China Unveils Missiles, Guided Bombs for Stealth Jets at Zhuhai Airshow

China has revealed a range of weapons it has developed for stealth fighters at the ongoing Airshow China event in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province.

A scale model of the country’s second stealth fighter jet, the FC-31, was displayed together with armament including the powerful PL-15E beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile which is also used by China's first stealthy jet, the J-20. The PL-15E is announced to be available for export for the first time. It is an air-to-air missile with a maximum range of 145km guided with a combination of inertial, satellite navigation, datalink and active radar, reports the Global Times.

Aside of PL-15E, state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), also displayed models of PL-10E short-range air-to-air missile and an LS-6/250 precision glide bomb.

The PL-15E, PL-10E and LS-6/250 can cover long-range and short-range air combat as well as surface attack, making the FC-31 capable of fighting in all ranges and against all targets, a Chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times at the Air Show. The expert noted that the PL-15E is particularly powerful due to its beyond-visual-range capability much superior to other countries' missiles.

The PL-10E is an advanced, very agile and aggressive short-range air-to-air missile that was announced to be available for export during the Airshow China in 2018. The latter, LS-6/250, is a guided precision glide bomb with a maximum range of more than 100km and weights 294kg.

Domestic versions of the PL-15 and PL-10 missiles are used by advanced warplanes of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force like the J-20 and J-16 fighter jets, observers pointed out.