Daesŭngri DS-5
| Daesŭngri DS-5 | |
|---|---|
| Role | Fighter aircraft (G var.) Attack aircraft (N var.) Multirole aircraft (D var.) |
| National origin | DPRM |
| Manufacturer | Daesŭngri Aircraft Design Bureau |
| First flight | 1974 |
| Introduction | 1977 |
| Primary user | Menghean Army |
| Produced | 1977-1999 |
| Number built | 865 |
The Daesŭngri DS-5 (Formal designation: 대승리 5호 전투기 / 大勝利五號戰鬪機, Daesŭngri O-ho Jŏntugi, "Daesŭngri No.5 Fighter;" Short designation 대승-5 Daesŭng-o "Daesŭng-5") is a single-seat, third-generation jet fighter developed in the Democratic People's Republic of Menghe by the Daesŭngri Aircraft Design Bureau. It was the first Menghean jet aircraft of entirely domestic design. Key features included variable-sweep wings and a radar capable of guiding radar-guided air-to-air missiles.
Over the course of its 22-year production span, the DS-5 was built in twelve major variants, including an air superiority fighter (DS-5G), a dedicated ground-attack aircraft (DS-5N), a reconnaissance platform (DS-5JCh), a carrier-based fighter (DS-5HM), two multiroles (DS-5D and DS-5R), and twin-seat trainer variants for most of these. Nearly 1,700 were produced in total between 1977 and 1999. The DS-5R remains in active service with several mid-readiness squadrons in the Menghean Army.
Development
The DPRM's first two jet fighters, the DS-1 and DS-2, were highly agile and easy to produce, but suffered from a number of shortcomings related to the age of their designs. Both lacked the ability to use radar-guided AAMs, and while the DS-2N did incorporate a ranging radar in the nose, this was only good out to 12 kilometers and could not distinguish between aerial targets and ground clutter. Later DS-2 variants could carry heat-seeking AAMs like the YGG-1 and YGG-2, but their lack of long-range missiles severely limited their usefulness against rival Dayashinese and Tyrannian aircraft, especially in BVR engagements.
At the end of the 1960s, the Menghean Ministry of Defense reached out to Letnia to inquire about a production license for the MiG-23, which was just beginning to enter service. Letnian representatives initially considered the state-of-the-art MiG-23 too advanced to license freely, but made the counter-offer to export knocked-down MiG-23 assembly kits starting in 1974. The MPA considered this deadline far too distant, and also worried that shipment by sea would leave the planes vulnerable to interception by foreign naval powers, who controlled the key straits and coastlines between Menghe and Letnia.
As negotiations remained at an impasse, some officials in the Menghean People's Communist Party proposed that the DPRM's aircraft industry was sufficiently advanced to attempt a fully domestic design project, adapted to suit the Army's own needs and requirements. This view found support among the Party's "Productionist" faction, led by Sim Jin-hwan, who was officially sworn in as General-Secretary in January 1971. The development and production contract was handed to the Daesŭngri design bureau, which had experience producing the DS-1 and DS-2 lightweight fighters and at the time had the largest accumulation of design expertise; Songrim's SR-3G was a direct copy of the Letnian Or-7, and Yŏng'an only had experience producing heavy bombers.
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Throughout the 1960s, the Menghe People’s Air Force’s most advanced fighter aircraft was the Daesungri DS-2, a second-generation jet fighter with swept wings and a conical nose intake. While the DS-2 was capable of using the early YGG-1 heat-seeking missile, it lacked a targeting radar, which prevented it from engaging targets at long range and from angles other than the rear. Its top speed, slightly below Mach 2, was impressive at the time of its introduction but put it well below new jet fighters entering service with other militaries. As such, in 1968 the Menghe government assigned the Daesŭngri design bureau the task of developing a replacement with greater combat capability.
In order to achieve a sufficiently high top speed while retaining low-speed agility and a short takeoff distance, the designers opted for a variable-geometry design. They also decided to move to all-moving stabilitators in place of fixed stabilizers with moving elevators like the DS-2. The first proposal, tentatively designated DS-3, resembled an enlarged DS-2 with variable sweep for the outer half of the wing.
This concept was abandoned, however, before any functioning prototypes were built, as it left insufficient space for the radar set. DS-4, the second proposal, essentially started from scratch, using a full-size nose cone and shifting the intakes to either side of the cockpit. It also raised the wings from the mid-lower fuselage to form a “shoulder” arrangement, and moved the pivot points further inward. Some members of the design team, however, expressed concerns about the retention of a single-engine powerplant. Operational experience with the DS-2, and especially its less reliable A variant, had revealed multiple instances in which pilots had to eject or ditch during patrols because the engine had cut out in flight. As such, the Daesŭngri team produced a second design study, DS-5, which incorporated two smaller engines in place of a single large one. In theory, this would allow the plane to limp back to the nearest airbase under half power if one of its engines failed or sustained damage. The DS-5 also moved the engine intakes further back, placing them underneath the fixed portion of the wing.
