WYGP-100 Saehorigi
| WYGP-100 Saehorigi | |
|---|---|
| Type | Precision-guided glide bomb |
| Place of origin | Menghe |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2017-present |
| Used by | Menghe |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Gwŏn-un Industries Group |
| Unit cost | ₩800,000 ($36,000) in 2017 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 1.78 m |
| Height | 250 mm |
| Diameter | 192 mm |
| Warhead | Reinforced steel penetrating bomb |
| Warhead weight | 100 kg (total) 16 kg enhanced bursting charge |
| Wingspan | 1.35 m (extended) |
Operational range | 100 km |
Guidance system | CSNS and inertial |
| Accuracy | 5-10 m CEP |
Launch platform | Songrim SR-8 Daesŭngri DS-9 Daesŭngri DS-10 Songrim SR-12 |
The WYGP-100 Saehorigi is a type of lightweight guided glide bomb developed in Menghe. It has a total mass of 125 kg, and under optimal conditions it can glide to a distance of up to 100 kilometers. It uses a combination of inertial guidance and satellite guidance to home in on a stationary target with known coordinates, such as a bunker, hangar, or command post. The bomb's small size and light weight allow multiple bombs to be carried on a single rack; both four-bomb and two-bomb racks exist.
The designation WYGP stands for wisŏng yudo gosŏngnŭng poktan, or "satellite-guided high explosive bomb," and 100 refers to the mass (in kilograms) of the bomb body minus its guidance unit. "Saehorigi" is the Menghean term for the Hemithean hobby, a type of small falcon with long, slender wings.
Description
The WYGP-100 is built around a 100-kilogram, 192-mm-diameter bomb unit with a reinforced steel body and a 16-kilogram bursting charge. The tail section contains four motor-actuated fins for guidance corrections, a CSNS guidance unit, and an inertial reference unit, both of which can be calibrated from the aircraft before release. In the storage configuration, the underside of the bomb is covered by a lightweight fairing with two folded wings. After release, these extend into a pair of rhomboidal joined wings, and the bomb inverts itself to glide with the wing side up.
In addition to reducing drag, the narrow bomb body gives the WYGP-100 good ground-penetrating capabilities: when dropped from high altitude, it can penetrate one meter of earth followed by one meter of reinforced concrete. Though inadequate against deep or heavy bunkers, this figure is adequate for defeating most concrete-reinforced hangars, ammunition depots, underground fuel tanks, and battlefield fortifications. The fuse is programmable, allowing delayed detonation for ground-penetrating strikes, air burst detonation for wide-area effects on soft surface targets, or simple contact detonation.
If the bomb's satellite and inertial coordinates are properly updated before release, it can achieve a circular error probable of 5 meters. If the seeker unit detects high variation indicative of satellite guidance jamming, it switches to pure inertial guidance, resulting in less accuracy than ideal CSNS guidance but better accuracy than jammed or spoofed CSNS guidance.
Glide performance
Because the WYGP-100 is a glide bomb rather than a powered missile, its range depends greatly upon its initial altitude, momentum, and release angle. High-altitude winds and other atmospheric conditions can also affect glide performance, and must be accounted for when planning a strike. To achieve ideal range, the launch aircraft must ascend to high altitude and release the bomb during a high-speed climb. A cockpit display alerts the pilot when the bomb's guidance unit determines that its speed, trajectory, and differential altitude allow it to reach the target with high probability. This high-altitude release method has the disadvantage of exposing the launch aircraft to long-range surface-to-air missile systems such as the S-300, SAMP/T (with Aster-30), and COFFIN-ER.
Speed and release angle effects also mean that the WYGP-100 has greatly inferior range when released from most unmanned aerial vehicles, which have a low maximum speed and climb rate. Both Gwŏn-un and the Buksŏng Industries Group are exploring the idea of mounting WYGP-100 bombs on HALE drones to compensate for this drawback, but as of yet the bomb is only approved on medium-altitude UAV models.