Beijing: China's air force may have tested a new 400-km range air-to-air missile which could take out high-value targets like early warning and aerial refueling aircraft, which stay far away from battle zones, state media reported on Thursday.
An image released online by the Chinese Air Force has led to speculation that the military is testing a beyond-visual-range, air-to-air missile in combat drills, according to China Daily.
The photo, recently uploaded to the People's Liberation Army website, shows a J-11B twin-engine fighter jet carrying a large missile — it stretches about one-fourth of the length of the 22-meter-long aircraft — during 'Red Sword 2016', an aerial warfare exercise over a northwestern desert in November.
Nearly 100 aircraft as well as air defence and electronic countermeasure units from two theater commands participated in the exercise, the Air Force had said.
It comes after photographs circulated on weapons websites late last year of a Chinese J-16 strike fighter carrying a nearly identical missile, the report said.
A spokesman for the Air Force was unavailable for comment on Wednesday, and no official introduction of the potential new weapon has been disclosed by the PLA or defence contractors. However, its appearance has attracted attention from military enthusiasts, many of whom say such a missile would boost the Air Force's combat capabilities, it said.
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 kilometers.
Fu Qianshao, an equipment researcher with the PLA Air Force, said that he believes China has developed a new missile that can hit high-value targets such as early-warning planes and aerial refueling 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, he said. However, all of them are unsuitable for combating early-warning planes because of their short ranges.
Moreover, he added, long-range ground-to-air missiles are restricted by their fixed deployment when dealing with planes far away.
"The best solution to this problem I can figure out 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 paper quoted Fu as saying.
He said the missile could have a maximum range of 400 km, farther than any air-to-air missiles used by Western air forces.
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