21-07-2025
India's ASTRA, China's PL-15 missile, USA' AMRAAM: List of world's top 7 air-to-air missiles, 4th will surprise you
AIM-120 AMRAAM (USA)
Top 7 Missiles: The recent conflicts across the world including the Russia-Ukraine war, Iran-Israel war and the Pakistan-India conflict have taught us the important of air superiority. As a significant part of air superiority, Air-to-air missiles are a crucial part of modern air combat. As part of the air combat, allowing fighter jets to destroy enemy aircraft before they even appear on radar has been the level at which countries fight in air. However, do you know about the missiles which are known across the world for their high-speed, high-precision weapons. Here is an article listing the top 7 air-to-air missiles in the world and highlights India's position among them. Which are the Top 7 Missiles of the world:
AIM-120 AMRAAM (USA): The AIM-120 AMRAAM of USA is America's second most powerful Beyond Visual Range missile with much longer range, equipped with a better guidance system.
Meteor (Europe): The Meteor missile of Europe is a radar-guided beyond visual range air-to-air missile. Developed by MBDA for European nations, the missile is known for its beyond-visual-range capability and 'no escape' zone, used by Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon. Notably, the The Indian Air Force also uses the Meteor missile. R-37M missile (Russia): The R-37M missile of Russia is a long-range, fast and potentially lethal missile. However, its combat effectiveness is still uncertain.
PL-15 (China): Also called the Thunderbolt 15 missile, the PL-15 is a powerful missile equipped with AESA radar and reportedly outranges many Western counterparts. The missile considered to have the longest range among the currently operated air-to-air missiles and is currently used on China's J-20 stealth fighter.
IRIS-T (Germany): The IRIS-T missile of Germany is a short-range missile new generation air-to-air missile manufactured with high agility and precision. It complements the Meteor in European forces.
Python-5 (Israel): The Python-5 missile of Israel is an advanced short-range missile with with an advanced electro-optical seeker. Notably, India has integrated it with its aircraft.
Astra (India): Developed by India's Defence Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Astra missile is India's indigenous beyond-visual-range missile, competing with some of the best in the world and is now part of the IAF's arsenal.
