YDG-64
| YDG-64 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) YDG-64 launched from the forward Mk41 VLS block of the Chunchŏn-class frigate Juta. | |
| Type | Medium-range surface-to-air missile |
| Place of origin | Tír Glas, Menghe |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2012 |
| Used by | Menghe |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Buksŏng Industries Group |
| Unit cost | ₩26.8 million ($1.2 million OSD) |
| Produced | 2012-present |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 280 kg |
| Length | 3.66 m |
| Diameter | 255 mm |
| Warhead | 39 kg fragmentation |
Detonation mechanism | Proximity fuze |
| Engine | solid fuel rocket |
Operational range | 55 km |
| Speed | Mach 4+ |
Guidance system | active radar homing with mid-course update datalink |
Launch platform | Naval: * Mk 41 VLS Land: * Changgung air defense system * Chŏlgung air defense system |
The YDG-64 (Menghean: 유대공-64 Yudaegong-64, abbr. for 유도탄, 대공 Yudotan, Daegong "Missile, Anti-Air") is Menghe's designation for a license-produced variant of the Glasic Sea Spear missile. Menghe obtained the production license in 2011, and the first Menghean missile was test-fired the following year. It can be fired from the Mark 41 Vertical Launching System on Menghean warships, and it is also used by the Changgung and Chŏlgung air defense systems.
Though the missile body of the YDG-64 is derived from the Sea Spear I, its seeker and guidance system are derived from the YDG-7N, a surface-to-air variant of the YGG-7 Hwasal air-to-air missile. This gives the missile active radar homing capability, compared with semi-active radar homing on the Sea Spear I. This allows a surface launch position to vector the YDG-64 to a target using command guidance, with the YDG-64 autonomously acquiring the target in the terminal stage. Where necessary, the YDG-64 can also use a semi-active radar homing mode to home in on an illuminated target, improving accuracy in jamming-heavy environments.
Description
In Glasic service, Sea Spear was derived from the Skybolt missile, and was designed as a medium-range defensive weapon for warships. Menghe expressed interest in the system in the mid-2010s, and in 2011 the two countries reached a joint agreement under which the Buksŏng Industries Group would produce missiles under license in Menghe.
Because the Menghean Navy already operated the YDG-7N surface-to-air missile with an active radar seeker, it was decided that Buksŏng would develop a variant of the YDG-64 equipped with an active radar homing seeker and guidance module; otherwise, the YDG-64 would be inferior to its predecessor in the number of possible simultaneous target intercepts. The seeker was directly carried over from that of the YDG-7N, but fitted in a larger-diameter nose cone to match the wider missile body. The YDG-7N's two-way datalink was also carried over, allowing the launch platform to issue continuous mid-course updates to the missile and receive targeting information from its seeker.
The YDG-64 was originally procured as a self-defense weapon for warships, particularly the Yechŏn-class frigates. It can be quadpacked into Mk 41 VLS canisters, increasing the number of missiles carried by a ship. It is also compatible with self-defense-length (4.32-meter) Mark 41 VLS cells, which appear on the Yechŏn-class frigate and other light vessels.
Because the YDG-64 uses active radar guidance, there is no practical limit on the number of surface-to-air missiles which a ship can guide simultaneously, except for the guidance limit imposed by the ship's datalink system. This makes the YDG-64 ideal for self-defense against large numbers of anti-ship missiles. In a jamming-intensive environment, the YDG-64 can also home in on targets illuminated by a STIR 1.2, STIR 2.4, or CEAMOUNT radar antenna. This limits the number of simultaneous engagements, but increases accuracy in a jamming-intensive environment and increases the probability of acquiring a target with a small radar cross-section.
With a range of 55 kilometers (30 nautical miles), the YDG-64 is only able to provide a small defensive umbrella, making it less effective than the YDG-39, YDG-60, YDG-63, or YDG-68 in the long-range air defense role but generally effective at self-defense or defense of a nearby ship.
Land systems
While Menghe did not design the YDG-64 missile itself, it was the first country to see its potential as a land-based weapon. Before sea trials with the YDG-64 were complete, the Menghean Army had already tested quadpacked YDG-64 containers on the multi-purpose 50JB2 TELAR, and design work was underway on wheeled launchers.
In the Menghean Army, the YDG-64 is mainly used as a divisional air-defense weapon, or for the protection of high-value targets such as large unit headquarters. It complements the YDG-62 at the corps level. In addition to fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, the YDG-64 is also capable of engaging cruise missiles, guided bombs, short-range ballistic missiles, and other large air-to-ground precision-guided munitions.
In the tracked Chŏlgung air defense system, the YDG-64 is launched by the 50JB TELAR and the 50UB TEL and transloader. The 50JB carries four missile canisters and a dual-purpose E/F-band radar which can both search for targets in a chosen 120-degree sector and illuminate four targets for eight missiles. The 50UB transloader is fitted with a crane instead of a radar array, and mainly exists to resupply TEL vehicles, but it can also elevate and fire missiles at targets illuminated by another radar in the battery. Both vehicles have a crew of four, and they use the same IMCh-J Koppulso tracked chassis, to streamline supply and maintenance.
When used by the lighter Changgung air defense system, the YDG-64 is launched from a dedicated TEL which relies on a separate radar vehicle for air search and guidance. The Changgung-type YDG-64 battery has fewer missiles per launch vehicle and fewer radars per battery, but it is also less expensive and faster on roads, making it a preferable option for rear-area air defense.
All Army launchers for the YDG-64 use the same modular storage system, consisting of a standard 4-meter self-defense-length VLS canister of the same type procured for the Navy. Two steel braces are added around the canister to allow them to mount onto the launch vehicle's arm; these also allow missile canisters to be stacked and attached to one another. As with the naval VLS canisters, the YDG-64 is quadpacked, meaning that one 50UB transloader with eight canisters carries as many as 32 YDG-64 missiles.