China may test 400-km range air-to-air missile

Representational image

Beijing: China may test a 400-km range air-to-air missile which could take out early warning and aerial refuelling aircraft. If successfully tested, the weapon`s range will be longer than those of the US and Russia.

The picture of the J-11B twin-engine fighter jet carrying a large missile surfaced at the People`s Liberation Army website, state-run China Daily newspaper reported on Thursday.

A spokesman for the Chinese Air Force on Wednesday said no official introduction of the potential new weapon has been disclosed by the air force or defence contractors.

The US` longest-range air-to-air missile is the AIM-120D with a range of up to 200 km while Russia has the R-37 and K-100 air-to-air missiles, said to have operational ranges of up to 400 km.

The missile`s appearance has attracted attention from military enthusiasts, many of whom said such a missile would boost the air force`s combat capabilities.

According to the picture, the twin-engine jet stretches about one-fourth of the length of the 22-metre-long aircraft -- during Red Sword 2016, an aerial warfare exercise, over a northwestern desert in November.

It comes after photographs circulated on weapons websites late last year of a Chinese J-16 strike fighter carrying a nearly identical missile.

Chinese fighter jets currently use the PL-11 and PL-12 missiles to attack long-distance targets, but their maximum ranges are shorter than 100 km.

According to Fu Qianshao, an equipment researcher with the PLA Air Force, China has developed a new missile that can hit high-value targets such as early-warning planes and aerial refuelling aircraft, which stay far from conflict zones.

Most air-to-air missiles in service around the world have a maximum range of around 100 km, while a handful of new types propelled by ramjets can reach 200 km, Fu said.

However, all of them are unsuitable for combating early-warning planes because of their short ranges, he said.

According to Fu, long-range ground-to-air missiles are restricted by their fixed deployment when dealing with planes far away.

"The best solution to this problem is to send a super-maneuverable fighter jet with very-long-range missiles to destroy those high-value targets, which are `eyes` of enemy jets," Fu said.

"So the successful development of this potential new missile would be a major breakthrough in the air force`s weapons upgrade."

The range of the missile is expected to be more than 400 km. It could be farther than any air-to-air missile used by western air forces, he said.

Fu added that based on his experience, an ultralong-range missile would enter the stratosphere -- at an altitude of 20 to 50 km -- and continue its flight there until it detects its target and dives to strike.

Its size would enable it to be equipped with a large, cutting-edge guidance radar to detect targets. All of these capabilities would allow it to deal with large planes and stealth jets, Fu added.

Wang Ya`nan, an expert from Aerospace Knowledge magazine, said the superlong range of such a missile would mean it could use satellites to relay data and control signals.

China has already tested anti-satellite missiles.