YDJ-82
| YDJ-82 | |
|---|---|
| File:YDJ 82.png YDJ-82NRG demonstrator with MMW radar seeker | |
| Type | air-to-surface missile |
| Place of origin |  Menghe |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2009-present |
| Used by | Menghe The Oyashimese Federation |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Chŏnggong design bureau |
| Designed | 2005 |
| Unit cost | $140,000 (YDJ-82Ch new build 2014) |
| Produced | 2008-present |
| Variants | YDJ-82RGG, YDJ-82NRG, YDJ-82JOG, YDJ-82RGN |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 72 kilograms |
| Length | 1.98 m |
| Diameter | 21 cm |
| Wingspan | 49 cm |
| Propellant | solid fuel |
Operational range | 12 km (from helicopter or ground vehicle) 18 km (from fixed-wing aircraft) |
| Speed | 410 m/s (Mach 1.2) |
Guidance system | see "variants" |
Steering system | aerodynamic surfaces |
| Accuracy | claimed 1.2 meter CEP |
Launch platform | GHJ-28, GH-32 Byŏrakbul, GH-34 Yumog-in, Sŏngrim SL-6, Sŏngrim SL-8 |
The YDJ-82 (Menghean: 유도탄,대지 Yudotan, Daeji "Missile, Anti-Ground") is an advanced air-to-surface and surface-to-surface missile jointly developed by Menghe and The Oyashimese Federation. It is designed primarily to destroy enemy armor, but can also be used against small surface vessels and small structures. Like other missiles bearing the Menghean YDJ designation, it is designed primarily as an air-to-surface munition for use by helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. It can also be launched by a specialized ground vehicle, the JYDJ-82.
Development
Following the close of the Ummayan Civil War in 2005, military officials in the Socialist Republic of Menhge proposed that the country cooperate with the Oyashimese Federation to develop a fire-and-forget, air-to-ground anti-tank munition. This was motivated primarily by a perceived need to replace the aging YDJ-46, designed in 1987 but obsolete even for its time, with a smaller and more accurate missile. The Menghean military had already attempted several upgrades of the YDJ-46, but so far all had been deemed inefficient and most had failed to meet their design requirements.
Under the joint development agreement, the Oyashimese Federation was responsible for the seeker head and electronics, while the Menghean Chŏnggong design bureau was responsible for the airframe, warhead, and engine. This was deemed the most efficient division of labor, as the Oyashimese military electronics industry was considerably more advanced than its Menghean counterpart at the time. Likewise, the production of the missile body itself in Menghe was intended to reduce production costs as a means of counterbalancing the seeker's complexity. Work on the design began in 2005 and incorporated existing missile airframe work from Chŏnggong's past efforts at a YDJ-46 replacement. The laser-guided "RGG" variant entered service in 2009, and the "NRG" variant entered service two years later.
Design
Guidance
The first variant to enter service, YDJ-82RGG, was guided by a semi-active laser homing device. This variant of the missile had to acquire the target before firing, and required that the target be continuously illuminated by the laser designator for its entire flight. From the beginning this was seen primarily as an interim solution to be replaced by the YDJ-82NRG, which featured a millimeter-wave radar seeker. The latter guidance system fulfilled the original requirement for a fire-and-forget weapon, as the missile would illuminate its target autonomously. It was also given a lock-on-after-launch capability, meaning that once fired it would independently seek out targets near its destination coordinates, using a satellite-navigation system with inertial backup to find the target area.
As an additional safety measure in case the millimeter-wave system proved too complex, the Menghean military also requested that an imaging-infrared variant be developed with similar fire-and-forget, lock-on-after-launch capabilities. While this "JOG" variant was initially manufactured simultaneously with the YDJ-82NRG, production was stopped after tests found the latter's capability to be sufficient.
Warhead
YDJ-82 variants ending in "G" are fitted with a tandem shaped-charge HEAT warhead weighing 15.5 kilograms. The tandem-charge layout is intended to increase effectiveness against tanks fitted with explosive reactive armor (ERA) by using a precursor charge to prematurely detonate the ERA plate and allow the larger main charge to penetrate the armor beneath. To further improve effectiveness against armor, the missile is programmed to follow a steep top-attack trajectory in the final stage of its course, landing it on the weaker top armor rather than the better-protected front.
A different variant of the missile intended for attacks on softer targets was introduced in 2012. This variant, given the additional designator "N," is fitted with a 16.1-kilogram high-explosive, prefragmented charge in place of the HEAT warhead. This variant has only been deployed in laser-guided form. Initially, radar-guided and IIR-guided variants were planned as light anti-ship weapons, but the YDJ-83 later filled this role.
Propulsion
Propulsion is provided by a solid-fuel rocket engine. From a stationary, low-altitude launch, maximum operational range is cited as 12 kilometers. When launched from a fixed-wing platform, traveling at speed in the thinner air of higher altitudes, the effective range can reach up to 18 kilometers.
Land-launch platform
The YDJ-82 missile was unveiled to the public during the National Day Parade on May 25, 2010, when crowds in the city of Donggyŏng were treated to the sight of a full company of BSCh-6 APCs carrying the YDJ-82 missile on external launch rails. This vehicle, referred to as the "JYDJ-82/4G," was described in the parade narration as an advanced anti-tank vehicle carrying the new joint-developed anti-tank missile.
At the time, the YDJ-82NRG variant's millimeter-wave radar seeker had yet to pass the final round of testing, and the tracked vehicles were carrying the YDJ-82RGG which needed to achieve a lock on the designated target prior to launch. In practical terms, this limited the vehicle to line-of-sight engagements. This assumption was confirmed by the placement of a large laser-designation and fire-control optics system on the hull roof.
Later variants of the JYDJ-82, however, have been made compatible with the more advanced JOG and NRG variants of the missile, allowing fire-and-forget engagements against targets on which the launcher does not have a direct line of sight. In a televised press conference held on January 20, 2012, General Kang of the Fifth Army referred to this advance as "one that will revolutionize the future of anti-tank warfare." In theory, a JYDJ-82NRG launcher concealed up to a dozen kilometers behind the front lines could provide anti-tank missile strikes for ground troops who provide the coordinates further ahead, serving as a sort of anti-tank artillery. This more unique role seems to be confirmed by the fact that the system has been delivered to operational units as a separate tank-destroyer company at the regimental level, rather than as a replacement for existing anti-tank vehicles.
The JYDJ-82/4N also placed its missiles in sealed containers rather than open launch rails. This modification was intended to reduce corrosion when the missiles are stored outside the vehicle for extended periods of time, a fault hastily corrected on the "G" variant with canvas covers. The boxes also provide a minor degree of protection against small-arms fire and light shrapnel. In addition to the four ready missiles carried on the external launcher, four reloads are carried inside the vehicle. The JYDJ-82/4N is unable to reload the launcher automatically, and does not carry stored reload missiles.
Variants
- YDJ-82RGG: Anti-tank variant with SALH guidance.
- YDJ-82JOG: Anti-tank variant with IIR guidance; only in limited service.
- YDJ-82NRG: Anti-tank variant with MMW radar guidance. The most common variant in service.
- YDJ-82RGN: HE-charge variant with SALH guidance.