Modern air defence system handed over to army

LY 80 system capable of tracking, destroying targets at low and medium altitude; COAS says system to increase army’s response capability to current, emerging threats

RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Army has inducted low to medium altitude air defence system (Lomads) LY 80 in its air defence system.According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa was the chief guest at the induction ceremony held at the Army Auditorium.

The LY 80 is a Chinese mobile air defence system capable of tracking and destroying variety of aerial targets at longer ranges flying at low and medium altitudes.  The COAS said that LY 80 Lomads increases the army’s response capability to current and emerging air defence threats.

Earlier on arrival, the army chief was received by Commander Army Air Defence Command Lieutenant General Muhammad Zahid Latif Mirza. The HQ16A (LY-80) SAM components comprise a searching radar vehicle, command vehicle, radar tracking and guidance vehicle, launcher unit vehicle, and missiles canister. Technical support equipment includes missile transportation and loading vehicle, power supply vehicle, maintenance vehicle, and missile-test equipment. A single radar guidance vehicle controls two to four launcher units with six missiles ready to launch. The command vehicle is responsible for sending target information and combat orders.

The searching radar vehicle is equipped with solid-state S-band 3-D passive phased-array radar mounted on the top of a mast. When the target is detected, the searching radar vehicle performs automatic IFF (Identification Friend-or-Foe), threat judgment, flight path processing and provide target engagement information for the tracking-and-guidance radar. The S-band radar has a range of 140 kms and can detect targets flying at an altitude of 20 kms.