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| The APKWS II Laser Guided Rocket, Image by Akela Freedom from the Artstation Website |
The 15th Strike Wing of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) basically unveiled their new Laser Guided Rocket capability during their 47th Founding Anniversary recently. Unfortunately the livestream of the Event had been since been taken down as of this writing, only a backup Archive of its Website Address is available which can’t be played.1
Some of the information has been preserved on an Article by the Inquirer,2 but it is incomplete. Among the things highlighted in the Video were two Weapons that they have acquired: The Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System (APKWS) II and the Guided Advanced Tactical Rocket (GATR).
Both Weapons are available as Kits that are attached to existing 70 mm (2.75”) cal. Hydra-70 Rockets to give them Guidance capability. The Hydra-70 was derived from the Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket (FFAR) used in the late 1940s and was initially used during the Korean War.3 It is used in many Countries including the Philippines.
Both the APKWS and GATR use the same Guidance System Principle called Semi-Active Laser Homing (SALH) or Semi-Active Laser (SAL), or simply Laser Guidance, which works something like this: A Laser is illuminated on the Target, then a Sensor on the Weapon detects it and then guides the Weapon to it.
The Laser used is in the Infra-Red (IR) Spectrum hence it is not visible to the Naked Eye. And the Laser Signal is encrypted in a way that the Sensor will only detect and home in on it, so you can’t just use any Laser, point it to a Target and the Weapon will go there.
The Laser also has to be maintained on the Target until the moment of Impact. The Laser (called the Laser Designator) is usually placed alongside an Electro-Optical/Infra-Red (EO/IR) System to optimize its use. With an EO/IR System, the target can be zoomed in and viewed at Night, and automatic tracking of the target can be made.
The Laser Designator can be placed on the Aircraft that will also launch the Rocket (called Self-Lasing), or another Asset can use the Laser Designator while the Aircraft launches the Rocket (called Buddy Lasing).5
The APKWS II is made by the Company BAE Systems which has its Headquarters in the United Kingdom (UK). It is relatively new, having completed its development only in 2009 and went into Service with the United States Marine Corps (USMC) in 2012 who immediately sent it into combat that Year.
The APKWS II as a Kit consists of a 15.8 kg cylindrical portion which is attached between the Warhead and the Rocket Motor Body of a standard Hydra 70 Rocket. It has four Fins that pop out when the Rocket is launched which contains the Sensors and Control Surfaces that guides the Rocket.
Here is a Video showing an APKWS II Kit being attached to a Hydra 70 Rocket:
In terms of accuracy, various Sources give different values, but BAE Systems itself claims that 80% of the APKWS II can hit within 2 m of a Laser Center Spot, which (I think) means a Circular Error Probable (CEP) of only 0.625 m using Ratio and Proportions.
CEP means the Radius of a Circle where half of the Projectiles (like Missiles) are expected to hit. The smaller the CEP is, the more accurate the Missile is.10
BAE also claims that in actual combat, the APKWS II was able to hit 93% of its Targets out of 400 shots. The US Armed Forces is the main User of the APKWS II, and around 37,000 units have reportedly been delivered to various Customers as of now.
Its Range performance varies, if it is fired from a slower moving Helicopter then its Maximum Range is only around 5 km. But if fired from a faster moving Fixed Wing Aircraft, its Maximum Range more than doubles up to 11 km.
BAE’s 2018 Data Sheets for the APKWS II lists some of the Aircraft that the PAF already has now like the AH-1 Cobra Helicopter, AW109 Helicopter and A-29 Super Tucano Aircraft as “Potential Platforms” for integration.
The cost of the APKWS II Kit based on two separate Contracts in 201811 and 201912 puts them at around Usd 22,000 (Php 1.08 million at the Exchange Rate of Usd 1 = Php 49) each.
In September 2019, the United States Navy (USN) announced that it was procuring an unspecified number of APKWS II that will be supplied to various Countries including the Philippines. It is likely that these are what the PAF got but it was not specified whether these were Grants/Donations or not from the USN.13
As per the now deleted Video, the PAF has already completed the Training, Live Fire Tests and formulation of Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTP) for the use of the APKWS II, so it seems they are now ready to use these operationally.
