PL-5

The PL-5, whose name means Thunderbolt, is a Chinese infrared guided short range air to air missile designed and developed at the Luoyang Electro-Optics Technology Development Centre and produced at the Hanzhong Nanfeng Machine Factory. It drew on Soviet missile technology while resembling some Western designs, and it entered service in the 1980s. The design has been refined over time, with the latest PL-5EII variant adding dual band detection and laser proximity fusing, and operators across Asia, Africa and Latin America have adopted it, particularly for older fighter aircraft where its light weight and small size are an advantage over newer missiles.