Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
May 23, 2012
IWG Report 2009
Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
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Hsiung Feng 3
| Country: | Taiwan |
|---|---|
| Alternate Name: | HF-3, Male Bee 3 |
| Class: | SSM |
| Target: | Ship, land-based targets |
| Length: | 5.1 m |
| Diameter: | 0.38 m |
| Launch Weight: | 660 kg |
| Payload: | single warhead, 120kg |
| Propulsion: | ramjet with solid propellant boost |
| Range: | 130 km |
| Guidance: | Inertial, Active Radar with Infrared Seeker |
| Status: | Operational |
| In Service: | 2008 |
Details
Hsiung Feng 3 is a short-range, ship and ground-launched, ramjet-powered, single-warhead, surface-to-surface cruise missile designed, built, and operated by Taiwan.
The Hsiung Feng 3 is the third generation of the Hsiung Feng cruise missiles. The first generation Hsiung Feng 1 was simply a Taiwanese-built version of the Israeli Gabriel Mk 2 missile. The second generation Hsiung Feng 2 departed from the original design, allowing Taiwan domestically to design a missile with significant advantages over its predecessor. The Hsiung Feng 2 has also been modified and redesigned in recent years; many of these advances are probably reflected in the design for the Hsiung Feng 3. It is possible, for example, that the Hsiung Feng 3 shares the airframe and guidance built for the Hsiung Feng 2ER.
Perhaps the most significant advantage of the Hsiung Feng 3 over its predecessors is the use of a ramjet motor, an advance that allows the missile to travel at around mach 2.0 while cruising at an altitude between 20 and 200 m. To reach this speed, the missile is fired with a solid-propellant booster engine that is jettisoned after initial acceleration. The missile has a length of 5.1 m, a diameter of 0.38 m, a launch weight of 660 kg, and a payload of 120 kg. The payload carries a conventional HE warhead. There have been conflicting reports about the maximum range of the Hsiung Feng 3. Prior to development in 1994, the missile was expected to have a range of 200 km. Following initial development, range was reported at 300 to 600 km in 2001 and 1500 km in 2004. Finally, in 2007 the range was reported to be a mere 130 km.
The Hsiung Feng 3 probably does not fit the ship, ground, and air-based launchers developed for the Hsiung Feng 2. It is believed that the missile will be fitted to Cheng Kung and Kang Ding-class frigates and in land-based coastal batteries. The missile is primarily an anti-ship missile, but it may have land-attack capabilities as well.
Development on the Hsiung Feng 3 began in 1995. Flight trials began as early as 1998, but testing did not begin until 2001. Initial production probably started in 2004, with subsequent tests taking place before regular production began in 2007. The missile is believed to have entered service in early 2008.
Footnotes
1. Jane's Strategic Weapon Systems, Issue 50, ed. Duncan Lennox, (Surrey: Jane's Information Group, January 2009) 176-178.
