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At the recent Zhuhai Air Show, we can see that a clear feature is that manufacturers of various weapons products are willing to work hard in the serial development of weapons products in order to constantly adapt to the changing market demand and meet the different special requirements of the customer market. At the 2018 Zhuhai Air Show, the "Tianlong" 30 air defense missile was unveiled for the first time, expanding and enriching the connotation of the "Tianlong" air defense missile family with the rhythm of constantly innovating products.
"Tianlong" 50 anti-aircraft missile launcher
"Tianlong" 30 came out, and the "Tianlong" family continued to grow
The "Tianlong" series of air defense missile systems of the China Ordnance Industry Group already have the "Tianlong" 12 short-range air defense missile system, the "Tianlong" 50 medium-range air defense missile system, and the "Tianlong" 30 with the addition of the "Tianlong" 30 to form a complete field air defense missile system from short-range to medium-range. Take, for example, the Tianlong-50, which was unveiled at the Zhuhai Airshow in 2016, is an advanced anti-aircraft missile system developed on the basis of China's new generation of radar-guided SD-10A air-to-air missiles.
It should be said that the modification of air-to-air missiles into anti-aircraft missiles is a relatively common method at home and abroad, and the AIM-120 air-to-air missile, which many people are familiar with, has been converted into SLAMRAAM air defense missiles, and France has also developed the "Aster" and ground-to-air "Mika" ground-to-air missile systems on the basis of the Mika air-to-air missile. Of course, it is not so easy to convert an air-to-air missile into an anti-aircraft missile, after all, the air-to-air missile is launched from an airplane, which can give the missile greater kinetic energy and speed, but the initial kinetic energy and speed of the air defense missile are zero, and it needs to consume more fuel in the process of acceleration and climbing, and the range of the air defense missile is less than that of the air-to-air missile under the same conditions, taking the AIM-120 as an example, its range is claimed to be more than 100 kilometers, but the range is only less than 30 kilometers after being converted into an air defense missile. In order to ensure sufficient range, the simplest and most feasible way is to increase the solid rocket engine, and it is entirely possible to more than double the range.
Drawing on the experience of foreign countries in the development of missiles of the same type, the mainland's research and development departments also have the idea of converting the domestically produced SD-10A air-to-air missile into an air defense missile, and when modifying the SD-10A air-to-air missile, the method adopted is to also increase the solid rocket engine, which is manifested in the change in appearance, that is, the diameter of the missile body has been enlarged, and the launch weight has also increased to a certain extent, but the firing range has been guaranteed, and the range of the SD-10A air defense missile has reached 50 kilometers, which has improved the interception capability and coverage of the air defense system. After the development of the SD-10A anti-aircraft missile matured, the relevant units of China developed and named it the "Tianlong" 50 anti-aircraft missile weapon system. In terms of complete system composition, the "Tianlong" 50 system consists of one target search and target indication radar, one fire control vehicle, four missile launch vehicles, and a logistics support system.
Close-up of the anti-aircraft missile of the "50 system" of the Tianlong
From the characteristics of the SD-10A missile, it can be inferred that the missiles used in the Tianlong-50 air defense system are equipped with solid-fuel engines and are suitable for destroying targets at a distance of 3 to 50 kilometers and an altitude of 30 to 19800 meters. When entering a predetermined target area, the missile uses an inertial guidance system, after which an active radar seeker is activated, which helps the missile lock on and hit the target. To destroy the target, an anti-personnel blasting warhead is used. The "Tianlong" 50 is mainly used for export, and it is reported that the "Tianlong" 50 has been successfully exported to many countries.
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Product positioning and characteristics of "Tianlong" 30
Similar to the development model of the "Tianlong" 50, the "Tianlong" 30 anti-aircraft missile is an advanced anti-aircraft missile system developed on the basis of China's new generation of PL-10E infrared combat missiles. Guided radar, command and control and the corresponding ground system are added to form a full-fledged surface-to-air missile system. Since the missile system is developed on the basis of mature models, it inherits the advanced nature of the original model and greatly reduces the risk of development. Through a mature product portfolio, the speed of missile development is faster than that of new development, the development cost is small, and the product price is extremely competitive.
