China shows off anti-radar missile superior to Russia's Kh-31
After mastering seeker technology, combined with achievements in engines and fuel, Chinese missiles often have a greater range than Russia.
China's CCTV7 television channel recently aired a report recording a live-fire exercise with the J-10B light multi-role fighter, showing that it is capable of becoming a very good means of suppressing enemy air defenses.
In the ground attack configuration, the J-10B has two YJ-91 anti-radiation missiles hanging on its wings, which is essentially a copy of Russia's Kh-31P design, but in the hands of China, the power of this weapon has been raised to a new level.
While the Kh-31P missile has a maximum range of 100 km, the Chinese-made YJ-91 missile has a range of 150 km, and its passive radar seeker is also advertised as being much more sensitive than the type installed on the Kh-31P.
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| The Chinese Air Force's J-10B multi-role fighter carries two YJ-91 anti-radiation missiles under its wings. |
With the above air defense suppression configuration, Chinese Air Force fighters are capable of destroying radar stations of medium- and long-range surface-to-air missile complexes such as Buk-M3, S-300PS, S-300V... and can even threaten the S-300PMU-1.
China's recent progress in electronic technology is remarkable. Their achievements are often applied first in the military field, on weapons and equipment purchased from Russia to create domestic versions that are at least comparable to the Russian domestic version.
Currently, Moscow is gradually deploying an extended-range version of the Kh-31A/P missile with the designation Kh-31AD/PD with a range increased to 160 km, but of course China is not standing still with the ambition to increase the maximum combat range of the YJ-91 to over 200 km.
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| YJ-91 anti-radiation missile accurately hits target radar station |
To deal with the plan of using Chinese YJ-91 anti-radar missile fighters, the basic method is still to use radar stations capable of intermittent broadcasting to lose the signal of the seeker on the bullet, combined with a network of surveillance and passive electronic reconnaissance stations to avoid missing the target.
It should also be noted that the YJ-91 missile has a maximum range of 150 km, but the effective range of the seeker is much shorter. If the radar is located on complex terrain, it is also very susceptible to interference.
However, to effectively counter the air defense suppression tactic using long-range anti-radiation missiles like the YJ-91, the defense side still requires to be equipped with multi-channel surface-to-air missile systems with many different guidance methods, focusing on the passive channel.