KongDi-88 (C-802KD) Air-Launched Land-Attack Cruise Missile

The KongDi-88 (KD-88) air-launched land-attack cruise missile (LACM) was developed from the YJ-83 (C-802) anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) first introduced in the late 1980s. The weapon was first unveiled during the 2006 Zhuhai Air Show under its export designation C-802KD. The deployment of the missile by the PLAAF has been confirmed by TV footages of Chinese state television in November 2006. The introduction of this the stand-off precision strike weapon provides the PLA with greater flexibility in targeting key command, communications, or political nodes during a conflict.

The KD-88 is similar in concept to the U.S. Stand-off Land Attack Missile (SLAM), which was originally developed as an anti-ship missile but later adopted for use on aircraft to attack high-value land targets. Powered by a small turbojet engine, the missile can deliver a 165kg conventional HE warhead at subsonic speed (Mach 0.9) over a distance of 180~200km. The missile may use an inertial navigation system (INS), with datalink command for mid-course correction and an active radar homing for terminal guidance. A targeting pod carried by the aircraft provides initial target information.

The missile is claimed to be capable of engaging ships in harbour or fixed land targets. Given that the missile is fitted with a radar seeker only, land targets would need to provide a high radar contrast. The missile can be launched from the JH-7A fighter-bomber and H-6 medium bomber. More capable guidance methods such as GPS and TV-homing may be adopted In the future to achieve higher accuracy. Other variants using the GPS or passive radar radiation guidance methods may have also been developed.

Last update: 26 October 2008