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AT-1K Raybolt
South Korean anti-tank guided missile From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The AT-1K Raybolt (Korean: 현궁 "Hyeon-gung",[5] Hanja: 晛弓) is a South Korean man-portable third-generation anti-tank guided missile built by LIG Nex1. It has fire-and-forget capability using an infrared imaging seeker and has a tandem-warhead to defeat explosive reactive armor. The Raybolt has a top attack and direct attack modes.[6][7] It is the first ATGM to be built by South Korea and entered mass production in June 2017.
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The Raybolt is positioned by its manufacturer as a competitor and peer with the American FGM-148 Javelin and Israeli Spike-MR ATGMs.[8]
The Raybolt was first shown publicly at the Indodefence 2014 exhibition.[9]
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Development
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Development began in 2007 and began in earnest in 2010, as South Korea's existing anti-tank guided missiles were reaching the end of their 25-year service life.[10] LIG Nex1's priorities during development were world-class performance, weight, export competitiveness through localization of core components, cost-efficiency, and reliability. The development was not completely smooth, and for the first five years there were several failures with "Captive Flight Tests". In a retrospective on the development of the Raybolt, one engineer assessed the greatest challenge as quality assurance.[11] On May 30, 2017, it successfully completed the quality certification test of Raybolt organized by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).[12]
The Raybolt was developed to replace obsolete anti-tank weapons, such as recoilless rifles and TOW missiles.[13] South Korea's 1970s-vintage TOW missiles lacked tandem-warheads and would not be able to destroy modern North Korean tanks equipped with explosive reactive armor (ERA).[13]
The Raybolt is produced by LIG Nex1 in cooperation with South Korea's Agency for Defense Development (ADD), under the auspices of the DAPA.[11] About 95% of the Raybolt is made in South Korea.[14]
The Raybolt underwent successful test evaluations in Saudi Arabia in December 2013 and January 2014.[11] The Raybolt contract is expected to be worth 1 trillion won through till 2023.[14]
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Components
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The Raybolt's most notable feature is an imaging infrared seeker providing fire-and-forget capability. It also has a tandem-warhead and both direct attack and top attack modes. The Raybolt uses a smokeless propellant and can be fired from within a building. The Raybolt missile and Observation and Launch Unit (OLU) can either be vehicle-mounted or carried as a manpack by two men. There are also discussions to mount the Raybolt on helicopters. The OLU has day/night capability via a thermal sight.[6][7][11] The missile uses a soft launch to escape the barrel before activating the main flight motor.[10] It is scheduled to be acquired over the 2018–2022 timeframe.[13]
The Raybolt system weight about 20 kg (44 lb),[13] which its manufacturer describes as lighter than peers.[8] The Raybolt's range is 2.5[15] or 3 km.[14] The Raybolt's HEAT tandem warhead can penetrate 900 mm of RHA beyond defeating ERA,[16] which is described as "excellent performance" by DAPA.[13]
The Raybolt has been marketed to India.[17] Park Tae-sik, senior manager at LIG Nex1, also reports interest from South America.[10]
The missile can be carried by a two-man crew or fitted to fire from vehicles. The South Korean Army uses an anti-tank version of the Kia Motors 4×4 Light Tactical Vehicle (LTV) called the K-153C; the roof is equipped with a launcher turret with two missiles ready to fire and four additional missiles carried inside the vehicle.[15]
Launch platforms
- Man-portable launcher
- 4×4 K153C1 ATGM Carrier
- Rotem KW2 Scorpion Anti-Tank Vehicle
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Combat history
The Raybolt was delivered to the Republic of Korea Armed Forces in 2017.[13] It will be used by the Korean Army and the ROK Marine Corps.[11]
In 2018, the Raybolt was used in the Yemeni Civil War by Saudi-backed forces against the Houthis.[1][18]
Operators
Future
See also
- Akeron MP – (France)
- FGM-148 Javelin – (United States)
- HJ-12 – (China)
- MPATGM – (India)
- OMTAS – (Turkey)
- Type 01 LMAT – (Japan)
References
External links
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