In the concluding part of their short-range air-to-air missiles feature, Douglas Barrie and Piotr Butowski assess the current offerings from China, Israel, Japan, Russia and South Africa.
Short-range air-to-air missiles
PART TWO
A J-10B armed with PL-10s (inboard), as well as this missile’s predecessor in People’s Liberation Army service, the PL-8B. The latter features an all-aspect seeker and is compatible with a helmet-mounted sight and remains China’s standard short-range AAM.
via Chinese internet
The R-73 was developed specifically to arm the MiG-29 and Su- 27. It has a canard aerodynamic configuration with four cruciform triangular fins on the forward part and four trapezoidal wings installed around the engine. Here, a quartet of ‘Archers’ awaits loading on board Polish Air Force MiG-29s.
Piotr Butowski
The R-73 (AA-11 Archer) remains the standard Russian close-air combat missile and was developed together with, and especially for, the MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters. Securing and delivering a successor project, however, has so far proved elusive.
