According to a report by "Defense Asia" on October 19, the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is advancing the development of the Astra Mark-2 air-to-air missile and claims that it has integrated some key technologies from China's PL-15E missile.

The report states that this integration has brought significant breakthroughs in range and anti-jamming capabilities, which may change the balance of power in Asia.

From a technical standpoint, the Astra Mark-2 was essentially a copy of the PL-15.

After the Pakistan Air Force deployed aircraft equipped with the PL-15E, India found itself more passive in air combat and urgently needed a domestic long-range air-to-air missile to match the PL-15.

The range of the Astra Mark-1 is between 80–110 kilometers, which is clearly insufficient compared to the PL-15E's range of up to 150 kilometers.

Therefore, India proposed a higher-performance Mark-2 version, aiming to increase the range to over 160 kilometers, upgrade the propulsion system to a dual-pulse solid-fuel rocket, and equip it with an active radar seeker and anti-jamming module, striving to bridge the gap with China and Pakistan in air combat weapon technology.

Indian air-to-air missiles

While the Astra Mark-2 project was being advanced, India suffered a defeat in the May 7th air battle this year.

In the so-called Sindhu Operation, India used a large number of aircraft, including its most advanced Rafale fighters, directly intercepted Chinese PL-15E missiles with their fuselages, and obtained one relatively intact missile.

For Indian engineers, this was undoubtedly a dream sample. As they were struggling to replicate the dual-pulse propulsion and AESA radar system of the PL-15, the original sample fell from the sky, which could be described as "when you're sleepy, a pillow falls from the sky."

Thus, the DRDO engineering team immediately disassembled, scanned, and conducted simulation tests on the missile and claimed to have gained systematic technical inspiration, accelerating the development progress of the Astra Mark-2 in terms of seeker performance, energy retention capability, and anti-jamming ability.

However, the reality is probably not like that. Missiles are not just things that can be copied simply by picking up a non-exploded one.

Taking the highly integrated PL-15 air-to-air missile as an example, its technological essence does not merely lie in the shell structure, propulsion device, or radar module itself, but more importantly in the software algorithms, electromagnetic compatibility, onboard data link collaboration systems, and the system-level integration between the missile and the fighter jet.

Getting a debris can only allow you to understand what materials it uses and the approximate width of the radar beam, but you cannot replicate its data link protocol, radar frequency hopping logic, or target recognition algorithm.

Moreover, as an export version, the PL-15E may have undergone degradation in aspects such as chips, encryption modules, and sensor sensitivity.

It's like if you disassembled a luxury car's tire, you know it's a Michelin, but you can't learn the engine tuning or intelligent driving system.

India can certainly reproduce a product that looks similar based on the outer shell, but to fully understand its thinking logic is obviously impossible.

PL-15E debris

Furthermore, India's publicity is not only overly optimistic but also logically contradictory.

On one hand, Indian defense media frequently hype that we have acquired the tactical parameters of the PL-15 and can develop countermeasures against it, as if obtaining a single debris would reveal all the opponent's weaknesses; on the other hand, the same people then claim that we have successfully replicated the PL-15 and integrated its core technologies into the Astra Mark-2, as if achieving a leap from tactical research to engineering implementation overnight.

This statement itself is unsustainable: if you really succeeded in reverse engineering, that means the missile doesn't have any secrets, so why would there be a need for targeted defense? Conversely, if you are still researching strategies to deal with it, it means you haven't understood its complete system, and integrating the technology is out of the question.

It can be said that this is a modern version of self-contradiction.

Chinese air-to-air missiles

Even if we assume that everything India says is true, and they have truly integrated the design structure, guidance logic, and propulsion rhythm of the PL-15E into the Astra Mark-2, and have truly verified the system coordination and guidance accuracy in flight tests, that would only reach the level of the PL-15E they obtained.

On one hand, the PL-15E is an export version, while China's own PL-15 is more powerful, with a longer range and better anti-jamming capability.

On the other hand, the PL-15 series itself is continuously being adjusted and upgraded, especially after the outbreak of conflict, there will inevitably be new upgrades.

When India faces this type of missile again, it will be a new story.

If weapons can be cracked after one use, then what is called strategic deterrence? True advanced weapons are never won through a one-time transaction, but rather through continuous evolution and dynamic confrontation.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7563152847362294323/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author. Welcome to express your attitude by clicking on the 【top/minus】 buttons below.