LY70 (Falcon 70) air defense missile
The 13th China International Aerospace Expo was held at the Zhuhai International Air Show in Guangdong from September 28 to October 3, 2021. A batch of the latest military products was unveiled. All major groups had come up with their own air defense missile systems with different ranges. Among them, the most concerned one is the LY-70 (Falcon 70) air defense missile weapon system newly developed by the Eighth Research Institute of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. The LY-70 air defense missile weapon system was exhibited for the first time. From the relevant introduction, the domestically-made LY70 air defense missile is the fourth-generation domestic-made compact air defense missile. It has achieved one hole and four bombs, effectively enhancing the combat capability of the air defense system.
The LY-70 carries two types of missiles, it has two pods of four medium-range missiles LY (Falcon)-70 an three additional launcher units mounted above the group of 4 missiles which are short-range infrared guided missiles FB (Flying Leopard)-10A used to destroy low flying targets. It is worth noting that the LY-70 is equipped with a variety of detection and strike methods, reflecting the concern for a large number of air-to-ground guided weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles on the battlefield.
LY-70 weapon system is composed of combat equipment and logistic support equipment Combat equipment consists of LY-70R Missile-in- canister (MIC), LY-70IR Missile-in-tube (MIT), Combat Vehicle (CV) and Firing vehicle (FV). Support equipment consists of Logistic Support Vehicle (LSV), Missile Test Equipment, System Simulator and Training MIC/MIT.
The LY70 air defense missile was developed by the 8th Research Institute of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. According to the information they provided, the LY70 is a medium and short-range field air defense missile. The interception targets include cruise missiles, air-to-surface missiles, precision-guided bombs, rockets and fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, drones and other targets.
LY70's main interception targets are various precision-guided weapons. In the new century, combat aircraft volley attacks have become increasingly rare. The main method of attack is to drop precision-guided munitions at long distances. For example, in the Battle of India and Pakistan in 2019, both sides used off-zone weapons to attack each other’s targets. In this way, the main interception target of medium and short-range air defense missiles is transformed into guided weapons.
Judging from the models in this air show, the system uses Volvo (VOLVO) FM460 heavy truck chassis. It adopts 6X2 drive design and may be equipped with Volvo D13C460SEUV engine and Volvo AT2612F gearbox. It is 6.94 meters long, 2.5 meters wide and 3.995 meters high. Of course, this chassis can be replaced according to customer needs, after all, the off-road capability of this chassis is not strong.
The chassis has been completely remodeled. There is an equipment compartment at the rear of the cab, a huge anti-aircraft weapon turret is installed in the middle of the chassis, and a command and control instrument cabin is in the middle of the combat vehicle turret. A foldable square photoelectric sight is installed above the front. A foldable square phased array radar is installed at the rear of the turret. Separate pitchable missile launchers are installed on both sides of the turret. There are four LY-70 medium-range air defense missile launch boxes and three FB-10A short-range air defense missile launcher installed on each side of the turret, so a total of 14 air defense missiles. The launch vehicle does not have a central instrument compartment, and a set of missile launching devices has been added, with 21 bombs prepared, and the target guidance data is transmitted through the combat vehicle. Such a large bomb load is obviously prepared for more and more stand-off guided weapons and drones.
The biggest feature of LY70 is its small size and light weight. Each vehicle has 3 launchers, each launcher is equipped with 4 missiles, and the number of single-vehicle bombs reaches 12. In comparison, the domestic LY60 air defense missile launch vehicle has 4 launch units, each launch unit has only 1 missile, and a single vehicle has 4 ammunition. Therefore, the LY70 air defense missile can achieve 4 missiles per launch unit, which increases the number of bombs prepared by the domestic air defense system.
The LY-70 medium-range air defense missile is loaded in a square launch box. From the appearance point of view, this type of missile is simply a reduced version of the Hongqi-16/LY-80. It uses a cylindrical projectile body. The front diameter of the projectile body shrinks. The cable compartment that runs through most of the missile body adopts the normal aerodynamic layout of side strip wing + trapezoidal tail rudder, and is also equipped with a gas rudder. The side strip wing layout has a small aspect ratio and small wave resistance, which can increase the effective wing area, thereby increasing the angle of attack, providing sufficient normal force coefficient slope/turning lift, and has excellent longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics, which is conducive to improving The static stability of the missile can improve the maneuverability of the missile.
At the same time, it can reduce the span height and greatly reduce the occupied space in the buried weapon compartment. For this reason, the LY-70 has also designed a wing folding mechanism, so that the launch box The volume is extremely reduced, and the carrying capacity is greatly increased, which can be said to make up for the shortcomings of the oversized launcher of the LY-80, which also points out the direction for the improvement of the LY-80. The LY70 anti-aircraft missile has an intercepting range of 1-40 kilometers, and an intercepting height of 15 meters-18 kilometers. It is estimated that a data link + relay inertial navigation + terminal active radar guidance is used, so that it can attack those entering the short- and medium-range defense circle. Air strike targets, including cruise missiles, air-to-surface missiles, guided bombs, rockets and other small ammunition targets, as well as aircraft targets such as fixed-wing aircraft, armed helicopters, and drones, have outstanding multi-target interception capabilities and launch-and-forget capabilities.
Taking surface ships as an example, now a domestic ship-to-air missile can only be equipped with 1 missile per launch unit. Now it can be increased to 4 missiles, the number of ammunition prepared by ships has increased rapidly, and the ability to resist saturation attacks is stronger. In addition, the LY70 is small in size and light in weight. Light surface ships such as the Type 056 frigate can also be installed. With the domestic SR2410C active phased array radar, it can effectively enhance the air defense capability of the ship.
Although the volume and weight of the LY70 air defense missile are very small, its range is not low, and its intercept slant range reaches 40 kilometers, which is equivalent to the latest British CAMM-ER. It can intercept not only satellite-guided bombs like JDAM, but also JADM with gliding extended-range missile wings. When intercepting anti-ship missiles, the interception line can be extended to the vicinity of the surface ship's water antenna to extend the depth of the ship's defense and increase the defense time for the terminal defense system.
The LY70 air defense missile guidance method has not been disclosed yet, but the outside world generally speculates that it should use a data link + relay inertial guidance + terminal active radar guidance system. Thanks to the advanced guidance system, LY70 has high guidance accuracy, can intercept small RCS targets, and has the ability to directly hit targets, which can "blast" targets like JDAM. The terminal active radar guidance system also allows the missile to detect and lock targets autonomously. With the support of multifunctional active phased array radar, it has excellent multi-target interception capabilities and can resist large-scale saturation attacks.
The LY70 air defense missile vehicles are divided into two types, one is a tank equipped with a radar system and a launch unit, and its ammunition is reduced to 8, and the other is a launch vehicle with 12 ammunition. The vehicle can fight independently, and it can also command the launch vehicle to attack the target. The standard configuration of the system is 2 tanks and 4 launch vehicles, with up to 48 ammunition. In addition, LY70 air defense missiles can also be added to the air defense system and become part of the integrated air defense system. For example, domestic surface ships can also take out a few vertical launch units to carry LY70 air defense missiles. This can form a more rigorous air defense system and further improve our military. Air combat capability.
SYSTEM COMPOSITION
LY-70 weapon system is composed of combat equipment and logistic support equipment Combat equipment consists of LY-70R Missile-in- canister (MIC), LY-70IR Missile-in-tube (MIT), Combat Vehicle (CV) and Firing vehicle (FV). Support equipment consists of Logistic Support Vehicle (LSV), Missile Test Equipment, System Simulator and Training MIC/MIT.
