Low-Cost_Guided_Imaging_Rocket
Low-Cost Guided Imaging Rocket
Weapons system
The Low-Cost Guided Imaging Rocket (LOGIR; Korean: 저비용 유도 이미징 로켓) or Poniard (Korean: 비궁; Hanja: 匕弓; RR: Bi-gung) is a surface-to-ship guided rocket developed by Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and LIG Nex1.[1] The LOGIR was a weapons system under development for the US Navy as part of ONR's Low-Cost Imaging Terminal Seeker (LCITS) FNC.[2] It transitioned as the weapon used in the Medusa Joint Capability Technology Demonstration with South Korea.[3]
| Poniard Low-Cost Guided Imaging Rocket 비궁 지대함 유도 로켓 | |
|---|---|
A diagram of a Poniard guided rocket | |
| Type | Surface-to-ship rocket |
| Place of origin | South Korea |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2017–present |
| Used by | See Operators |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Agency for Defense Development LIG Nex1 |
| Manufacturer | LIG Nex1 |
| Produced | 2016–present |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 14 kg (31 lb) |
| Length | 1.9 m (6.2 ft) |
| Diameter | 70 mm (2.75 in) |
| Maximum firing range | 8 km (5.0 mi) |
| Propellant | Single-stage solid propellant |
Guidance system | Fire-and-forget-aided INS and Infrared homing |
| Accuracy | 0.54 m CEP |
The program provided a precision guided 2.75 inch (70 mm) rocket for use with existing Hydra 70 systems in service, as such it has many similarities with the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System program. The principal difference between the systems is that while APKWS uses terminal laser homing, requiring the target to be 'painted' until impact, LOGIR would guide to a position supplied by the launching aircraft, using imaging infrared in the terminal phase making it a true fire-and-forget weapon.[2][4] Another advantage of LOGIR was that it was "especially effective against swarm attacks by enemies like small boats, as there’s no need for ongoing guidance."[5]
The South Korean version, designated K-LOGIR, is used on the ROK Marine Corps Bigung (Poniard) mobile coastal defense system.[1] Bigung is a 6×6 truck fitted with 2×18-round containers for 36 rockets to counter North Korean Fast Inshore Attack Craft (FIAC), landing craft and landing vehicles. The rockets are equipped with the LCITS using IIR imaging technology with an additional low-cost inertial correction unit. LOGIR is designed to defeat predominantly small-scale, high-speed surface targets, but because of the limited cost requirements its use for less-contrast ground targets is less effective; it has a weight below 17.5 kg (39 lb) and a length of 1.9 m (6.2 ft) with range greater than 8 km (5.0 mi).[6]
South Korea's contribution in the LOGIR program are the following:[7]
- Electronics for guidance and control system (production only, design by the USA)
- Electronics for control actuation system (DSP and PWM inverter board)
- Assembly parts for control actuation system (CAS frame and integrated BLDC motor)
- Airframe structure and fins (canard fin, CAS skin, seeker skin)
- Cruciform tail fins and nozzle assembly
- Warhead and fuze attachment improvement
- Mass: 14 kg (31 lb)
- Length: 1.9 m (6.2 ft)
- Diameter: 70 mm (2.75 in)
- Maximum range: 8 km (5.0 mi)
- Guidance: INS midcourse/Imaging infrared terminal.
- Motor: Existing Hydra 70 motors
Current operators
- Gabriel Dominguez (7 April 2020). "South Korea's Poniard guided rocket system passes Pentagon's Foreign Comparative Testing". Janes Information Services. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ROK Marine Corps Showcasing Bigung for the 1st Time - Armyrecognition.com, 18 October 2017
- Yoo Hee-suk (5 April 2023). "사우디, '천무' 이어 '비궁' 실전배치…K방산 수출 확대". Newsis. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