Two prototypes were built, one in either configuration, and the first test flights began in 1974. According to official records, the DS-4 was slightly better in acceleration and top speed, but the Air Force representatives agreed with the second team’s engine reliability concerns and selected the DS-5. For its part, the DS-5 was lighter and more agile, but this came at the cost of a shorter range and reduced acceleration. Full-scale production began in 1975, with the first operational fighters arriving in front-line units by 1978.
Design (DS-5A)
Performance
All DS-5 variants are driven by two DFS-5K90 turbojets in a conventional side-by-side layout. Though less powerful than the single engine trialed on the DS-4, this theoretically ensures that if a single engine is lost the aircraft can still limp back to a friendly airstrip. Because the engines are directly adjacent, however, any hit that knocks out one is likely to damage the other, and any widespread flame can easily spread.
The outer wing sections of the DS-5 can adjust to pre-set angles for a leading-edge sweep of 21, 45, or 79 degrees. Even at maximum sweep, its agility is limited by the high wing loading typical of non-delta designs. The type’s light overall weight helps compensate for this, but comes at the cost of a less sturdy structure; in combat, the DS-5 has proven relatively fragile, seldom able to return to base after sustaining damage.
Armament
The DS-5A has a total of five external hardpoints: two under each wing, and one centered beneath the fuselage. Of the wing hardpoints, the outer two are mounted on the variable-geometry sections of the wing, and automatically rotate to face forward at different wing angles. In early service, a typical air-to-air loadout consisted of two YGG-3 radar-guided missiles on the inner wing hardpoints and two ShK-1K heat-seeking missiles on the outer ones. The centerline hardpoint was not wired to carry missiles, and was usually hooked up to a drop tank to extend the fighter’s limited operational range. Later variants (see side image and text below) added compatibility with more advanced air-to-air missiles, and with a variety of ground-attack munitions.
Gun armament remained an important part of the design process, as the Daesŭngri design bureau and the Menghe People’s Air Force still believed that missiles were not sufficiently reliable and needed a fighter that could continue close-range or low-level engagements after its air-to-air missiles were exhausted. As such, the DS-5A was given two 30mm autocannons, one on either side of the nose just beneath the pilot’s seat.
Variants
DS-5B
In 1976, two years before the DS-5A entered service, the Menghe People’s Air Force expressed interest in developing a “fighter-bomber” version for the ground-attack role. Prior to then, the DS-2B fulfilled this mission, but it was ill-protected and armed only with unguided rockets. At this time, the Sunglin design bureau was nearing completion of its SL-6 tactical bomber, but the Daesŭngri design bureau attempted to pre-empt them by expanding the DS-5 project to include a “fighter-bomber” for the ground attack role.
The resulting DS-5B was externally similar, but its hardpoints were rewired to accept air-to-ground munitions like the PD-41 and PD-42 anti-tank missiles and the PD-43 anti-radiation missile. They were also reinforced to allow the use of heavier munitions, especially with the redesign of the centerline hardpoint to carry bombs, though maximum payload remained relatively light at 3,000 kilograms. The DS-5B retained the MBR-200 radar, mainly to cue targets for the anti-radiation missiles and alert the pilot to enemy aircraft, but due to the hardpoint redesign it was only able to fire heat-seeking missiles.
DS-5Ch
An indirect outgrowth of the DS-5B program, the DS-5Ch is a dedicated “tactical reconnaissance” variant which is used to survey the distribution of enemy forces and assess the damage from artillery and airstrikes. Unlike all other non-trainer aircraft in the DS-5 family, it is a two-seater, with a heavily modified cockpit area in which the rear crew member mans the camera and other reconnaissance equipment. The nose section is also extended, allowing the installation of supporting equipment for an integral forward-facing camera, though to increase space and reduce weight this required the deletion of both 30mm autocannons. which first entered service in 1982. It typically mounts a camera system or SIGINT pod on the center hardpoint.
To compensate for the DS-5’s poor operational range, the inner-wing hardpoints are nearly always fitted with drop tanks, though aircraft have also been spotted with anti-radiation missiles and jamming equipment. The outermost hardpoints, where they are used, are usually fitted with heat-seeking air-to-air missiles for self-defense.
DS-5HM
While the DS-5 project was still underway, Menghe was also working on its first aircraft carrier, the IMS Shinbeigang. This led to the diversion of resources to a new variant which could serve as Menghe’s new shipborne jet fighter. The resulting DS-5HM (항공모함, hanggongmuham, "aircraft carrier") resembled the DS-5A, but was treated with corrosion-resistant materials and had a tail hook for barrier-arrested recovery. It did not have upward-folding wings, instead placing the wings in their swept position to reduce its deck footprint.
In the mid-1980s, work was underway on a new carrier variant which applied the same changes as the DS-5D (see below), but testing stopped in 1987 due to the disturbance of the Decembrist Revolution. Testing was resumed in early 1989, with the resulting DS-5HMD entering service in 1992. Seven years later in 1999, a series of upgrades from the DS-5E project were applied to these aircraft, producing the DS-5HME.
