pla guided bombs

7/26/2014 PLA Guided Bombs

http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-PLA-GBU.html 1/41

Last Updated: Mon Jan 27 11:18:09 UTC 2014

PLA Guided Bombs

Technical Report APA-TR-2009-0808

Dr Carlo Kopp, AFAIAA, SMIEEE, PEngDr Martin Andrew, RAAF(Retd)

August 2009Updated January, 2011

Updated April, 2012Text 2009-2012 Carlo KoppText 2011 Martin Andrew

Line Artwork 2009 Carlo Kopp



LT-3 precision guided bomb system (Zhenguan Studio, 2010 Air Power Australia).

BackgroundPLA-AF and PLA-N Electro-Optical Guided Bombs

Luoyang/CASC LT-2/LS-500J Laser Guided BombLuoyang/CASC GB1 P-Nav Laser Guided BombLuoyang/CASC LT-3 Laser / Satellite Aided Inertially Guided Bomb

PLA-AF and PLA-N Inertially Guided BombsLuoyang/CASC FT-1/FT-2 Satellite Aided Inertially Guided BombLuoyang/CASC FT-3/FT-4 Satellite Aided Inertially Guided BombLuoyang/CASC FT-5 Satellite Aided Inertially Guided BombLuoyang/CASC FT-6 Satellite Aided Inertially Guided BombLuoyang/CASC LS-6 Satellite Aided Inertially Guided Bomb Family

Notes/References

Introduction

The PLA-AF and PLA-N now operate a diverse mix of indigenously manufactured andimported Russian guided bombs. To date the most widely deployed indigenous weapon isthe very basic LT-2 laser guided bomb, similar in capabilities to the Paveway I/II series.

More recent weapon designs are considerably more sophisticated. The FT and LS series ofsatellite aided inertially guided weapons are analogues to the US JDAM series, includingglide wing equipped variants. The LT-3 is a fusion of satellite aided inertial guidancetechnology and a gimballed P-nav laser seeker, this weapon being an analogue to the veryrecent US EGBU-24 and GBU-54/55/56(V)/B Laser JDAM.



PLA-AF and PLA-N Electro-Optical Guided Bombs

Luoyang/CASC LT-2/LS-500J Laser Guided Bomb

LT-2 LGB (Zhenguan Studio, 2010 Air Power Australia).

The LT-2 (Ler Ting 2) LGB is China's first volume production guided bomb. The basic bombkit is sized for a 500 kg / 1,000 lb class general purpose bomb body. The seeker uses aPaveway I/II style annular airfoil seeker with a conventional quadrant detection assembly.The tailkit is similar in configuration to the Paveway I. The design will use a bang-bangguidance control law without roll stabilisation. Control is effected by trailing edge surfaceson the cruciform tail in an arrangement similar to the GNPP KAB-500L.

The LT-2 has been widely deployed on PLA-AF combat aircraft, including the JH-7 FlyingLeopard / Flounder, A-5/Q-5 Fantan, FC-1, J-8B Finback, and J-10 Sinocanard.

Specifications

Length 3580mm

Diameter 380mm

Tail fin span 950mm

Weight 570kg



Ground designating mode accuracy CEP5m

A/C designating mode accuracy CEP6.5m

Launching speed 230m/s

Launching mode level, dive, toss

Wind speed 10m/s

Damage Capability Equivalent to 500kg low-drag aero bombs

Source: http://www.loec.cn/e32.html

Front: LT-2 LGB ( 2009, Zhenguan Studio).



Above: LT-2 LGBs on a precision strike variant of the A-5C Fantan. Note the nose mounted laser targeting deviceand conformal ventral fuel tank. Below: LT-2 on Q-5M Fantan (Chinese internet).

LT-2 on the JH-7A (Chinese internet).



Three images showing the loading of the LT-2 on the JH-7A (Chinese internet).



Luoyang/CASC GB1 P-Nav Laser Guided Bomb

GB-1 LGB at Zhuhai 2010 (Zhenguan Studio, 2010 Air Power Australia).

A new weapon displayed at the Zhuhai 2008 Airshow was the GB1, a derivative of the LT-2500 kg Laser Guided Bomb, with a proportional navigation seeker design. The seeker isclosest in appearance to the Russian KBTochmash/Nudelman P-nav seeker developed for thelatest weapons in the GNPP KAB-1500LG series, with a planar optical window in the seekernose section.



