PL-15

China's premier long-range active-radar beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, developed for the J-20 and other modern PLAAF fighters, and the first Chinese AAM to see combat—contested but revealing—in the 2025 India-Pakistan air clashes.

Overview

The PL-15 (Pi Li-15) is a long-range active-radar-homing beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) developed by the China Airborne Missile Academy (Luoyang) for the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). It entered service around 2018 and arms the J-20, J-16, and J-10C fighters, providing a stand-off engagement capability that competes with the latest Western missiles. An export variant, the PL-15E, is in service with the Pakistan Air Force on its J-10C and JF-17 Block III aircraft. The domestic PL-15 is credited with a range exceeding 200 km, while the export version is capped at roughly 145–150 km. The missile gained notoriety in May 2025 when Pakistan fired PL-15Es during the Operation Sindoor air battles with India, marking the first combat use of a Chinese BVRAAM and yielding an intact airframe for Indian analysis.

Development

The PL-15 was developed by the China Airborne Missile Academy (Luoyang), part of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), to replace the semi-active radar-homing PL-12 and give the PLAAF a weapon competitive with the American AIM-120D AMRAAM and the European MBDA Meteor. It was revealed publicly around 2015 and entered operational service with the J-20 approximately in 2018, as noted by The National Interest. The missile was subsequently integrated onto the J-16 and J-10C, and the export-oriented PL-15E was qualified on the Pakistan Air Force's J-10C and JF-17 Block III.

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