PL-7
Short-range air-to-air missile
The PL-7 (Chinese: 霹雳-7; pinyin: Pī Lì-7; lit. 'Thunderbolt-7') is the PRC version of the French Magic R.550 short-range air-to-air missile. It is a short-range, infrared homing missile used by Chinese fighter aircraft. It was designed by Wu Shendao, and produced at the Factory 331 (Zhuzhou Aeroengine factory) (中国株洲航空发动机厂).
01Specifications
- Length - 2.74 m (9 ft)
- Diameter - 157 mm (6.2 in)
- Wingspan - 0.66 m (26 in)
- Weight - 89 kg (196.2 lb)
- Warhead - 12.5 kg (27.55 lb)
- Speed - Mach 2.5 (1,917.5 mph, 3,086 kmh, 1,666.26 kn)
- Range - 0.5 to 14 km (0.31 to 8.7 mi, 0.27 to 7.55 nmi)
- Guidance - Infrared homing
02Operational history
During the late 1998-2001 Zimbabwean intervention in the Second Congo War, Air Force of Zimbabwe BAE Hawks were reportedly modified to be armed with PL-7s for air interception missions in support of Zimbabwean and Laurent Kabila's government forces.
03Operators
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “PL-7”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Iranian PL-7 missile with description.jpg by Ali Khodaei, CC BY 4.0
- Bangladesh Air Force F-7BG carrying PL-7 missile.jpg by Sonet069, CC BY-SA 4.0
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