The guidance kit otherwise appears identical to the existing LT-2 series design, employingwhat appears to be an identical tail control tailkit and fixed canard stabilisers.

GB1 LGB P-nav seeker (Zhenguan Studio, 2010 Air Power Australia).



Luoyang/CASC LT-3 Laser / Satellite Aided Inertially Guided Bomb



LT-3 guided bomb system (Zhenguan Studio, 2010 Air Power Australia).

The Lerting (Thunderbolt) LT-3 is 3.58m long, has a diameter of 0.38 m and the unfoldedwings have a [cited] span of 0.95m. It weighs 564 kg and has a range of up to 24km. It

can penetrate up to 1.5 m of steel reinforced concrete1.

The LT-3 is the most sophisticated guided bomb developed to date by Chinese industry. Thisweapon combines a satellite/inertial guidance package in a tailkit derived from the LS-6 250kg glidebomb, and a gimballed proportional navigation semi-active laser homing seeker.

The weapon employs a strap-on strake kit similar to that used with the GBU-31/32 JDAMseries. The gimballed detector platform is closest in concept to the TI Paveway III LLLGBdesign - the LT-3 occupies the same capability niche as the US enhanced EGBU-24 or GBU-54/55/56(V)/B Laser JDAM (LJDAM) weapons.



Boeing GBU-55(V)/B LJDAM on F-16C (Boeing).



Rear: LT-3 guided bomb system ( 2009, Zhenguan Studio).



LT-3 P-Nav SALH seeker (Chinese internet).



LT-3 P-Nav SALH seeker gimbal. Note the application of an interference filter coating to the optical detector lensto improve IR background rejection ( 2009, Zhenguan Studio).

PLA-AF and PLA-N Inertially Guided Bombs

Luoyang/CASC FT-1/FT-2 Satellite Aided Inertially Guided Bomb



FT-1 guided bomb kit ( 2009, Zhenguan Studio).

FT-2 guided glide bomb kit ( 2009, Zhenguan Studio).

The FT-1/FT-2 are satellite/inertial guidance kits for a 500 kg / 1,000 lb class generalpurpose bomb body. Cited range performance for the FT-1 is very close to the GBU-32 JDAM,the cited CEP of ~30 m suggests C/A mode guidance rather than secure Glonass.

The Fei Ting 2 is Feiting 1 GPS guided bomb (JDAM equivalent) with a strap on wing kitwhich increases its range from 18km to between 60 to 90 km. The FT-6 is the FT-3 with thestrap on folding wing.

The family of streamlined bombs come in 50, 100, 250 and 500kg but only the 250 and500kg class bombs are used as PGMs. The Feiting 2 and 6 have a realistic combat range of

between 40 ~ 60 km1.

The FT-1 employs strap-on strakes similar to the JDAM series. The FT-2 employs a planarwing kit similar to the Kerkanya/JDAM-ER.



FT-1 (Zhenguan Studio, 2010 Air Power Australia).




FT-1 on a JH-7A Flying Leopard (Chinese internet).

Luoyang/CASC FT-3/FT-4 Satellite Aided Inertially Guided Bomb





The FT-3/FT-4 are satellite/inertial guidance kits for a 250 kg / 500 lb class general purposebomb body.

The FT-3 employs a unique cruciform strake arrangement on the tailkit. The variantdisplayed at Zhuhai 2008 is different in many respects from demonstrators previouslydisplayed, which appeared to use a modification of the LS-6 tailkit. The FT-4 employs aplanar wing kit similar to the Kerkanya/JDAM-ER.

Above, below: FT-3 for low drag bomb body at Zhuhai 2010 (Zhenguan Studio, 2010 Air Power Australia).





Luoyang/CASC FT-5 Satellite Aided Inertially Guided Bomb




The FT-5 is the smallest guidance kit in the Luoyang/CASC FT series, intended for a 100 kgbomb body. The strake kit design and tail kit are modelled on the FT-1 configuration. Thebomb casing geometry displayed in 2009 is relatively conventional and evidently notintended for deep penetration of concrete in the manner of the GBU-39/B SDB warhead.

