Nimrod (missile) vs PL-5: Specs Compared

AMissiles

Nimrod (missile)

long-range air-to-surface missile

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

Nimrod (missile)Length

2.65 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

9 of 32 rows sourced on both sides

2.65m

3.13mPL-5B, PL-5C

Length

All recorded figures & sources

2.65 m

Length

Single source

265 cm^[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]

—

657mmPL-5B, PL-5C

Wingspan

All recorded figures & sources

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]

170mm

127mmPL-5E

Diameter

All recorded figures & sources

0.17 m

Diameter

Single source

17 cm^[source]

0.127 m

PL-5E

Single source

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

150kg

148kgPL-5B, PL-5C

MassScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

100 kg

Mass

Single source

150 kg

Nimrod missile and canister, not missile-only · Mass

Single source

100 kg^[source]

150 kg (330 lb)^[source]Nimrod missile and canister, not missile-only

148 kg

PL-5B, PL-5C

Single source

83 kg

PL-5E

Single source

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

1,000km/hMaximum; ~ or Mach 0.8

Mach 2.5

Speed

All recorded figures & sources

1,000 km/h

Maximum; ~ or Mach 0.8

Single source

~1000 km/h or Mach 0.8^[source]

Mach 2.5^[source]

0.3–36kmEffective; Effective firing range

18kmOperational; PL-5E

RangeScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

0.3–36 km

Effective; Effective firing range

Single source

300 - 36,000 meters^[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

Nimrod (missile) and PL-5 configuration
Specification	Nimrod (missile)	PL-5
Type	long-range air-to-surface missile^[source]	Short-range air-to-air missile^[source]
Manufacturer	Israel Aerospace Industries^[source]	Luoyang Electro-Optics Technology Development Centre (EOTDC), Hanzhong Nanfeng Machine Factory^[source]
Guidance	semi-active laser guidance system^[source] Semi-active laser homing^[source]	—
Launch platform	towed launchers, light combat vehicle launchers, helicopters , and fixed-wing aircraft^[source]	Aircraft, helicopter gunships^[source]
Used by	Israel Defense Forces^[source]	—
Propulsion	Single stage solid-propellant rocket motor^[source]	—
Warhead	High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT), fragmentation high explosive (HE), thermobaric , or anti-personnel^[source]	6kg blast-frag , or expanding rod (RF-fuse)^[source]
Country of origin	Israel^[source]Inventory Origin column; table 4, row 5, cell 2; revision 1349150138; retrieved 2026-09-30	—
Place of origin	—	China^[source]
Produced	—	1982^[source]
Detonation mechanism	—	Active infrared , laser proximity fuse(PL-5EII)^[source]
Engine	—	Solid-fuel rocket^[source]
Guidance system	—	Infrared homing , multi-element, dual band detector(PL-5EII)^[source]
Reported operators	Reported operator · Israel Reported operator · Colombia	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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Nimrod (missile)

PL-5

Type

long-range air-to-surface missile^[source]

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

Manufacturer

Israel Aerospace Industries^[source]

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

Guidance

semi-active laser guidance system^[source]

Semi-active laser homing^[source]

—

Launch platform

towed launchers, light combat vehicle launchers, helicopters , and fixed-wing aircraft^[source]

Aircraft, helicopter gunships^[source]

Used by

Israel Defense Forces^[source]

—

Propulsion

Single stage solid-propellant rocket motor^[source]

—

Warhead

High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT), fragmentation high explosive (HE), thermobaric , or anti-personnel^[source]

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

Country of origin

Israel^[source]Inventory Origin column; table 4, row 5, cell 2; revision 1349150138; retrieved 2026-09-30

—

Place of origin

—

China^[source]

Produced

—

1982^[source]

Detonation mechanism

—

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

Engine

—

Solid-fuel rocket^[source]

Guidance system

—

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

Reported operators

Reported operator · Israel
Reported operator · Colombia

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