ASTECH Defence has unveiled its SKYWOLF family of guided munitions for UAVs and manned aircraft in the SAHA EXPO 2024 exhibition.
The firm has become the fourth manufacturer of guided munitions with its family of highly modular munitions.
The SKYWOLF family consists of GAM-A glide munition, GAM-B extended-range munition with wing kit, and GAM-D propeller-assisted munition.
All three configurations stand out with their warhead/weight ratio of about 70 per cent, thanks to downscaling in electronics and seekers to provide space. Currently, the warhead options are 17+ kg HE-FRAG and 16 kg multi-purpose warhead with shaped charge plus 8000 fragmentations.
The modular design of SKYWOLF munitions allows for quick changes between configurations. For example, GAM-A can be converted to GAM-B by swapping fins with the deployable wing kit and two-way data-link antenna for man-in-the-loop guidance with imaging seekers.
This modularity also applies to seekers who have options of semi-active laser, long—or short-wavelength IR, and TV.
The baseline variant, GAM-A, has one set of fixed fins and one set of control surfaces, a range of 20 km, and a weight of 23 kg. The unique fin design in GAM-A resulted from R&D for a profile optimised for gliding.GAM-B with wing kit and two-way data-link has a maximum range of 40 km and a weight of 25 kg due to the wing kit being slightly heavier than the fixed fins. In its weight class, GAM-B stands out in terms of the warhead/weight ratio and range.
GAM-D adds an electrically driven propeller to extend the range of GAM-B by giving a small amount of thrust. Thanks to the propeller-assisted flight, the range is the double GAM-B's at 80 km with an extra two kilograms of weight from the propeller. A low-power propeller was preferred to keep the weight as low as possible while significantly increasing range. However, the munition can loiter for a short time upon need and attack the target when desired, thanks to the data-link. An electric propeller is easier to acquire and integrate than a turbojet engine. The range of 80 km, coupled with the high warhead/weight ratio, is a new stand-off option for armed UAVs/UCAVs.