Early FT-5 guided bomb kit ( 2009, Zhenguan Studio).





Luoyang/CASC FT-6 Satellite Aided Inertially Guided Bomb


The FT-6 displayed in 2010 at Zhuhai employed a slimline low drag bomb casing, with a setof planar glide wings similar to those employed with the FT-2, FT-4 and LS-6. This weaponwould appear to the planar wing derivative of FT-3 variant with a low drag 250 kg / 500 lb

bomb body5.



Luoyang/CASC LS-6 Satellite Aided Inertially Guided Bomb Family

Above, below: 500 kg Luoyang/CASC LS-6 at Zhuhai 2010 (Zhenguan Studio, 2010 Air Power Australia).



100 kg Luoyang/CASC LS-6 at Zhuhai 2010 (Zhenguan Studio, 2010 Air Power Australia).

50 kg Luoyang/CASC LS-6 at Zhuhai 2010 (Zhenguan Studio, 2010 Air Power Australia).

The LS-6 designation is applied to a family of guidance kits for a range of low drag bombbodies. Known variants of the tailkit are for 500 kg, 250 kg, 100 kg and 50 kg bombs. Theformer variants are glidebombs, the latter variants strake equipped analogues to the USGBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB).

The 500 kg / 250 kg LS-6 glidebomb design is modelled in many respects on the concept ofthe Australian developed planar wing Kerkanya glidebomb kit, more recently adapted to formthe JDAM-ER. Unlike the Kerkanya which uses a low wing monoplane configuration with ablended adaptor fairing, the LS-6 glide wing kit is much simpler in design and the weaponflight configuration is that of a high wing monoplane. Cited range for an 11 km release

altitude at 900 km/h is 60 km, considerably less than the Kerkanya/JDAM-ER design4.

In 2010 Luoyang displayed 100 kg and 50 kg derivative designs, which are clearly intendedto be analogues to the US GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) which has developed to fit

the weapon bays of the F-22A Raptor3.

These weapons are clearly designed for compact internal carriage, and it is reasonable toconclude that the intended launch platform is the J-20 stealth fighter.

Both the 100 kg and 50 kg derivatives are fitted with nose mounted electro-optical seekers,with high quality planar windows. JDW's Hewson reports this to be a semi-active hominglaser seeker, however, such a seeker is not compatible with a weapon intended to be

released in multiple round salvos5.

The regime of operation is however compatible with a scene matching area correlatorseeker, such as that employed in the Russian GNPP KAB-500/1500Kr series, or trialled in



the US Navy DAMASK/HART effort. A seeker modelled on the DAMASK or KAB-500/1500Krwould provide high accuracy, and a redundant guidance regime should the satellite

navigation channel be successful jammed4.

The type of satellite navigation receiver and inertial unit employed in the LS-6 series havenot been disclosed to date. While the Luoyang website states the use of GPS, other sourcesclaim the use of Glonass. It is likely the receiver is like a number of Russian designs, a dualmode device which can use C/A GPS or secure Glonass concurrently.

Detail of 50 kg Luoyang/CASC LS-6 tailkit (Zhenguan Studio, 2010 Air Power Australia).



50 kg Luoyang/CASC LS-6 EO terminal seeker window (Zhenguan Studio, 2010 Air Power Australia).



Imaging seekers are one technique which provides satellite aided inertially guided bombs with genuine precisioncapability. The US Navy DAMASK/HART effort is a good example. A typical design for such a seeker will see thebomb seeker take a snapshot of the target surroundings, which is then compared with a preprogrammed imageto fix the bomb's position. Once the error is found, the target aimpoint is corrected and the bomb dives into thetarget. MilliMetric Wave Imaging (MMWI) techniques were demonstrated in the Orca program, while DAMASKdemonstrated an uncooled low cost IIR seeker, based on automotive technology. Both techniques have growth

potential for attacks on moving targets such as vehicles or shipping (Author/USAF)4.

