YDH-28
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The YDH-28 (Formal designation: 28식 대함 유도탄 / 二八式對艦誘導彈, i-pal-sik daeham yudotan, "Type 28 anti-ship missile;" Short designation 유대함-28 Yudaeham-ipal "YDH-28") is a type of subsonic anti-ship missile developed in Menghe during the early 2000s. It is intended as a heavier, longer-range counterpart to the YDH-26, and it can be fired from the Mark 41 Vertical Launching System or from specialized vertical launch tubes on submarines. It also has a land-attack cruise missile variant, designated SY-28.
Development
In 1996, the Menghean Navy commissioned a study evaluating the advantages of supersonic and subsonic missiles for anti-ship missions. Previous development work under the Democratic People's Republic of Menghe had focused on heavy supersonic missiles like the YDH-23, and while the subsonic YDH-24 represented a major improvement over the YDH-22, it was still regarded as a disappointing weapon. Though the MoND's naval doctrine staff still favored heavy supersonic missiles, the theoretical study concluded that intermediate-range subsonic missiles could deliver the same warhead at a greater range on a smaller airframe, with similar resistance to jamming and more difficult detection. Contemporary experience supported these findings: The YDH-25, licensed from Letnia, had a range of 120 kilometers in a lo-lo trajectory, only slightly more than the small YDH-26 was projected to achieve. Another deciding factor came in 1999, when Menghe and Tír Glas began negotiations on a production license for the Mark 41 Vertical Launching System. Though the license was not approved until 2001, and the first Menghean ships carrying Mk 41 modules did not go to sea until 2005, the possibility of a domestic or foreign vertical launch system revealed the need for a compact, vertically-launched, long-range anti-ship missile.
The YDH-28 was developed in parallel with the lighter, shorter-ranged YDH-26, and was intended to complement it, not replace it. While the YDH-26 was designed by the Buksŏng Industries Group, formerly Institute 92, the YDH-28 was designed by the Navy Development Arsenal. It incorporated some components and experience from Buksŏng, but most development was conducted by the Menghean Navy as an in-house endeavor. The missile entered production in 2007, first for surface ship VLS, with deliveries of the submarine-launched variant beginning in 2009.
Design
Flight trajectory
Variants (YDH-28)
SY-28
The SY-28 (Formal designation: 28식 순항 유도탄 / 二八式巡航誘導彈, i-pal-sik sunhang yudotan, "Type 28 cruise missile;" Short designation 순유-28 Sunyu-ipal "SY-28") is a land-attack cruise missile based on the YDH-28 airframe. It uses the same missile body, turbojet engine, and launch interface as the YDH-28, but with a different warhead module and guidance system. Rather than active radar homing, the SY-28 relies on a combination of inertial guidance, satellite guidance, and terrain contour matching, and can follow a pre-programmed indirect course to the target, including low-altitude terrain-following to avoid detection. Like the YDH-28, the missile's datalink can also transmit targeting information to a nearby friendly ship or aircraft, useful for assessing strike damage from preceding missiles.