ASRAAM vs PL-5: Specs Compared

AMissiles

ASRAAM

ASRAAM: Short-range air-to-air missile Raven: Short-range surface-to-air missile system

BMissiles

PL-5

Short-range air-to-air missile

Credit

Carlos E. Perez S.L · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source ↗ · Modified

First system

Second system

At a glance

Side by side

Length comparisonOne shared metre scale

ASRAAMLength

2.9 m

Length source ↗

PL-5PL-5B, PL-5C

3.128 m

Length source ↗

Lengths retain their source configuration and measurement scope.

Measured figures

Head to head

14 of 31 rows sourced on both sides

2.9m

3.13mPL-5B, PL-5C

Length

All recorded figures & sources

2.9 m

Length

Single source

2.90 m (9 ft 6 in)^[source]

3.128 m

PL-5B, PL-5C

Single source

2.893 m

PL-5E

Single source

3.128 m (PL-5B, PL-5C), 2.893m (PL-5E)^[source]

450mm

657mmPL-5B, PL-5C

Wingspan

All recorded figures & sources

0.45 m

Wingspan

Single source

450 mm^[source]

0.657 m

PL-5B, PL-5C

Single source

0.617 m

PL-5E

Single source

0.657m (PL-5B, PL-5C), 0.617m (PL-5E)^[source]

166mmmotor diameter

127mmPL-5E

DiameterScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

0.166 m

motor diameter

Single source

166 mm (6.5 in) (motor diameter)^[source]

0.127 m

PL-5E

Single source

0.127m (PL-5E)^[source]

88kg

148kgPL-5B, PL-5C

Mass

All recorded figures & sources

88 kg

Mass

Single source

88 kg (194 lb)^[source]

148 kg

PL-5B, PL-5C

Single source

83 kg

PL-5E

Single source

148 kg (PL-5B, PL-5C), 83kg (PL-5E)^[source]

15km

18kmOperational; PL-5E

RangeScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

15 km

Operational; Air-to-air: 25+ km Surface-to-air

Single source

Air-to-air: 25+ km Surface-to-air: 15 km^[source]

1.3–16 km

Operational; (PL-5B, PL-5C), 0.5-16~

Single source

18 km

Operational; PL-5E

Single source

1.3–16km (PL-5B, PL-5C), 0.5-16~18km (PL-5E)^[source]

Bars compare reported quantities only. A larger figure does not make a system better; configurations and test conditions differ.

Configuration

Details

ASRAAM and PL-5 configuration
Specification	ASRAAM	PL-5
Speed	Mach 3+^[source]	Mach 2.5^[source]
Type	ASRAAM: Short-range air-to-air missile Raven: Short-range surface-to-air missile system^[source]	Short-range air-to-air missile^[source]
Place of origin	United Kingdom^[source]	China^[source]
In service	1998^[source]	—
Used by	Royal Air Force Armed Forces of Ukraine Indian Air Force Royal Australian Air Force (historical)^[source]	—
Wars	Russo-Ukrainian War (Raven)^[source]	—
Manufacturer	MBDA UK Bharat Dynamics Limited (India)^[source]	Luoyang Electro-Optics Technology Development Centre (EOTDC), Hanzhong Nanfeng Machine Factory^[source]
Unit cost	>£200,000^[source]	—
Variants	Common Anti-aircraft Modular Missile (Sea Ceptor/Sky Sabre)^[source]	—
Warhead	10 kg (22 lb) blast/fragmentation^[source]	6kg blast-frag , or expanding rod (RF-fuse)^[source]
Detonation mechanism	Laser proximity fuze and impact^[source]	Active infrared , laser proximity fuse(PL-5EII)^[source]
Engine	Dual-burn, high-impulse solid rocket motor^[source]	Solid-fuel rocket^[source]
Guidance system	Blocks 1-5: Hughes (Raytheon) Imaging infrared homing , 128×128 element focal plane array , with lock-on after launch (LOAL) and strapdown inertial guidance Block 6+: Domestic MBDA UK Seeker^[source]	Infrared homing , multi-element, dual band detector(PL-5EII)^[source]
Launch platform	Royal Air Force : Typhoon Royal Air Force and Royal Navy : F-35 Lightning II Indian Air Force : Jaguar SHORAD (e.g. Raven, a 'FrankenSAM' vehicle consisting of a Supacat 6×6 mounted with ASRAAM launch rails taken from decommissioned RAF jets)^[source]	Aircraft, helicopter gunships^[source]
Produced	—	1982^[source]
Reported operators	—	Reported operator · Bangladesh Reported operator · China Reported operator · Burma Reported operator · Egypt Reported operator · Iran Reported operator · Pakistan Reported operator · Sri Lanka Reported operator · Sudan Reported operator · Tanzania Reported operator · Venezuela Reported operator · Zimbabwe

FORCETALLY

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ASRAAM

PL-5

Speed

Mach 3+^[source]

Mach 2.5^[source]

Type

ASRAAM: Short-range air-to-air missile Raven: Short-range surface-to-air missile system^[source]

Short-range air-to-air missile^[source]

Place of origin

United Kingdom^[source]

China^[source]

In service

1998^[source]

—

Used by

Royal Air Force Armed Forces of Ukraine Indian Air Force Royal Australian Air Force (historical)^[source]

—

Wars

Russo-Ukrainian War (Raven)^[source]

—

Manufacturer

MBDA UK Bharat Dynamics Limited (India)^[source]

Luoyang Electro-Optics Technology Development Centre (EOTDC), Hanzhong Nanfeng Machine Factory^[source]

Unit cost

>£200,000^[source]

—

Variants

Common Anti-aircraft Modular Missile (Sea Ceptor/Sky Sabre)^[source]

—

Warhead

10 kg (22 lb) blast/fragmentation^[source]

6kg blast-frag , or expanding rod (RF-fuse)^[source]

Detonation mechanism

Laser proximity fuze and impact^[source]

Active infrared , laser proximity fuse(PL-5EII)^[source]

Engine

Dual-burn, high-impulse solid rocket motor^[source]

Solid-fuel rocket^[source]

Guidance system

Blocks 1-5: Hughes (Raytheon) Imaging infrared homing , 128×128 element focal plane array , with lock-on after launch (LOAL) and strapdown inertial guidance Block 6+: Domestic MBDA UK Seeker^[source]

Infrared homing , multi-element, dual band detector(PL-5EII)^[source]

Launch platform

Royal Air Force : Typhoon Royal Air Force and Royal Navy : F-35 Lightning II Indian Air Force : Jaguar SHORAD (e.g. Raven, a 'FrankenSAM' vehicle consisting of a Supacat 6×6 mounted with ASRAAM launch rails taken from decommissioned RAF jets)^[source]

Aircraft, helicopter gunships^[source]

Produced

—

1982^[source]

Reported operators

—

Reported operator · Bangladesh
Reported operator · China
Reported operator · Burma
Reported operator · Egypt
Reported operator · Iran
Reported operator · Pakistan
Reported operator · Sri Lanka
Reported operator · Sudan
Reported operator · Tanzania
Reported operator · Venezuela
Reported operator · Zimbabwe