Aselsan Showcases Family of Guidance Kit in IDEF

Laser Guidance Kit (LGK)

LGK is being developed by Aselsan and manufactured on the contract awarded by Turkish MoD in 2013.The Laser Guidance Kit (LGK) is a low cost laser guidance kit applicable to current conventional unguided bombs (MK-82, MK-84). This guidance package consists of a seeker attached to the nose of the weapon, a computer control group, guidance canards attached to the front of the warhead to provide steering commands, and a folding wing kit attached to the rear to provide stability and greater range. Since there is no electrical interface between this weapon and aircraft, integration effort is minimum for any aircraft. The LGK weapon homes on reflected laser beam energy directed on the target. The target illumination can be done by the launching aircraft, by a third aircraft or by ground-based troops operating a laser designator. Once released from the delivery aircraft, the thermal battery for the Guidance Computer Group fires to supply power and the wings are released. After release, the weapon is guided toward the designated impact point by using the control canards and the seeker.

The LGK weapon is effective for stationary and moving targets from the range of 8 nautical miles. Laser designators and seekers use a pulse coding system to ensure that a specific seeker and designator combination work in harmony. By setting the same code in both the designator and the seeker, the seeker will track only the target designated by the designator.

LGK weapon is effective specifically for the fast dive attacks from medium altitude. This attack increases the weapon flight maneuvering ability and also reduces target acquisition problems. LGKs are being certified to the F-16 and F-4E/2020 aircrafts in Turkish Air Force inventory.

Precision Guidance Kit (HGK)

Precision Guidance Kit (HGK) is a guidance package that converts unguided general purpose dumb bomb (MK-84) into a guided smart munition. The key components of the system consist of a tail section with aerodynamic control surfaces, a (body) strake kit, and a GPS/INS guidance control unit.

HGK can be released from F-4E/2020 and F-16 aircrafts in the Turkish Air Force inventory in almost any type of weather to hit the target from 15 nautical miles.

Mission plans are loaded to the host aircraft prior to take off and include target coordinates and weapon terminal parameters. Once power applied by the aircraft, the weapon automatically begins its initialization process. The weapon aligns its INS with the host aircraft’s navigation system during captive carry. Mission data is automatically down loaded to the weapon from the host aircraft. When the host aircraft reaches the release point within the Launch Acceptable Region (LAR), the weapon is released. After release, the bomb’s INS/GPS will take over and guide the bomb to its target regardless of weather. In case HGK loses GPS signals after launch for any reason, INS still provides navigation solution, and HGK hits the target with INS only performance.

HGK was first developed and certified to F-4E/2020 fighter aircraft by TÜBİTAK-SAGE in 2005. Since then, it has been used in many operational environments effectively and continues to be used by Turkish Air Forces as needed. In 2013, HGK was certified to Turkish Air Force F-16 Block 40 aircrafts also.  In 2014, HGK was chosen to be used in UAI (Universal Armament Interface) demonstration effort and released from UAI compatible USA F-16 aircraft successfully.  From 2014, HGK guidance kits are being manufactured by Aselsan under the contract awarded by Turkish MoD. 

Laser HGK (LHGK) is a low cost guidance kit with a laser seeker to hit target with outstanding accuracy. This weapon can be used to engage stationary targets as well as moving targets on the ground with reduced collateral damage. LHGK is developed by adding a precision guidance set, namely laser seeker, to HGK guided bombs. GPS/INS guides the weapon from a stand-off launch point, into the laser designation region. As the weapon reaches the pre-designated area, it switches mode to the laser guidance for terminal phase, homing on laser designated target.