Sky Dragon 50 / Tianlong-50 / GAS2 / DK-10 - Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Defense

The "Tianlong-50" air defense missile system is an air defense missile system designed by NORINCO for the export market. The missile launched by it adopts the configuration of the AVIC SD-10 SAM surface-to-air missile. 10 (PL-12 export version) missiles are basically the same. A "Tianlong-50" launch battalion includes an IBIS 150 type 3 coordinate search radar, a command vehicle, and 3-6 missile launch vehicles, each of which can carry 4 missiles. A missile battalion can fight against 12 targets at the same time, and can launch at least one missile to each target within a few seconds. The "Tianlong" missile can be used without a lot of training, and this missile uses an active radar guidance head, which can significantly improve the accuracy of the hit. In addition, the Tianlong missile is 40% cheaper than other medium-range air defense systems. Conceptually, the "Denon-50" missile is also similar to the US "Extended Range Amram" missile. The leading head of the upcoming mature medium-range active radar-guided air-to-air missile is combined with the newly developed larger surface-to-air missile body, thereby greatly enhancing the missile's combat capability.

The Sky Dragon 50 also called GAS2 is a Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Defense missile system developed by NORINCO (China North Industries Corporation). This weapon system was unveiled at Eurosatory in 2012. At the South African Aerospace Defense Exhibition in September 2014, China North Industries Corporation launched the IBIS-200 radar used in the "Tianlong-50" air defense missile system. It was designed to be a competitor to the HQ-16 (LY-80), but has not been adopted by the People's Liberation Army for service as the HQ-16 has been preferred. Instead, it has been exported for use by foreign armed forces.

The Sky Dragon 50 is part of the most recent generation of SAM system developed by Norinco. It is a development of the DK 10 system which is similar to Raytheon's RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM). It has a range of 50 km. It worked with an IBIS150 radar The TEL vehicle had a firing capacity of four missiles. The Sky Dragon 50 could deal effectively with high, medium, low and ultra low altitude aerial targets. Everything is directed by a fire control unit. A Dragon Sky 50 battery can simultaneously engage 12 targets. Norinco markets an improved version of its medium range air defense system along with the Sky dragon 12, an air defense system at short range.

This missile system can search for up to 144 targets at the same time. Its radar system can search for targets within 130 kilometers and kill targets at a height of 30 to 20000 meters. Not only can it effectively intercept mid- and low-altitude targets, including cruise missiles, but it also has the ability to intercept 12 incoming targets in a few seconds. Due to the use of military wireless networks, the distance between the missile launch vehicle and the command vehicle can reach 5 kilometers. After arriving at a new combat location, it can be deployed in just 15 minutes.

"Tianlong" medium-range air defense missile system consists of a command vehicle, an IBIS130 mobile three-coordinate target search radar and up to 6 sets of self-launching devices (each with 4 missiles). It uses first-class solid fuel missiles, and the probability of a single shot to kill "fighter" targets is 80%.

the DK-10 air defense missile equipped with the TL-50 air defense missile system. The missile is based on the development of the PL-12 foreign trade SD-10A active radar-guided air-to-air missile. The combat range is about 3 kilometers. , The maximum combat distance is about 50 kilometers, the minimum interception height is about 30 meters, the maximum interception height is about 20 kilometers, the maximum overload of the projectile is 38G, and the single shot hit probability for F-16 type fighter targets is about 0.8. The conductor system is adopted The performance of the mid-section strapdown inertial navigation system plus data link correction and active radar homing is also good. The missile used in the Tianlong 50 air defense system is equipped with a solid fuel engine that can destroy targets at a distance of 3 to 50 kilometers and an altitude of 30 to 19,800 meters. The missile has a speed of 1,000 meters per second. Its structural strength can make the missile maneuver with an overload of up to 38g. When entering the predetermined target area, the missile uses an inertial guidance system, and then activates the active radar seeker to help the missile lock and hit the target. In order to destroy the target, use the killing blasting warhead.

The Tianlong 50 air defense missile system consists of several vehicles equipped with special equipment, including self-launching devices, target detection and tracking radars, and command posts. All main components of this air defense weapon system use wheeled vehicle chassis. This missile body is actually two sleeves of different diameters coupled together. There is an X-shaped wing in the middle of the missile body and a rudder with a similar structure at the tail. The missile is supplied and transported by a transport launch box, so all planes can be folded. The wings and rudder are opened after the missile flies out of the launch box.

To launch missiles, the new air defense weapon system uses a self-propelled launcher mounted on a wheeled chassis, based on a domestic three-axle truck. All necessary equipment is installed on the chassis carrying platform. The front of the platform (behind the cab) is the control equipment room, and the launching device is installed behind the platform, which can be guided horizontally and vertically. In addition, a bearing outrigger is used to ensure the stable performance of the missile when it is launched.

