| AT-1K Raybolt | |
| Origin: | South Korea |
| Type: | Anti-tank guided missile |
| Is Ranged: | yes |
| Is Explosive: | yes |
| Is Missile: | yes |
| Used By: | See Operators |
| Wars: | Yemeni Civil War[1] Second Nagorno-Karabakh War[2] |
| Designer: | Agency for Defense Development Hanwha Defense (launcher) LIG Nex1 (missile) |
| Design Date: | 2007–2015[3] |
| Manufacturer: | Hanwha Vision (launcher) LIG Nex1 (missile) |
| Production Date: | 2017–present |
| Weight: | Include launcher: 20kg (40lb) Missile: 13kg (29lb) |
| Max Range: | 2500m (8,200feet) – 3000m (10,000feet) (observed) |
| Sights: | Thermal weapon sight |
| Filling: | HEAT |
| Detonation: | Contact fuze |
| Yield: | 900mm RHA behind ERA |
| Guidance: | fire-and-forget-aided Infrared guidance |
| Speed: | 1.7Mach[4] |
| Launch Platform: | Man-portable launcher |
The AT-1K Raybolt (Korean: 현궁 "Hyeon-gung",[5] Hanja: 晛弓) is a South Korean man-portable third-generation anti-tank guided missile built by LIG Nex1. It has fire-and-forget capability using an infrared imaging seeker and has a tandem-warhead to defeat explosive reactive armor. The Raybolt has a top attack and direct attack modes.[6] [7] It is the first ATGM to be built by South Korea and entered mass production in June 2017.
The Raybolt is positioned by its manufacturer as a competitor and peer with the American FGM-148 Javelin and Israeli Spike-MR ATGMs.[8]
The Raybolt was first shown publicly at the Indodefence 2014 exhibition.[9]
Development began in 2007 and began in earnest in 2010, as South Korea's existing anti-tank guided missiles were reaching the end of their 25-year service life.[10] LIG Nex1's priorities during development were world-class performance, weight, export competitiveness through localization of core components, cost-efficiency, and reliability. The development was not completely smooth, and for the first five years there were several failures with "Captive Flight Tests". In a retrospective on the development of the Raybolt, one engineer assessed the greatest challenge as quality assurance.[11] On May 30, 2017, successfully completed the quality certification test of Raybolt organized by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).[12]
The Raybolt was developed to replace obsolete anti-tank weapons, such as recoilless rifles and TOW missiles.[13] South Korea's 1970s-vintage TOW missiles lacked tandem-warheads and would not be able to destroy modern North Korean tanks equipped with explosive reactive armor (ERA).[13]
The Raybolt is produced by LIG Nex1 in cooperation with South Korea's Agency for Defense Development (ADD), under the auspices of the DAPA. About 95% of the Raybolt is made in South Korea.[14]
The Raybolt underwent successful test evaluations in Saudi Arabia in December 2013 and January 2014. The Raybolt contract is expected to be worth 1 trillion won through till 2023.[14]
The Raybolt's most notable feature is an imaging infrared seeker providing fire-and-forget capability. It also has a tandem-warhead and both direct attack and top attack modes. The Raybolt uses a smokeless propellant and can be fired from within a building. The Raybolt missile and Observation and Launch Unit (OLU) can either be vehicle-mounted or carried as a manpack by two men. There are also discussions to mount the Raybolt on helicopters. The OLU has day/night capability via a thermal sight. The missile uses a soft launch to escape the barrel before activating the main flight motor.[10] It is scheduled to be acquired over the 2018-2022 timeframe.[13]
The Raybolt system weight about,[13] which its manufacturer describes as lighter than peers.[8] The Raybolt's range is 2.5[15] or 3 km.[14] The Raybolt's HEAT tandem warhead can penetrate 900 mm of RHA beyond defeating ERA,[16] which is described as "excellent performance" by DAPA.[13]
The Raybolt has been marketed to India.[17] Park Tae-sik, senior manager at LIG Nex1, also reports interest from South America.[10]
The missile can be carried by a two-man crew or fitted to fire from vehicles. The South Korean Army uses an anti-tank version of the Kia Motors 4×4 Light Tactical Vehicle (LTV) called the K-153C; the roof is equipped with a launcher turret with two missiles ready to fire and four additional missiles carried inside the vehicle.[15]
The Raybolt was delivered to the Republic of Korea Armed Forces in 2017.[13] It will be used by the Korean Army and the ROK Marine Corps.
In 2018, the Raybolt was used in the Yemeni Civil War by Saudi-backed forces against the Houthis.[1] [18]
Azerbaijan
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Indonesia