YDG-60: Difference between revisions

Jump to navigation Jump to search
m (1 revision imported)
 
(3 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{WIP}}
{{infobox weapon
{{infobox weapon
| name              = YDG-60
| name              = YDG-60
| image              =  
| image              =  
| caption            =  
| caption            =  
| origin            = {{flag|Menghe}}
| origin            = [[Tír Glas]], [[Menghe]]
| type              = surface-to-air missile
| type              = {{wp|Surface-to-air missile}}
<!-- Type selection -->
<!-- Type selection -->
| is_ranged          =  
| is_ranged          =  
Line 16: Line 14:
| is_UK              =  
| is_UK              =  
<!-- Service history -->
<!-- Service history -->
| service            = 1998-present
| service            = 2006-present
| used_by            = {{flag|Menghe}}
| used_by            = [[Menghe]]
| wars              =  
| wars              = [[Innominadan Crisis]]
<!-- Production history -->
<!-- Production history -->
| designer          =  
| designer          =  
| design_date        =  
| design_date        =  
| manufacturer      =  
| manufacturer      = Buksŏng Industries Group
| unit_cost          =  
| unit_cost          = $1.32 million (2020)
| production_date    =  
| production_date    = 2001-present
| number            =  
| number            =  
| variants          = YDG-60G, YDG-60N, YDG-60D
| variants          = YDG-60G, YDG-60N
<!-- General specifications -->
<!-- General specifications -->
| spec_label        = YDG-60G
| spec_label        = YDG-60G
| weight            = 1,380 kgs
| weight            = 708 kg
| length            = 7.61 m
| length            = 4.72 m
| part_length        =  
| part_length        =  
| width              =  
| width              =  
| height            =
| height            =
| diameter          = 500mm
| diameter          = 340 mm
| crew              =
| crew              =
| passengers        =
| passengers        =
Line 78: Line 76:
| clearance          =  
| clearance          =  
| fuel_capacity      =  
| fuel_capacity      =  
| vehicle_range      = 200 km
| vehicle_range      = 165 km
| speed              = 2,000 m/s (Mach 5.8)
| speed              = Mach 3.5
| guidance          = {{wp|Track-via-missile|TVM}}
| guidance          = {{wp|Semi-active radar homing}} (YDG-60G)<br>
{{wp|Active radar homing}} (YDG-60N)
| steering          = aerodynamic surfaces
| steering          = aerodynamic surfaces
<!-- Missiles only -->
<!-- Missiles only -->
| wingspan          =  
| wingspan          = 1.07 m
| propellant        = solid fuel
| propellant        = Dual-thrust solid-fuel rocket
| ceiling            =
| ceiling            = 24,000 meters
| altitude          = 10 to 30,000 meters
| altitude          =  
| depth              =  
| depth              =  
| boost              =  
| boost              =  
Line 94: Line 93:
}}
}}


The '''YDG-60''' (for [[Menghean language|Menghean]]: 유도탄, 대공 ''Yudotan, Daegong'' "Missile, Anti-Air") is a long-range {{wp|surface-to-air missile}} developed in [[Menghe]]. In its initial "G" variant, it appears to be a copy of the 48N6E2 surface-to-air missile developed in the [[Federation of Socialist Republics]], part of the latter country's S-300 air defense system. Later variants, however, evolved independently from FSR practice, incorporating thrust-vectoring boosters for {{wp|Vertical_launching_system#Hot_launch_and_cold_launch|hot-launch}} capability and improving upon the guidance system.
The '''YDG-60''' is a [[Menghe]]an licensed derivative of the [[Tír Glas|Glasic]] {{wp|RIM-66_Standard|SM-2MR Block IIIA}}. The production license for the weapon was originally granted in 2001, though the missile was not operationally deployed until the destroyer [[Haeju-class destroyer|HJ-364 ''Haeju'']] was commissioned on 30 May 2006. The sale of SM-2MR production rights to Menghe accompanied the licensing of the {{wp|Mark 41 Vertical Launching System}}, also first introduced on the destroyer ''Haeju''. Following the breakdown of relations with [[Maverica]] in 2005, Menghe also developed a land-launched version of the YDG-60 system.


