Cheonryong air-launched cruise missile with a penetrating warhead passed its third launch test from the FA-50 light combat aircraft, after two failed tests.
ROK’s new air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) Cheonryong KALCM, utilising a penetrating warhead, completed its first successful launch test from a KAI FA-50 light combat aircraft (LCA) as reported by Defence Blog.
The new cruise missile was tested twice earlier, with problems regarding stable flight resulting in termination and recovery.
The new cruise missile to address the additional need for ALCMs, which mainly consist of imported AGM-158 JASSM and KEPD 350, in two variants optimised for the KF-21 fighter and FA-50 LCA due to payload capacity differences.
Per the report of KFN, Cheonryong will sport a range of 500 km for the KF-21 variant, while the range is reduced to 350 km for the FA-50 variant, which would render the LCA as one of the few in its class to have stand-off strike capabilities.
The missile’s warhead is another important point, incorporating a hard-case penetrator and a front-end shaped charge for use against hardened structures or underground targets similar to those found in KEPD-350 (MEPHISTO) and Storm Shadow (BORACH).
While ROK has enjoyed stable import relations with the US and EU when it comes to aircraft munitions, it is still developing a wide range of munitions of its own in accordance with its requirements (Both operational and logistical). Cheonryong is one of these efforts alongside a supersonic anti-ship missile and the recently announced aeroballistic missile based on the legacy KTSSM TBM.
Author: Kaan Azman
Editor: Özgür Ekşi