The launch mechanism can be installed with 4 transport launch boxes carrying missiles. Unlike some other air defense missile systems produced by China and foreign countries, the Tianlong-50 does not have the ability to launch missiles vertically. The missile launch is carried out after the transport launch box is raised to a certain angle, so the entire launcher must be rotated to the target direction before the missile is launched.

The new IBIS-200 radar used. It has higher performance than the IBIS-150 radar, and the maximum range for destroying targets is increased to 250 kilometers. The new radar can track 12 different types of targets simultaneously. It is said that the Tianlong-50 system radar can be used under the conditions that the enemy uses electronic warfare equipment, and can detect various targets, from large aircraft to small drones .

In terms of the entire system, as stated in the propaganda manual, this type of air defense missile weapon system is a product of organic combination and rapid development based on the existing mature technology. Since it focuses on cost-effectiveness and maturity factors, it is natural to make subtractions in other aspects, especially since the battalion-level guidance station has only one multi-purpose radar, which is more limited in dealing with low-altitude targets, and its multi-target engagement Ability is also relatively weak. At the same time, the transport launch vehicle of the entire system is also based on the very mature Beijing Benz truck chassis. It is obviously inferior to the field air defense system using a highly mobile chassis in terms of key technical indicators such as off-road maneuverability and system withdrawal time.

All equipment of the entire system is installed on a wheeled chassis vehicle, which is very convenient for maneuvering and maintenance. This system also has certain shortcomings. The missile still uses a tilted launch method and does not have the ability to launch vertically. Therefore, when launching, it needs to rise to a certain height and point to a certain area.

The full ammunition is not compact. From the details of the TL-50 launcher, we can see that the launcher used by this system is quite similar to our main foreign trade area air defense system FK-3 and LY-80, while the FK- 3 or LY-80 is either a medium-to-long range air defense bomb with a range of 70 or 100 kilometers or a speed of Mach 5. DK-10 is a missile with a range of 50 kilometers and no speed of Mach 5. In the medium-range area air defense bomb, a launch vehicle can only carry 4 ready-to-launch canisters. Relatively speaking, the firepower density is a bit weak. After all, the Russian military's similar S-350 system can do it when using 12 9M96E missiles of similar performance per vehicle.

The near kill boundary is too far, and the minimum combat altitude is too high. According to public information at the Defense Exhibition, the minimum kill near range of DK-10 is about 3 kilometers, the minimum combat altitude is about 30 meters, and the maximum available overload is 38G. Not only is there a gap compared with the RIM-162 "Advanced Sea Sparrow" of the US Army, it is even inferior to other similar equipment developed by China. In particular, the problem of the minimum kill and the near boundary being too far and the minimum combat altitude is too high, it is almost a fatal flaw in the implementation of high-intensity air defense operations, especially naval anti-missile operations where high-speed, light and small targets are the main combat targets. That is, even if the missile is used as a "one hole and four" on the ship, its combat efficiency is likely to be inferior to other similar equipment in the face of various types of anti-ship cruise missiles.

Therefore, in essence, although the TL-50 can theoretically take into account the two types of air defense operations, field air defense and key air defense, in fact, it should be a key air defense weapon system that is more cost-effective and more compatible with low-intensity confrontation conditions. It can be described as an air defense missile product tailor-made for many third world countries who want to "spend small money to do big things."

The Tianlong 50 air defense missile system was first used for export supply. Potential customers are small and medium-sized countries in Asia, Africa and South America that are not very affluent. In short, China will once again launch new weapons that may appeal to these countries. Their customers need to introduce new military equipment, but they are unable to purchase the products of the world's arms giants. Some news indicates that at the South African Aerospace Defense Exhibition in September 2014, representatives of several countries have already shown interest in China's new air defense missile system.

Rwanda and Morocco were the only users of this system currently in 2017.

On 12 April 2020, the US released a stack of photos. On an island in the Mediterranean, densely packed Chinese-made air defense missile systems were parked in a certain base, which Chinse reports said "shocked the White House". This island is Mogador Island in Morocco, and the air defense missile system on it is the Tianlong 50 air defense system.

The US satellite passed the Mogador Island near the Mediterranean Sea. It was originally intended to take pictures of ships sailing nearby, but unexpectedly discovered a scene that shocked the Pentagon. The Mediterranean is a very important waterway, and the US military's satellites often monitor the nearby waters. However, no special ships were found in the photo this time. Instead, Morocco was equipped with a large number of Chinese-made air defense missile systems. Since arms transactions between China and other countries are rarely announced, the outside world does not know which countries are equipped with Chinese weapons. The White House did not expect that Chinese mid-to-high-end weapons have been quietly sold to the African region.

Because it was colonized by France, Morocco used French arms for a long time, so it has maintained a good relationship with France after independence and can be considered an ally of the West. However, this country does not use Western weapons and equipment, because Western equipment is too expensive and there are many prerequisites. The weapons and equipment exported by China are at the right price and do not have many other conditions.