North Korea's new combat missile imitates the Python-10, with a aerodynamic layout almost identical, which makes the US military sit up and take notice!
Recently, North Korea first publicly displayed a new short-range air-to-air missile during a military exercise. From the public footage and satellite images, it can be analyzed that the missile's shape, size, control surface layout, and even the tail structure are highly similar to the PL-10.
The PL-10 is about 3 meters long, with a diameter of 160 mm, and an wingspan of approximately 670 mm. It uses a large leading-edge delta canard configuration — that is, two large triangular canards on the front, four trapezoidal main wings in the middle, and a gas rudder at the tail for high maneuverability flight.
The outline proportions of North Korea's new missile are almost identical. According to pixel measurements from open-source intelligence agencies on the display footage, the error in the body length is no more than ±5 cm, and the deviation in the wing angle is less than 2 degrees. This level of precision far exceeds the scope of "inspiration borrowing."
A notable feature of the PL-10 is the integrated gas rudder at the tail, giving it a transient overload capability of over 60g, allowing it to achieve "over-the-shoulder" launching or rapid targeting within visual range.
North Korea's new missile clearly shows a similar structure at the tail, and there are obvious contours of gas deflection devices around the nozzle. Although there is no measured data to prove whether its TV performance meets the standard, just from the appearance, its intention to replicate the high maneuverability of the PL-10 is clear.
Previously, the main weapons of the North Korean Air Force were still R-60 and R-73 of the 1980s, which have limited off-axis launch capabilities and are difficult to threaten the US F-16 or F/A-18.
But if its new missile truly has performance close to the PL-10 — such as an off-axis angle of more than 60 degrees, a maneuverability of over 50g, and an effective range of 5–20 km — it would mean that North Korean aircraft could have the potential to "launch before the enemy and hit before the enemy" in a visual range dogfight.
Especially in the complex electromagnetic environment at low altitudes on the Korean Peninsula, high-performance infrared combat missiles are harder to detect than radar-guided missiles.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1850296889705546/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.