YDG-64
| YDG-64 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) YDG-64 launched from the frigate Yuyang. | |
| Type | Medium-range surface-to-air missile |
| Place of origin | Dayashina, Menghe |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2010 |
| Used by | Menghe |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Samsan Defense |
| Unit cost | ₩26.8 million ($1.2 million OSD) |
| Produced | 2009-present |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 280 kg |
| Length | 3.66 m |
| Diameter | 254 mm |
| Warhead | 39 kg fragmentation |
Detonation mechanism | Proximity fuze |
| Engine | solid fuel rocket |
Operational range | 50km+ |
| Speed | Mach 4+ |
Guidance system | semi-active radar homing with mid-course update datalink |
Launch platform | Naval: * Mk 29 box launcher * Mk 41 VLS * Yongorŭm 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 version of the Dayashinese RIM-162 ESSM. Menghe obtained the production license in 2009, and the first Menghean production missile was first test-fired in 2010. In addition to using the YDG-64 aboard warships, Menghe has also developed it into a major land-based air defense system, part of the Changgung and Chŏlgung air defense systems.
Description
In Dayashina, the ESSM was developed from the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow, and was designed for greater accuracy and range with vertical launch capability. Menghe expressed interest in the system as it was under development, and in 2009 the two countries reached a joint agreement under which Samsan Defense would produce missiles under license in Menghe. As such, the YDG-64 is effectively identical to the RIM-162 Block 1, though it has seen the incorporation of some domestic components over the years.
The YDG-64 employs semi-active radar homing guidance, with a passive seeker following the reflected signal from a target illuminated by a separate radar. An active-radar variant is reportedly under development but not yet in service. This SARH guidance is combined with radio command guidance during the first half of the flight path, with the missile following mid-course updates transmitted from the launch platform. This initial command stage can be used to set up an overhead diving trajectory against sea-skimming anti-ship missiles, to improve the likelihood of successful interception, or to set up a head-on trajectory against rockets and short-range ballistic missiles, improving the likelihood of an interception which destroys the target's warhead.
As long as the target is illuminated by the guidance radar, the YDG-64 can also be employed as a backup anti-ship missile, when other anti-ship weapons are not available. Its high speed presents the target with a limited reaction time, but its warhead, only 39 kilograms, limits its effectiveness in the anti-ship role.
As an ESSM copy, the YDG-64 was originally intended as a self-defense weapon for warships. It is compatible with the same launch containers as the ESSM, and can be loaded into Mk 41 VLS modules, which were purchased for Menghe's Haeju-class destroyers. In order to arm lighter vessels with less hull space, the Menghean Navy also introduced a new 4-meter-deep VLS cell option, capable of carrying the YDG-64 and possibly other short-length missiles in the future.
The naval YDG-64 is usually guided by the YR-35 radar guidance module. Each module is 1.98 meters tall and 1.25 meters wide, and can rotate over a 360-degree arc, though its field of view is usually limited by the ship's superstructure. The module contains an AESA radar antenna which is capable of guiding eight missiles toward four targets. The guidance module also features an electro-optical targeting system, which is unable to perform missile guidance but can provide course-correction information and improve the tracking of small-RCS targets.
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, which might be delivered from outside its effective range.
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.