==Description==
==Description==
In all its forms, the YDG-60 is intended to serve as the outermost layer of a military formation's long-range air defenses. Its engagement ceiling of 30,000 meters allows it to hit even the highest-flying attack and reconnaissance aircraft, as does its top speed of Mach 5.8. While not a replacement for short- and intermediate-range SAM systems, it does complement them in range and capability, and may force target aircraft to fly closer to the ground or deter standoff {{wp|Anti-radiation_missile|ARM}} attacks on shorter-ranged batteries.
Both variants of the YDG-60 are vertically launched; Menghe does not operate any arm-launched variants of the SM-2MR, having licensed the Block IIIA version at the outset.
 
The YDG-60G has a two-stage guidance system. Its onboard autopilot, which uses an {{wp|inertial navigation system}}, follows the most efficient route to the programmed intercept point, cruising at high altitude where air resistance is lower. During this stage of the course, the missile receives regular midcourse {{wp|command guidance|command updates}} from the launch platform, keeping it on course and correcting its path if the target changes direction, speed, or altitude in an effort to evade.
 
As the missile comes closer to the target, the guidance antenna (usually a STIR 2.4) switches on and illuminates the target, and the missile relies on {{wp|semi-active radar homing}} for the final stage of its course. This final stage only requires a few seconds of radar illumination, allowing the launching ship or missile battery to fire multiple missiles at spaced intervals and guide them one at a time as they reach their intercept points.
 
==Role==
In the ship-launched role, the YDG-60 was originally intended to provide a medium-range air defense bubble for Menghean ships and formations at sea. The [[YDG-39]], already in service, had a longer range at 200 kilometers, but it could only be fired from rotary cold-launch VLS tubes. The YDG-60, by contrast, was more compact, and compatible with Mark 41 VLS cells. When carried by the [[Yechŏn-class frigate]]s, it gave these ships a much larger air defense bubble than the [[Ansa-class frigate]]s that preceded them, and allowed them to launch missiles at shorter intervals.
 
After the licensing of the longer-ranged [[YDG-62]] in 2006, the Menghean Navy transitioned to treating the latter missile as its main long-range defensive weapon, while the [[YDG-64]] took over the medium-range anti-air role.


In addition to its anti-aircraft capability, the YDG-60 also has a limited ability to engage ballistic missiles. The {{wp|Multiple_independently_targetable_reentry_vehicle|MIRVed}} warheads of {{wp|Intercontinental_ballistic_missile|ICBMs}} would be traveling too fast, but the system is able to engage {{wp|Short-range_ballistic_missile|SRBMs}} in the terminal approach stage. This allows it to protect Army rear-area units from in-theater conventional and nuclear strikes.
Around this same time, the [[Menghean Army]] expressed interest in the YDG-60, which could be used to equip {{wp|corps}}-level air defense units. It became a central part of the [[Chŏlgung air defense system]], carried first on the [[IMCh-J Koppulso]] universal chassis and later on the [[IMCh-D Pokgunryong]] universal chassis. Though inferior in range to land-launched YDG-39 and YDG-62 missile systems, the YDG-60 could be carried in shorter missile canisters and thus fit on a {{wp|Transporter_erector_launcher|TELAR}} chassis more easily. Thus, by the 2010s the Menghean Army became the primary user of the YDG-60 in Menghe, and its land-launched YDG-60 systems use tactical-length vertical launch canisters even though no Menghean Navy ship carries tactical-length VLS cells.


==Variants==
==Variants==
===YDG-60G===
===YDG-60G===
The first variant of the YDG-60 missile was the YDG-60G, which appeared in response to the [[Menghean Army]]'s demand for a more capable long-range air defense system. It uses a {{wp|Vertical_launching_system#Hot_launch_and_cold_launch|cold-launch}} system, propelled from the vertical storage tube by compressed air.
The first variant of the YDG-60 missile was the YDG-60G. It was a direct licensed copy of the SM-2MR Block IIIA, the first Glasic variant designed to be launched from Mark 41 VLS cells. The YDG-60G has better low-altitude performance than preceding SM-2 missiles, making it more effective against sea-skimming missiles, but it lacks the secondary infrared seeker carried by the SM-2MR Block IIIB. Instead, it relies on {{wp|Inertial_navigation_system|inertial midcourse guidance}} with {{wp|Command_guidance|command updates}} and terminal {{wp|semi-active radar homing}} guidance.


