Air-launched missiles: a low-observable numbers game
Is China looking to increase the number of air-to-air missiles that its Chengdu J-20 multi-role fighter can carry internally? The PLA Air Force continues to make progress across a range of air-to-air systems, writes Douglas Barrie.
One of the signature features of low-observable combat aircraft is internal weapons carriage. Tucking a weapon away inside the airframe, rather than hanging it on an external pylon, is a boon for radar-signature management, but comes at a cost in terms of the number of similar-sized missiles that can be carried. China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force may be seeking to shift that calculus on its Chengdu J-20 multi-role fighter.
https://www.iiss.org/blogs/military-balance/2020/04/air-launched-missiles-china-plaaf-j-20-fighter
