DK-10


The DK-10 missile is a surface-to-air missile developed by Aviation Industry Corporation of China, as part of the Sky Dragon 50, Tianlong-50, or GAS2, air defense system, jointly developed by AVIC and China North Industries Corporation. As a competitor to the HQ-16 medium-range air defense system, it lost the bid against the HQ-16 for the Chinese People's Liberation Army service as the HQ-16 was selected. Later, it was exported by Norinco for foreign armed forces.

History and development

The DK-10 missile is a surface-to-air variant developed from the PL-12 air-to-air missile. The PL-12 was developed by Aviation Industry Corporation of China as a beyond-visual-range active-radar weapon for the Chengdu J-10 and Chengdu FC-1 fighters. At Zhuhai Airshow 2008, AVIC revealed the Hunter II air defense missile system, which consists of a mix of ground-launched PL-12 and PL-9C missiles. The Hunter II system can engage targets at a range of.
SD-10, as a ground launch missile, had its limitations; thus, AVIC developed an improved variant called DK-10, which is optimized for ground launch with an enlarged missile fuselage containing more fuel. In September 2014, the DK-10 missile was displayed at the AAD Defense Exhibition in South Africa. At Zhuhai Airshow in November 2014, The DK-10 missile was displayed as a part of the Sky Dragon 50 air defense system, jointly developed in partnership by AVIC and China North Industries Corporation. Aside from the DK-10, a shorter-range version called the Sky Dragon 12 was also displayed.

Design

DK-10 is an enlarged SD-10A for better ground-launched performance. The missile features a length of, a diameter of, a range of, and a launch altitude of. The guidance mode consists of an inertial navigation system, datalink, and active radar homing at the terminal phase.
The Sky Dragon 50 air defense system can fire multiple DK-10 missiles simultaneously. A typical battery consists of one command vehicle, one IBIS-150 3D radar vehicle, one fire distribution vehicle, and up to six launch vehicles. Each launch vehicle consists of a 6x6 Beiben 2628 truck carrying 4 ready-to-launch missile canisters. The IBIS-150 radar can simultaneously track 144 targets and engage 12 targets by guiding a total of 24 missiles, with two missiles against each target to ensure that the minimum probability of kill is greater than eighty percent. The radar has a search range of and a tracking range of for a typical fighter-sized target. Aside from the IBIS-150 radar, the customer can choose the more advanced IBIS-200 active electronically scanned array radar.

Deployment

The Sky Dragon 50 system was a competitor to the HQ-16. However, it was not selected and adopted by the People's Liberation Army.
In 2014, it was reported that the Rwandan Armed Forces had purchased at least 4 launchers of the Sky Dragon 50.
In 2017, the Sky Dragon 50 was sold to the Moroccan Armed Forces. Prior to taking delivery, Moroccan officers from the Royal Artillery, radar specialist, and air defense operator units had undergone training in China.

Variants

;DK-10: Surface to air missile developed from the SD-10A missile
;Sky Dragon 50: Surface-to-air missile system mounted on Beiben 2628 truck

Operators

Current operators

  • Royal Moroccan Army - 24 launchers
  • Rwanda Defence Force - 4 launchers