===YDG-60N===
===YDG-60N===
Introduced in 2006, the YDG-60N was a significant modification of the original "G" variant missile, and is sometimes considered a new missile in its own right - though it kept the YDG-60 base designation. Its main change was the addition of a solid-fuel, thrust-vectoring booster underneath the missile. This section served to propel the missile out of its launch container, direct it toward the target, and then separate, allowing the main rocket engine to kick in. This eliminated the need for a cold-launch air pressure system by allowing the missile to take off under its own power.
The YDG-60N is a major upgrade to the YDG-60, introduced in 2017. While the midcourse inertial and command guidance system is the same, the missile's nose cone contains an {{wp|active radar homing}} guidance system. The [[Menghean Army]] ordered the development of this variant for its Chŏlgung-WR surface-to-air missile system as part of an effort to address two shortcomings of the YDG-60 system: each TELAR could only provide terminal guidance for one missile at a time, and if a target dropped below the {{wp|radar horizon}} (or behind a mountain or forest), the missile would lose its lock. With an active radar homing system, however, the YDG-60N can autonomously home in on any target which falls within its seeker's acquisition basket, allowing multiple missiles to be guided simultaneously to multiple targets even if line-of-sight to the TELAR is broken.


The YDG-60 also added {{wp|Cooperative Engagement Capability|cooperative engagement capability}}, meaning that {{wp|airborne early warning}} platforms with the correct datalinks can provide the missile with mid-course guidance if the launch battery's air search radar loses contact with the target. The combination of midcourse CEC and terminal ARH means that a Chŏlgung-WR battery can deploy in a city or forest with all of its radar antennas switched off and rely on other datalinked platforms to transmit target information and provide midcourse guidance. This makes the launch unit harder to detect and more resistant to {{wp|Suppression_of_Enemy_Air_Defenses|SEAD}} efforts, as it does not switch on any of its own radar systems at any stage in the process. The airborne early warning platforms, however, are still vulnerable to jamming and destruction.


==Chŏlgung-WR air defense system==
[[Image:Chŏlgung-WR_concept_art.png|400px|thumb|right|Concept art of a Chŏlgung-WR long-range air defense battery stationed in [[Argentstan]]. Note the two Y64G2BR TELARs in the foreground and the Y64G2BG TELTs and Y64G2JSR 3D air search radar and command post in the background.]]
The YDG-60 is one type of missile used by the [[Chŏlgung air defense system]], a family of surface-to-air missile systems in service with the [[Menghean Army]]. Batteries equipped with the YDG-60 are designated Chŏlgung-WR, with WR denoting ''wŏngŏri'', or "long-range." This was the first component of the Chŏlgung air defense system to enter service.


==Launch platforms==
Originally, the Menghean Army planned to use the [[IMCh-J Koppulso]] as the universal chassis for the Chŏlgung-WR air defense system. The Koppulso chassis was well-protected, had a proven record in service, and was also the basis for a number of other armored combat vehicles, including the [[JJP-152/48]] self-propelled artillery gun. Army evaluators, however, were dissatisfied with this initial version of the Chŏlgung-WR system: because of the small size of the chassis, it was not possible to build a TELAR with both missiles and a guidance radar, only a TELT (transporter, erector, launcher, and transloader) with a self-loading crane. This meant that each battery could only provide terminal guidance for a single missile, using the command vehicle, which prevented the use of a battery-level air search radar. Furthermore, the battery-level missile transport could carry eight reload canisters, but it lacked a crane to load itself from cargo trucks, and it could not elevate and fire its onboard missiles.
===JYDG-60===
The main ground-mobile variant of the YDG-60 missile is the JYDG-60 self-propelled SAM system. This consists of mobile missile batteries mounted on 8x8 wheeled trucks. The launch vehicles are {{wp|Transporter_erector_launcher|TELs}} rather than TELARs, and lack their own illumination radar systems - instead, they must rely on designation radars within the launch battery.


