuzhou Aeroengine factory. The first version, the PL-4A, was China's first semi-active radar homing (SARH) AAM. It was developed into the infrared homing PL-4B.

PL-4
Type	air-to-air missile
Place of origin	China
Service history
Used by	China
Specifications
Mass	150 kg
Length	3.2 m
Warhead	High explosive blast-fragmentation 30 kilograms (66 lb)
Engine	Solid fuel rocket
Operational range	18 km
Maximum speed	2695 km/h
Guidance system	Semi-active radar homing (PL-4A) Infrared homing (PL-4B)
Launch platform	aerial

Development

The development program of PL-4 started in March 1966. The design may have been influenced by American AIM-7D Sparrow wreckage from the Vietnam War. Prototype ground-testing to the original 1960s requirements was completed in November 1980, with the second phase of development starting in July 1981. The program was canceled in 1984 due to obsolescence and, with the normalization of relations with the United States - the availability of modern Western weapons.

The PL-4 was intended to arm the Chengdu J-9 - which was canceled in 1980 - and then the Shenyang J-8II. Issues with the J-8II's Type 208 radar limited SARH performance, and the missile's cancellation severely affected the aircraft's development.

Variants

PL-4A

SARH version

PL-4B

IRH version

Fenglei-7 (Chinese: 风雷-7)

Anti-radiation missile based on PL-4, with technologies reverse-engineered from AGM-45 Shrike collected from Vietnam War. It was developed between 1977 and 1984 but was eventually canceled.

References

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.