Some if not all of the Live Fire Tests were done at the Crow Valley Gunnery Range (or the Colonel Ernesto Rabina Air Base (CERAB)) in Pampanga.
Details about the GATR is not as widely available as that of the APKWS II, but from what is available out there, its Kit is similar to the APKWS II except that instead of just an insert between the Body and the Warhead, the GATR Kit which weighs 16.2 kg replaces the entire Warhead and Fuze of the Hydra 70 Rocket.
The Sensor is also now on the Nose of the Kit. It has Wings that pop up during flight which contains the Control Surfaces that maneuvers the Rocket.
The GATR is made by the Israeli Company Elbit Systems Ltd. who claims that its range is around 7.3 km when fired from a hovering Helicopter, and up to a maximum of 10 km for faster moving Fixed Wing Aircraft.
Elbit also says that the GATR is capable of hitting targets moving as fast as 100 kph, and that it in terms of accuracy it has a CEP of 1 m.
It is not clear who are the Customers of the GATR aside from the Philippines, the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) did evaluate an unspecified number of Kits back in 2013.
One selling point of the GATR is that I uses its own more advanced Programmable Fuze that can be programmed from the Cockpit to explode on impact against “Soft” Targets, or to delay its detonation so it can penetrate more before exploding against “Hard” (meaning Armored Targets, Bunkers, etc.) Targets.
I couldn't find any reference for its Price, but I expect the GATR to be a bit more expensive than the APKWS II since it comes with its own Warhead and Fuze.
The PAF released a Notice for Negotiated Procurement with Elbit for the GATR back in November 2018 worth around Usd 3.2 million (Php 156.78 million), but no details were provided then how many of the Weapons were acquired.15
The PAF has now completed the Pre-Delivery Inspection of the units in Israel, but no announcement yet on when these will actually be delivered to them.
Comparing the two Systems, both have a Minimum Range of around 1.5 km, meaning they cannot be launched closer than that from the Target. Below is a Table showing some of the Characteristics of both Systems.
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| APKWS II - GATR Comparison |
In terms of Theoretical CEP Accuracy, the APKWS II is supposed to be more accurate, but the difference is very small, only less than half a meter compared to the GATR.
The GATR has both Lock On Before Launch (LOBL) and Lock On After Launch (LOAL) capability while the APKWS II only can do LOAL. LOBL allows the Missile to be locked on to the target before it is launched, lessening the chances of the Rocket being lost or going out of control.
The APWKS is the more widely used and widely produced System, but it is interesting that even if the other US Armed Forces were already using it, the US SOCOM still went ahead and considered the GATR.
The acquisition of these Laser Guided Rockets is great for our Air Force, they are some of the most cost-effective Precision Guided Munitions (PGM) available right now. This brings their capability well into the Modern Age, and goes well alongside another type of Missile, the AGM-65 Maverick of which they publicly conducted a Missile launch of recently.16
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| The GATR Laser Guided Rocket, Image by Elbit Systems Ltd |
SOURCES:
1 15th Strike Wing official Facebook Page Post, 11/26/20 - 1045H
2 PH Air Force Unit shows off improved firepower, accuracy at Anniversary Rite
5 Joint Pub 3-09.1 - Joint Tactics, Techniques and Procedures for Laser Designation Operations
7 2018-01 APKWS Rotary Wing Data Sheet
8 2018-01 APKWS Fixed Wing Data Sheet
10 Strategic Missiles at the Encyclopedia Britannica
11 Contracts For June 27, 2018
14 GATR Guided Advanced Tactical Rocket 2016 Brochure
15 PAF Notice for Negotiated Procurement 11/23/18
16 The first ever Live Fire Exercise of the AGM-65 Maverick Missile by the Philippine Air Force
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AFP should also procure hundreds of kamikaze drones and surveillance drones from Turkey and Israel. these are more cheaper than US made, a force multiplier plus these are battle tested in the Azerbajian/ Armenia war where Azerbajian used hundreds of these causing defeat of Armenia. We also can build and copy this ourselves. we have the know how.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually partial to Armed Drones right now, they are cheaper to operate and I think would be perfect against Terrorists and Insurgents. Also Turkey's Bayraktar Drones have mini-Missiles that are cheaper than most Missiles. But that's just me.
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