The JYDG-60 system comes in two variants, corresponding to the two main service variants of the missile. The '''JYDG-60G''' is designed for the cold-launched "G" variant, and carries three cylindrical missile tubes on each launch vehicle in a single row. The '''JYDG-60N''' system is an upgraded version for the "N" missile variant, and replaces the cylindrical missile tubes with four box launchers in a 2x2 arrangement. It also eliminates the need for an onboard cold-launch system. Both launch vehicles share the same supporting radar and command equipment, though the missile transporter and crane vehicle also differ somewhat, as they must handle the new missile boxes.
This early version of the Chŏlgung-WR battery was structured as follows:
* 1 × battery command post (STIR 2.4 guidance radar)
* 2 × TELT (4 × YDG-60 and reloading crane)
* 1 × missile transport (8 × YDG-60, not launch capable)


===HYB-60G===
As a solution, the Army ordered the development of a new Chŏlgung-WR system based on the [[IMCh-D Pokgunryong]] (Tyrannosaur) heavy common chassis. The IMCh-D is based on the hull of the [[JCh-6]] main battle tank, but it is "stretched" forward with an additional pair of road wheels, has thinner side armor, and places the crew in a lightly armored cab overhanging the front of the tracks. The larger size and rear-engine arrangement of the IMCh-D allowed for the design of a TELAR with an onboard STIR 2.4 radar antenna, doubling the number of simultaneous missile illuminations which a single battery can perform. This change also eliminated the need for a guidance radar on the battery command post; instead, this vehicle was fitted with a 3D air search radar, allowing the battery to operate as a fully autonomous unit. Finally, the missile transport was replaced by a transloader with an onboard crane and the ability to launch missiles (though these would have to be guided by another battery vehicle).
The HYB-60G (''Haegun Yudotan-Balsagi,'' "Navy Missile Launcher") was a revolver-style vertical launch system for the YDG-60G missile. Operationally, it was only ever mounted on the [[Emil-si class destroyer]]s, though during the late 1990s it was considered for certain hypothetical warship designs and at least one static land launcher was built for training and testing purposes.


Each HYB-60G revolver unit worked by carrying eight missile tubes on a rotating assembly, which would then turn to place individual missile tubes over a single, shared pressurized air valve. The missile atop this valve would then be propelled through a sliding hatch overhead, allowing the next missile tube to be rotated into place.
This allowed for the following battery structure:
* 1 × battery command post (3D air search radar)
* 2 × TELAR (4 × YDG-60 and STIR 2.4)
* 1 × TELT (4 × YDG-60 and reloading crane)


While impressive in its air-defense characteristics, the HYB-60G system could not load other missile types, and on the [[Haeju-class destroyer]]s onward it was replaced by a multi-mission hot-launch vertical launch system.
According to some sources, while the TELAR and TELT are usually loaded with four YDG-60 launch canisters, each vehicle is capable of carrying up to eight. The additional canisters would be stacked in a second row above the existing four, using the coupling braces around the Menghean Army's modified Mk41 VLS canisters. A blurry still shot from footage of a Menghean Army firing range shows this eight-cell arrangement on a TELAR vehicle, and TELTs with this arrangement have been photographed in [[Argentstan]]. Independent analysts speculate that the eight-missile loadout may represent a maximum surge capability, with standard loadouts kept at four missiles during peacetime due to the cost of producing YDG-60 missiles.


