The Raybolt is positioned by its manufacturer as a competitor and peer with the American FGM-148 Javelin and Israeli Spike-MR ATGMs.[6]
The Raybolt was first shown publicly at the Indodefence 2014 exhibition[7] and at the IDEX 2015 exhibition.[8]
Development
Defense quality certification test of AT-1K Raybolt in May 2017
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.[9] LIG Nex1's priorities during development were world-class performance, weight, export competitiveness through localization of core components, cost-efficiency, and reliability.[10] The development was not completely smooth, and for the first five years there were several failures with "Captive Flight Tests".[10] In a retrospective on the development of the Raybolt, one engineer assessed the greatest challenge as quality assurance.[10] On May 30, 2017, successfully completed the quality certification test of Raybolt organized by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).[11]
The Raybolt was developed to replace obsolete anti-tank weapons, such as recoilless rifles and TOW missiles.[12] 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).[12]
The Raybolt is produced by LIG Nex1 in cooperation with South Korea's Agency for Defense Development, under the auspices of the DAPA.[13] 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.[10] The Raybolt contract is expected to be worth 1 trillion won through till 2023.[14]
Components
AT-1K Raybolt's fixed target firing demonstration
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.[13] The Raybolt uses a smokeless propellant and can be fired from within a building.[13] The Raybolt missile and Observation and Launch Unit (OLU) can either be vehicle-mounted or carried as a manpack by two men.[13] There are also discussions to mount the Raybolt on helicopters.[10] The OLU has day/night capability via a thermal sight.[13] The missile uses a soft launch to escape the barrel before activating the main flight motor.[9] It is scheduled to be acquired over the 2018-2022 timeframe.[12]
The Raybolt system weight about 20 kg (44 lb),[12] which its manufacturer describes as lighter than peers.[6] 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.[12]
AT-1K missile
The Raybolt has been marketed to India.[17] Park Tae-sik, senior manager at LIG Nex1, also reports interest from South America.[9]
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]
