TC-1L

Description

The Tien Chien-1L (陸射天劍一型飛彈) is the land-based variant of NCSIST TC-1 IR AAM specifically for the Antelope ADS of ROCA; as part of the "Indigenous Defense Fighter" program started in 1982, NCSIST developed a domestic alternative to the US-built AIM-9 family for the new jet fighter likely in view of any potential political changes in future by 1983. The new missile was tested on an AIDC-assembled F-5E way before the future F-CK-1 joined ROCAF service by 1993; meanwhile, to further enhance field air-defense capabilities, reusing the over-produced TC-1 for ROCAF and minimize logistical pressure, many of the 250 TC-1 missiles were converted for ground-based platforms. This conversion also led to a sea-based platform for ROCN FFGs as the final layer of CIWS.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• Antelope

General info

Missile characteristics
Calibre	127 mm
Mass	90 kg
Maximum speed	745 m/s
Maximum overload	35 G
Guidance	IR
Aspect	All-aspect
Lock range (rear-aspect)	11 km
Lock range (all-aspect)	3.0 km
Launch range	6 km
Missile guidance time	60 secs
Explosive mass	5.81 kg TNTe
Fuse delay	1 m
Fuse sensitivity	0.3 mm
Trigger radius	5 m

Effective damage

TC-1L has 5.81 kg TNTe of explosive on its warhead, which would cause extensive shrapnel and explosive damage to enemy aircrafts/rotorcrafts within the explosion proximity of the missile.

Comparison with analogues

MIM-72G - Its intended analogue, while both being all-aspect IR AAM, TC-1L has higher speed (at 745 m/s), overload (twice, at 35G) and being heavier.

9M37M - Soviet field IR AAM; while TC-1L outperforms 9M37M in most aspects, 9M37M has image-locking for reliable lock-on to enemy targets

Usage in battles

For the time being (and possibly near future), Antelope would be the only carrier of TC-1L; for players who have leveled up from PGZ04A to Antelope, these 4 missiles will be the only option for the vehicle. But thanks to its overload and IRCCM capabilities, as well as its late AIM-9 equivalent performance, players can utilize a more stealthy approach to use the missiles - use any means possible to detect enemy aircrafts, either from friendly reports or by the IR cameras onboard; then lure them into all-aspect range and delivery the fatal blow to them, the 35G overload is more than enough to finish off even some of the most maneuverable jets at its tier, be sure to leave enough clearance in case of trajectory drops after launch as it is rather heavy for its class.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Rather high overload at 35G
• Sufficient explosive content to blast aircrafts/rotorcrafts even from a near-miss
• IRCCM capabilities for ignoring enemy flares

Cons:

• Very dependent on platform's ammo reserve, in current case, only four missiles
• Missile is quite heavy and requires some clearance for a launch

History

By 1980s, after the the recognition of Mainland China by United States and halt of military trades, AIDC and ROCAF started the "Indigenous Defense Fighter" (自主防禦戰鬥機) program as the possible future solution to replace the aging fleet of ROCAF interceptors; which also led to the development of a domestic AAM in view of possible halt of supply. The development team led by Yang Chingyu (楊景槱) started the Project Tien Chiang (天翔計劃) for the missile weaponry of IDF in 1983; after tests in April 1986 proved its combat capabilities on the testbed F-5E and the finalization by 1993, the new missile now known as Tien Chien-1 faced an embarrassing problem from Ministry of National Defense - the abundance of AIM-9P4 and future AIM-9Ls for ROCAF jets, due to the compatibility of the now F-CK-1's pylon for TC-1 and AIM-9 series on certain weapon stations, the produced TC-1s at around 250 missiles became a logistical issue for ROCAF; meanwhile, for further enhancing air-defense capabilities and additions to the existing MIM-72 fleet in ROCA, these missiles were then converted as the land-based variant, TC-1L by late-1990s during the heat of cross-strait crisis and were tested on multiple platforms including CM-31 APC, HUMMEV. To further reduce the operational and conversion cost of the system, ROCA eventually opted for Kuozui Motors-Toyota Dyna U100 as the chassis and leading to the Antelope system debuted in June 1999's Han Kuang 13th Exercise.

The TC-1L was eventually developed into the Sea Oryx (海劍羚) system for ROCN as their final layer of CIWS, which still need further evaluation to pass for commission for ROCN.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

• 9A35M2 Strela-10M2

• MIM-72 Chaparral - also in ROCA service
  • Improved Chaparral (US); (IL)

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.