==See also==
==See also==

Latest revision as of 17:40, 16 June 2021

YDG-60
TypeSurface-to-air missile
Place of originTír Glas, Menghe
Service history
In service2006-present
Used byMenghe
WarsInnominadan Crisis
Production history
ManufacturerBuksŏng Industries Group
Unit cost$1.32 million (2020)
Produced2001-present
VariantsYDG-60G, YDG-60N
Specifications (YDG-60G)
Weight708 kg
Length4.72 m
Diameter340 mm

Wingspan1.07 m
PropellantDual-thrust solid-fuel rocket
Operational
range
165 km
Flight ceiling24,000 meters
SpeedMach 3.5
Guidance
system
Semi-active radar homing (YDG-60G)
Active radar homing (YDG-60N)
Steering
system
aerodynamic surfaces

The YDG-60 is a Menghean licensed derivative of the Glasic SM-2MR Block IIIA. The production license for the weapon was originally granted in 2001, though the missile was not operationally deployed until the destroyer HJ-364 Haeju was commissioned on 30 May 2006. The sale of SM-2MR production rights to Menghe accompanied the licensing of the Mark 41 Vertical Launching System, also first introduced on the destroyer Haeju. Following the breakdown of relations with Maverica in 2005, Menghe also developed a land-launched version of the YDG-60 system.

Description

Both variants of the YDG-60 are vertically launched; Menghe does not operate any arm-launched variants of the SM-2MR, having licensed the Block IIIA version at the outset.

The YDG-60G has a two-stage guidance system. Its onboard autopilot, which uses an inertial navigation system, follows the most efficient route to the programmed intercept point, cruising at high altitude where air resistance is lower. During this stage of the course, the missile receives regular midcourse command updates from the launch platform, keeping it on course and correcting its path if the target changes direction, speed, or altitude in an effort to evade.

As the missile comes closer to the target, the guidance antenna (usually a STIR 2.4) switches on and illuminates the target, and the missile relies on semi-active radar homing for the final stage of its course. This final stage only requires a few seconds of radar illumination, allowing the launching ship or missile battery to fire multiple missiles at spaced intervals and guide them one at a time as they reach their intercept points.

Role

In the ship-launched role, the YDG-60 was originally intended to provide a medium-range air defense bubble for Menghean ships and formations at sea. The YDG-39, already in service, had a longer range at 200 kilometers, but it could only be fired from rotary cold-launch VLS tubes. The YDG-60, by contrast, was more compact, and compatible with Mark 41 VLS cells. When carried by the Yechŏn-class frigates, it gave these ships a much larger air defense bubble than the Ansa-class frigates that preceded them, and allowed them to launch missiles at shorter intervals.

After the licensing of the longer-ranged YDG-62 in 2006, the Menghean Navy transitioned to treating the latter missile as its main long-range defensive weapon, while the YDG-64 took over the medium-range anti-air role.

Around this same time, the Menghean Army expressed interest in the YDG-60, which could be used to equip corps-level air defense units. It became a central part of the Chŏlgung air defense system, carried first on the IMCh-J Koppulso universal chassis and later on the IMCh-D Pokgunryong universal chassis. Though inferior in range to land-launched YDG-39 and YDG-62 missile systems, the YDG-60 could be carried in shorter missile canisters and thus fit on a TELAR chassis more easily. Thus, by the 2010s the Menghean Army became the primary user of the YDG-60 in Menghe, and its land-launched YDG-60 systems use tactical-length vertical launch canisters even though no Menghean Navy ship carries tactical-length VLS cells.

Variants

YDG-60G

The first variant of the YDG-60 missile was the YDG-60G. It was a direct licensed copy of the SM-2MR Block IIIA, the first Glasic variant designed to be launched from Mark 41 VLS cells. The YDG-60G has better low-altitude performance than preceding SM-2 missiles, making it more effective against sea-skimming missiles, but it lacks the secondary infrared seeker carried by the SM-2MR Block IIIB. Instead, it relies on inertial midcourse guidance with command updates and terminal semi-active radar homing guidance.

YDG-60N

The YDG-60N is a major upgrade to the YDG-60, introduced in 2017. While the midcourse inertial and command guidance system is the same, the missile's nose cone contains an active radar homing guidance system. The Menghean Army ordered the development of this variant for its Chŏlgung-WR surface-to-air missile system as part of an effort to address two shortcomings of the YDG-60 system: each TELAR could only provide terminal guidance for one missile at a time, and if a target dropped below the radar horizon (or behind a mountain or forest), the missile would lose its lock. With an active radar homing system, however, the YDG-60N can autonomously home in on any target which falls within its seeker's acquisition basket, allowing multiple missiles to be guided simultaneously to multiple targets even if line-of-sight to the TELAR is broken.