Luoyang Description for 500/250 kg Variants (Cite):

LS-6 guided glide bomb is a low-cost but highly effective air to surface weapon for standoffprecise attack on fixed ground targets, such as airports, seaports, bridges, commandercenters, etc. With a wing kit and GPS/INS guidance unit, the conventional low-drag aerialbombs are modified into precision guided bombs with standoff attack ability. System features

Launched outside mid/short range air defense firepowerAll-weather, day & night attack capabilityLow cost but highly effectiveFire and forget capability



Excellent anti-interference capabilityModular guidance and control unitSingle target or multiple targets attack capability Weapon delivery:

The LS-6 standoff guided glide bomb (SOGGB) utilizes high-altitude and high-speedlaunching, high lift-drag ratio aerodynamic configuration and suitable control scheme toensure a remote gliding control. Before the bomb is dropped, its on-board INS coordinatesystem must be aligned with that of the aircraft and the fire control system downloads themission planning into the bomb. Within a specified period of time after the bomb beingdropped, the stabilizing system of the bomb starts to work to ensure the bomb and theaircraft being separated safely. And then, the folded-wings expand, putting the bomb intothe autonomous flight course, and the on-board control system of the bomb starts tooperate to keep the bomb body stable. A combined GPS/INS navigation is adopted duringthis course. The guidance system translates and calculates the guidance commands andoutputs to the autopilot to ensure the bomb flying in a planned trajectory. Based on therelative position of the bomb to the target, the bomb will enter its terminal guidance at apreset distance from the target. On the terminal course of the trajectory, attitude controlwill be performed via a vertical lead-bias to improve the kill effect.

Technical data

a) Kill Area

For normal target5,000 - 10,000 m2

For armored targe100 - 500 m2

b) Operational Altitude and Speed Launch altitude4,000 - 11,000 m Launch speed600 - 1,000 km/hc) Maximum Launch RangeNo less than 60 kilometers with a launch altitude of 11,000meters and an initial speed of 900 km/h.d) Guidance ModeCombined GPS/INS guidance.e) Guidance Accuracy 15 meters CEP

LS-6 prototype glidebomb under a J-8F Finback.



Above, below: 500 kg Luoyang/CASC LS-6 at Zhuhai 2010 (Zhenguan Studio, 2010 Air Power Australia).



The 500 kg variant of the LS-6 glidebomb ( 2009, Zhenguan Studio).




The Australian HdH JDAM-ER was designed for very low mass production unit cost, which is reflected in a numberof design features. The most evident is the revival of the DSTO GTV untapered wing planform, which sacrifices alittle range performance but is significantly easier to manufacture. The baseline GBU-31/32/35/38 tailkit is used,with software alterations to support the changed aerodynamics and wing deployment functions (HdH).



References

1. Zhuhai hangzhan Zhongguo jizai zhidao zhadan, Bingqi Zhishi (Ordnance Knowledge) 1A/2011 No. 308 ,pp.32 & 33.

2. LT2 laser guided bomb, Luoyang Optoelectro Technology Development Center, URL:http://www.loec.cn/e32.html

3. Kopp C., GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb I / GBU-40/42/B Small Diameter Bomb II, Technical Report APA-TR-2007-0106, URI: http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-SDB.html.

4. Kopp C., JDAM Matures, Parts 1 and 2, Australian Aviation, December 2002, URI:http://www.ausairpower.net/TE-JDAMPt1.html.

5. Hewson R., Briefing: Teeth of the dragon, China is setting its sights on expanding its air-to-air and air-to-surface weapon inventory, Jane's Defence Weekly, 19 January 2011, URI:

http://www.janes.com/news/defence/jdw/jdw110119_1_n.shtml.

Imagery Sources: Zhenguan Studio, Xinhua; PLA-AF; MilitaryPhotos.net; other Internetsources.

Technical Report APA-TR-2009-0808



Artwork, graphic design, layout and text 2004 - 2014 Carlo Kopp; Text 2004 - 2014 Peter Goon; All rights

reserved. Recommended browsers. Contact webmaster. Site navigation hints. Current hot topics.

Site Update Status: $Revision: 1.753 $ Site History: Notices and Updates / NLA Pandora Archive

Save Page as PDF Tweet 1 Follow @APA_Updates

Select Language

Pow ered by Translate

pla guided bombs

Documents

guided weapons

j laser guided bomblt

volume production guided

basic lt

plaaf combat aircraft

vb laser jdam

nose mounted laser

gimballed pnav laser