"Tianlong" 30 uses an integrated launch box for storage, transportation and development, inclined thermal launch, and the launch vehicle is a 6×6 off-road medium-sized truck, which has the characteristics of good maneuverability and simple operation. The missile carriage of the launcher is common to the "Tianlong" 50, and two missiles can be mixed, and due to the small size of the missile, the launcher can be equipped with six missiles.
"Tianlong" 30 anti-aircraft missile launcher
The number in the name of the "Tianlong" 50 refers to a range of about 50 kilometers, and in the same way, the "Tianlong" 30 air defense missile, with a range of about 30 kilometers, is much better than the ground-to-air version of the American AIM9X in terms of range. From the characteristics of the PL-10E air-to-air missile, the predecessor of the "Tianlong" 30, it can be seen that the guidance mode of the "Tianlong" 30 is strapdown inertial navigation/GPS + data link + infrared imaging terminal guidance, which has the advantages of advanced system, strong anti-jamming ability, and high hit rate, and has the ability to intercept various air threats such as medium and short-range combat aircraft, cruise missiles, anti-radiation missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles in terms of combat.
The seeker of the "Tianlong" 30, that is, the infrared imaging seeker from the advanced combat missile, has a true omnidirectional attack capability, can effectively identify targets through images, and has strong anti-jamming capabilities. With the exception of active optoelectronic suppression jamming systems, infrared jamming projectiles are almost ineffective against thermal imaging seekers. Due to the long range of the "Tianlong" 30 missile, the seeker adopts the method of interception after launch. When the missile is launched, the seeker uses a good linear cone protective cover, which effectively reduces the flight resistance of the missile, and when the missile enters the effective tracking distance of the seeker, the missile throws off the hood, and the seeker begins to track and intercept the target. The interception mode after the launch of the seeker needs to guide the missile to the effective interception area of the seeker through the mid-section guidance mode, and complete the handover process from the middle guidance to the final guidance, and this guidance mode is mostly used for the missile of the active radar seeker. In order to ensure the target imaging, the angle of view is smaller than that of the radar mode, and at the moment when the missile meets the target at high speed, a small error can lead to the failure of the seeker tracking, and the accuracy of mid-range guidance has higher requirements than the radar seeker. The "Tianlong" 30 missile system uses the strapdown inertial navigation / GPS + data link mid-section guidance mode, the ground guidance radar only needs to send the target position data to the missile through the data link, and the missile can calculate the meeting point with the target, this guidance mode increases the system's multi-target combat capability, and also greatly reduces the dependence of the ground system. Due to the increase of strapdown inertial navigation accuracy with the increase of flight time, the error becomes larger, the introduction of GPS, improve the navigation accuracy, the seeker is easier to intercept the target at the effective distance, "Tianlong" 30 is the first domestic air defense missile to adopt this technology.
Close-up of the anti-aircraft missile of the "Tianlong" 30 system
The "Tianlong" 30 can form an air defense network together with the "Tianlong" 50 system, and a combat unit only needs 2 to 6 launchers and corresponding loading vehicles, and a multi-purpose radar can complete target search and tracking guidance, and the system is very simple. So far, the "Tianlong" 50 has had a number of foreign trade orders, and it is believed that the "Tianlong" 30 will also succeed in the anti-aircraft missile market with its advanced performance. For many small and medium-sized countries in the world that are not very wealthy, they need to introduce new military equipment, but they cannot afford to buy the products of the world's arms giants, and the "Tianlong" series of anti-aircraft missiles will be the new weapons that are most likely to attract these countries.
epilogue
It is reported that in the future, the "Tianlong" family of air defense missiles will also develop more refined air defense weapon products, further enrich the family system, and greatly enhance its foreign trade competitiveness, which is worth looking forward to.