The YDG-60 also added cooperative engagement capability, meaning that airborne early warning platforms with the correct datalinks can provide the missile with mid-course guidance if the launch battery's air search radar loses contact with the target. The combination of midcourse CEC and terminal ARH means that a Chŏlgung-WR battery can deploy in a city or forest with all of its radar antennas switched off and rely on other datalinked platforms to transmit target information and provide midcourse guidance. This makes the launch unit harder to detect and more resistant to SEAD efforts, as it does not switch on any of its own radar systems at any stage in the process. The airborne early warning platforms, however, are still vulnerable to jamming and destruction.

Chŏlgung-WR air defense system

Concept art of a Chŏlgung-WR long-range air defense battery stationed in Argentstan. Note the two Y64G2BR TELARs in the foreground and the Y64G2BG TELTs and Y64G2JSR 3D air search radar and command post in the background.

The YDG-60 is one type of missile used by the Chŏlgung air defense system, a family of surface-to-air missile systems in service with the Menghean Army. Batteries equipped with the YDG-60 are designated Chŏlgung-WR, with WR denoting wŏngŏri, or "long-range." This was the first component of the Chŏlgung air defense system to enter service.

Originally, the Menghean Army planned to use the IMCh-J Koppulso as the universal chassis for the Chŏlgung-WR air defense system. The Koppulso chassis was well-protected, had a proven record in service, and was also the basis for a number of other armored combat vehicles, including the JJP-152/48 self-propelled artillery gun. Army evaluators, however, were dissatisfied with this initial version of the Chŏlgung-WR system: because of the small size of the chassis, it was not possible to build a TELAR with both missiles and a guidance radar, only a TELT (transporter, erector, launcher, and transloader) with a self-loading crane. This meant that each battery could only provide terminal guidance for a single missile, using the command vehicle, which prevented the use of a battery-level air search radar. Furthermore, the battery-level missile transport could carry eight reload canisters, but it lacked a crane to load itself from cargo trucks, and it could not elevate and fire its onboard missiles.

This early version of the Chŏlgung-WR battery was structured as follows:

  • 1 × battery command post (STIR 2.4 guidance radar)
  • 2 × TELT (4 × YDG-60 and reloading crane)
  • 1 × missile transport (8 × YDG-60, not launch capable)

As a solution, the Army ordered the development of a new Chŏlgung-WR system based on the IMCh-D Pokgunryong (Tyrannosaur) heavy common chassis. The IMCh-D is based on the hull of the JCh-6 main battle tank, but it is "stretched" forward with an additional pair of road wheels, has thinner side armor, and places the crew in a lightly armored cab overhanging the front of the tracks. The larger size and rear-engine arrangement of the IMCh-D allowed for the design of a TELAR with an onboard STIR 2.4 radar antenna, doubling the number of simultaneous missile illuminations which a single battery can perform. This change also eliminated the need for a guidance radar on the battery command post; instead, this vehicle was fitted with a 3D air search radar, allowing the battery to operate as a fully autonomous unit. Finally, the missile transport was replaced by a transloader with an onboard crane and the ability to launch missiles (though these would have to be guided by another battery vehicle).

This allowed for the following battery structure:

  • 1 × battery command post (3D air search radar)
  • 2 × TELAR (4 × YDG-60 and STIR 2.4)
  • 1 × TELT (4 × YDG-60 and reloading crane)

According to some sources, while the TELAR and TELT are usually loaded with four YDG-60 launch canisters, each vehicle is capable of carrying up to eight. The additional canisters would be stacked in a second row above the existing four, using the coupling braces around the Menghean Army's modified Mk41 VLS canisters. A blurry still shot from footage of a Menghean Army firing range shows this eight-cell arrangement on a TELAR vehicle, and TELTs with this arrangement have been photographed in Argentstan. Independent analysts speculate that the eight-missile loadout may represent a maximum surge capability, with standard loadouts kept at four missiles during peacetime due to the cost of producing YDG-60 missiles.

See also