NEWS | Pakistan Army Officially Inducts Chinese-made LY-80 LOMADS

Pakistan Army has finally inducted Chinese-built Low to Medium Altitude Air Defence System (LOMADS) LY-80 (HQ16A) in its air defense arsenal.

Various Sources

Image Attribute: Chinese HQ-16A (Export Designation LY-80) in Action

March 12, 2017 - Pakistan Army has finally inducted Chinese-built Low to Medium Altitude Air Defence System (LOMADS) LY-80 (HQ16A) in its air defense arsenal, read a statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.

On August 17, 2016, it was disclosed by  Pakistan Ministry of Defence Production (MoDP) that the Pakistan Armed Forces had procured six LY-80 (i.e. HQ-16) surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems from China for $373 million U.S. in the fiscal year 2014-2015.

Image Attribute: Page 51, Procurement Activities FY 2013-14 AsDP / Source: Pakistan Ministry of Defence Production (MoDP) 

This induction appears to be a follow-on order from the armed forces’ initial HQ-16 procurement, in 2013-2014 which included three HQ-16 SAM systems for $226 million along with eight IBIS-150 radars for $40 million.

Pakistani COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa was the chief guest at the induction ceremony held at Army Auditorium, said, "LY-80 LOMADS, increases our response capability to current and emerging air defense threats.”

Image Attribute: LY-80 MR Missile System / Source: SINA

About LY-80 LOMADS

The LY-80 (HQ16A) mobile missile system consists of a radar vehicle, a command and control station and six missile containers in two rows of three. Manufactured by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), as the HQ-16A with export designation LY-80. The system is claimed to intercept an aerial flying target from a 15 m to 18 km altitude. Its maximum interception range for combat aircraft is 40km and between 3.5 km and 12 km for cruise missiles flying at an altitude of 50 meters at a speed of 300 meters/second.

The LY-80 (HQ16A) was introduced in the Chinese armed forces in September 2011. This is a land based version of the HQ-16 system used in ships and fired from Vertical Launch System(VLS) containers.

The original HQ-16 is based on a joint development of the Russian Buk-M1 (SA-11 'Gadfly') and Ural/Buk-2M (SA-17 'Grizzly') Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) systems, for use from mobile ground vehicles and later from ships. The HQ-16A is able to engage aerial targets at high altitude; the mid-range HQ-16 is also able to intercept very low-flying targets at a distance of up to about 40 kilometers, filling the gap between the HQ-7 short-range SAM and the HQ-9 long-range SAM systems. The HQ-16A missile can hit targets of an altitude from 400 to 10,000 meters.

Design: 

The LY-80 launcher missile system is carried by an 8x8 truck that contains a command and control station behind the cab, and behind those are six firing missile containers in two rows of three. These containers are tilted back so that the missiles can be fired straight up, just as they are from VLS cells. In firing position, the wheels are raised off the ground and the carriage is supported at four points by hydraulic jacks, two at the rear and one on each side.

Armament System:

Image Attribute: LY-80 Missile / Source: Flickr

The LY-80 missile can intercept an aerial flying target from a 15 m to 18 km of altitude, while its maximum interception range for combat aircraft is 40km, and between 3.5 km and 12 km for cruise missiles flying at an altitude of 50 meters at a speed of 300 meters/second. Single-shot kill probability is a claimed figure of 85 per cent against combat aircraft, and 60 percent of cruise missiles. The missile guidance system is of the composite type, comprising initial independent inertial guidance and intermittent illumination and semi-active homing terminal guidance.

Command and Control System:

The LY-80 SAM components comprise a searching radar vehicle, command vehicle, radar tracking and guidance vehicle, launcher unit vehicle, and missiles canister. Technical support equipment includes missile transportation and loading vehicle, power supply vehicle, maintenance vehicle, and missile test equipment. A single radar guidance vehicle controls two to four launcher units with six missiles ready to launch. The command vehicle is responsible for sending target information and combat orders.

Image Attribute: Search radar vehicle from HQ-16A (LY-80) air defense missile system battery unit / Source: www.81.com

The searching radar vehicle is equipped with solid-state S-band 3-D passive phased-array radar mounted on the top of a mast. When the target is detected, the searching radar vehicle performs automatic IFF (Identification Friend-or-Foe), threat judgment, flight path processing and provide target engagement information for the tracking-and-guidance radar. The S-band radar has a range of 140 km and can detect targets flying at an altitude of 20 km.

The tracking and guidance radar vehicle perform target acquisition and tracking, and identification of target types. It also controls the missile launching and illuminates the target after the missile is fired. L-band passive phased-array radar is mounted at the rear of the vehicle and has a range of 85 km. The L-band radar can detect up to six targets and track four of them, and provide fire-control/guidance for up to eight missiles.

Based on reporting by ISPR, Quwa, and Army Recognition