On August 14, China’s CCTV walked into the Chinese weapon Hunan Yunjian Company to introduce China’s domestically produced aerial bombs. The program unveiled that domestic inertial navigation/satellite-guided bombs have been mass-produced, which means that the Chinese Air Force is about to enter a new era of comprehensive precision strikes.
Relevant pictures indicate that China’s domestically-made inertial navigation/satellite-guided bombs, like the American JDAM, are modified from existing aerial bombs, according to military analyst Xiao Feizhu. The advantage of this is that the current inventory bombs can be used to reduce system costs and expenses. The homemade inertial navigation/satellite-guided bombs of China are also similar to the American JDAM modification, in that the original tail cone is removed and the guidance component cabin is replaced. Due to the need to accommodate guidance components, steering gear, and other equipment, the JDAM tail cone is significantly larger than the ordinary bomb, which is basically an empty shell, the most obvious difference between JDAM and ordinary bombs.
Furthermore, China’s homemade inertial navigation/satellite-guided bomb seems to have an additional small sidebar on the head, and this small sidebar can also be seen on JDAM. Its function is to increase the lift of the system and improve the lift-to-drag ratio. For unpowered launch weapons, the launch distance is equal to the equal lift-drag ratio * launch height, so under the condition of a certain launch height, the greater the lift-drag ratio, the longer the launch distance. After JDAM bombs have additional guidance components, the accuracy of the delivery is increased, so the delivery distance needs to be increased to maximize the effectiveness. This kind of small side strip has a simple structure and is easy to modify. Of course, the effect is relatively low. Therefore, more complicated retractable wings have appeared to further increase the delivery distance of the system.
The main guidance system of China’s domestic inertial guidance/satellite-guided bombs is the inertial guidance system. This system has the advantages of small size, lightweight, and is not affected by the external environment. Electronic interference is useless for it, but its disadvantage is that the guidance accuracy will increase with distance. As time increases and decreases, external means are needed to correct deviations. Satellite navigation positioning accuracy is not affected by distance and time and is an ideal correction method. The development of modern information technology has also greatly reduced the volume and weight of the guidance system. The size of modern inertial measurement units and satellite navigation receivers is only tens of millimeters, and the weight is hundreds of grams. The cost and price are also very low, which paves the way for its large-scale application.
The mass production and installation of China’s homemade inertial navigation/satellite-guided bombs is actually another achievement of the Beidou satellite navigation and positioning system. As mentioned earlier, inertial navigation systems require satellite navigation and positioning to correct deviations, but satellite navigation and positioning have long been monopolized by GPS of the United States. Therefore, JDAM has also been monopolized by the United States in the international market. The United States has also used GPS to control NATO’s long-range delivery and off-zone strike capabilities. As the United States refuses to open high-precision GPS signals to non-NATO allies, other countries have major obstacles to using INS/GPS. China has successfully developed this kind of bombs, the domestic Feiteng series of inertial navigation/satellite-guided bombs participated in the Zhuhai Air Show as early as 2006, and this is the reason why they have not been equipped o Chinese troops.
It is precisely because of this that China has decided to build the Beidou satellite navigation and positioning system to get rid of its dependence on GPS. At the same time, it can also improve the Chinese military’s long-range projection, off-zone strike, and precision strike capabilities. In fact, within NATO, the United States has a distinction between closeness and estrangement. There are almost no restrictions on the use of GPS by members of the Five Eyes Alliance like the United Kingdom. France’s status is inferior to that of the United Kingdom. Therefore, France’s own Apache off-zone attack missiles do not use GPS, instead, terrain matching is used to correct its inertial navigation system, while its British improved-version storm shadow guidance system has been changed to INS/GPS. The European Union decided to establish its own Galileo global satellite navigation and positioning system to get rid of its dependence on GPS.
With the development of China’s information industry, the prices of high-precision IMU and satellite receivers have been very low, and the price of ordinary civilian versions has dropped to about 100 yuan. Even considering the higher reliability of military use, the price of domestic guidance components should not be too high. Therefore, it can be easily used to convert existing ordinary bombs into inertial navigation/satellite-guided bombs.
It is generally believed that the Chinese Air Force is about to or has begun to convert existing ordinary bombs into inertial navigation/satellite-guided bombs, and domestic combat aircraft will soon bid farewell to iron bombs!
From CCTV’s program, we can also see that China’s homemade guided bombs are also being developed in-depth. For example, the use of gliding to increase the wing of the projectile can further increase the launch distance and realize the prevention of foreign attacks. With terminal guidance systems, bombs can autonomously detect and identify targets and can strike targets more accurately, as well as strike moving targets. It is conceivable that with the popularity of China’s guided bombs, the Chinese Air Force’s ground attack will fully enter the era of precision strikes.