16-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
China's PL-15 missiles face first combat test in Kashmir conflict
Almost a decade has passed since the People's Liberation Army pulled the trigger on President Xi Jinping's plans for a massive overhaul of the world's biggest military. In the eighth of
a series on Chinese weapons systems, we look at the country's advanced air-to-air missile.
It was not until the combat debut of the PL-15E during a
skirmish between Pakistan and India last week that the capabilities of the Chinese-made air-to-air missile were truly put to the test – after years of speculation by observers abroad.
For decades, Chinese-made air-to-air missiles were believed to be imitations of Western designs. But the recent deployment of the PL-15E by the Pakistan Air Force serves as a fresh reminder that the capabilities of China's air-to-air missile systems – alongside a growing fleet of advanced
fighter aircraft – can no longer be ignored.
The deployment of the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) advanced air-to-air missiles, including the domestic version of the PL-15 commissioned since the mid-2010s, carries broader implications – not only for regional security in the Asia-Pacific, but also for any future Taiwan contingency.
It has also sparked discussions about the potential expansion of air-to-air missile exports as Beijing grows more ambitious in challenging the Western-dominated global arms market.
Combat debut and profile