DS-5D
The DS-5D arose as a response to concerns that the DS-5A was becoming outdated in the air-to-air role. It incorporated the more powerful MBR-400 radar set, which extended the effective detection range and allowed more targets to be tracked at once. This made DS-5D the first variant to have true look-down, shoot-down capability, and the first capable of beyond-visual-range engagements, albeit at the lower bound of the definition. It was also rewired for compatibility with more recent air-to-air missiles, and given a somewhat more effective electronic warfare suite. To make room for the larger radome, and to remove redundant weight, it eliminated the right-side 30mm autocannon, leaving only the one on the left.
Due to the extensiveness of the changes, the -D upgrade could not be retrofitted onto existing aircraft, and was instead filled through new production. The first deliveries of DS-5Ds began in 1985, and production continued into the 1990s.
DS-5E
A further upgrade commissioned by the Menghean government, the DS-5E first entered service in 1997. It originated as an interim project to fill the Menghean People's Air Force’s air superiority role until more advanced aircraft like the DS-12 and SL-8 could enter service in sufficient numbers. It was also designed to maximize the modularity of changes, allowing the upgrade to be applied to the existing DS-5D fleet.
As such, most of the changes concerned minor improvements to electronics and instruments, including compatibility with new air-to-air missiles and a slightly more sophisticated electronic warfare suite. The design team also added integration with a wider variety of air-to-ground munitions, forming the first DS-5 with true multirole capability. Many of these require the DZM-900 electro-optical support pod and DZM-800 laser designator, which are carried on new hardpoints underneath the intakes. Nevertheless, the plane’s short range and poor payload limited its usefulness.
Other Variants
- DS-5HR: (훈련기, Hunryŏngi, "trainer aircraft") trainer with a lengthened cockpit differing from the one on the DS-5Ch, introduced alongside the original DS-5A. It uses a smaller radar set to allow room for a larger downward-sloping canopy, and has a shorter range. It is not considered usable in combat.
Service
Menghe
Between the late 1970s and the early 2000s, the DS-5 in its various forms was the main combat aircraft of the Menghean People’s Air Force. Over 2,500 were produced in all, about half of them in the D and E variants. During the 1990s and early 2000s, the Menghean People's Air Force began replacing some DS-5s with the more advanced DS-12, but this proceeded at a relatively slow pace.
Since the 2005 military reforms, which merged the Menghean People's Air Force into Menghean Army Aviation, new production of DS-5s stopped and a serious effort was made to replace the fleet. As of 2014, only a few active units still operate the DS-5, most notably the 6th Frontal Army Aviation Corps (which replaced these with DS-12s in 2016). Some 1,200 DS-5s remain in service with reservist units, most of them in the D and E variants.
The DS-5HM was the standard carrier aircraft of the Menghe People’s Navy, and the Sinbukgang-class aircraft carriers were designed with the type in mind. After the ISS Chikai was decommissioned in 2015, the last DS-5HHEs were withdrawn from service, though some are still on display at the Haeju National Naval Museum where the Chikai now resides.
The last DS-5Ch was retired from active service in 2012; the “tactical reconnaissance” role has largely been taken up by unmanned platforms instead, although the reconnaissance variant of the Daesŭngri DS-8 still remains in use for certain reconnaissance roles.
Other Users
Dzhungestan: 60 DS-5As purchased in 1981. In the 1990s, the government purchased an additional 60 DS-5Bs and 60 DS-5Ds.
Qusayn: 70 DS-5As and 40 FD-5Bs purchased in 1983; as of 2014, they are still in active service.- Template:Country data Ummayah: About 200 DS-5s in service prior to the Ummayan Civil War, split roughly evenly between DS-5As and DS-5Bs.
Specifications (DS-5E)
General Characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 16.32 meters overall
- Wingspan, extended: 13.33 meters
- Wingspan, swept: 7.14 meters
- Height: 4.36 meters (on the ground, gear out)
- Wing Area: 29.46 square meters spread
- Empty Weight: 9,220 kg (20,330 lbs)
- Loaded Weight: 13,800 kg (29,760 lbs)
- Maximum Takeoff Weight: 16,950 kg (37,370 lbs)
- Powerplant: 2x DFS-5K90 turbojet
- Dry Thrust: 36 kN (8090 lbs-force) each
- Thrust with Afterburner: 57 kN (12810 lbs-force) each
- Fuel Capacity: 3,860 kg (8,578 lbs)
Performance
- Maximum Speed at Sea Level: Mach 1.10 (1348 km/h)
- Maximum Speed at High Altitude: Mach 2.23 (2812 km/h)
- Combat Radius: 780 km with 4 AAMs and no external tanks
- Service Ceiling: 16,500 meters
- Rate of Climb: 220 meters per second
- Wing Loading: 468 kg/m2
- Thrust-to-Weight Ratio: 0.82 (afterburner at loaded weight)
Armament
- Guns: 1x BGP-30-1 autocannon (2x BGP-30-1 on -A and -B)
- Payload: 3,500 kg on 5 external hardpoints
- 1x 1,000-kg hardpoint (fuselage centerline)
- 2x 1,000-kg hardpoint (fixed wing inner section)
- 2x 250-kg hardpoint (variable wing outer hardpoint)