On the morning of September 24, 1958, 32 days into the artillery duel at Kinmen (Quemoy) that triggered the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, 18 Chinese Nationalist Air Force (ROCAF) F-86F fighters from the 11th Fighter Group took off from the Hsinchu Air Base some 40 miles west of Taipei and headed for the skies over Wenzhou Bay [温州湾] on the coast of Zhejiang province. Officially, their mission was to provide escort for the two unarmed RF-84F reconnaissance aircraft surveilling the mainland coast for signs of any pending invasion. But unofficially, as Gen. Leng Peishu – then-commander of the 11th Fighter Group – recounted many years later, the real purpose of the mission was to test the ROCAF’s newly-received AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles under actual combat conditions. As Leng expected, the F-86s were intercepted by PLAAF MiG-17 fighters off the coast of Zhejiang. The ensuing battle, subsequently described as the largest air battle ever fought over the Taiwan Strait, saw the first use of air-to-air missiles (AAMs) in combat, and Lt. Col. Li Shuyuan (李叔元) of the ROCAF became the first pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft with an AAM. The technological and training superiority of the ROCAF carried the day, and the battle ended with the Taiwanese claiming 10 kills with no loss of their own. According to Taiwanese records, a total of 6 AIM-9 missiles were fired during the battle, downing 3 MiGs and damaging another one. (U.S. advisors attached to the ROCAF confirmed 9 kills, including 2 missile kills.)1 With the efficacy of the new weapon proven in combat, the U.S. began supplying the AIM-9 to Taiwan in large numbers in 1959, and the ROCAF would maintain a clear technological edge over their adversaries across the Taiwan Strait until well into the 1990s.
This report analyzes Chinese AAM and guidance system development. Drawing upon Chinese-language government publications, academic studies, and news articles, it reviews China’s progress in air-to-air weapons development, including early attempts to copy and reverse engineer foreign missile and fire control systems as well as more recent efforts at indigenous innovation. Throughout, it pays special attention to China’s defense technology R&D plans and the technical characteristics of known systems.
The study is organized into five main sections:
- An overview of the basic components of air-to-air missiles and the different types of guidance systems they employ.
- A brief history of Chinese air-to-air weapon systems development
- Profiles of China’s air-to-air weapon systems
- Profiles of relevant research institutes, manufacturers and scientists
- A conclusion summarizing the state of Chinese research into AAMs and its implications for the United States