Sky Sword I

For the medium-range missile, see Sky Sword II.

Sky Sword I
Type	Guided missile
Place of origin	Taiwan
Service history
In service	1980s to present
Used by	Republic of China Air Force and Republic of China Army
Production history
Designed	Early 1980s
Manufacturer	National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology
Variants	Antelope air defence system and Sea Oryx
References

TC-1 Sky Sword I (air-to-air)

ROCAF F-CK-1A at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base with a TC-1 on the wingtip

The Sky Sword 1 (Chinese: 天劍一, Tien Chien I), or TC-1, is a short range infrared guided air-to-air missile. The missile has fire and forget slave-by-radar capabilities. It consists of an imaging infrared seeker, a high explosive warhead, a solid propellant motor and a guidance control unit.^[1] The seeker uses dual spectral IR and has a detection range of 18.5km.^[2] The Sky Sword 1 is also used as a surface-to-air missile by the Antelope air defence system.^[3][4]

Development

The Sky Sword 1 was developed in the mid-1980s and revealed in May 1986, as Taiwan's first indigenous air-to-air missile.^[5] The production of the missile started in 1991 and the air-to-air version entered ROCAF service in 1993. It bears a striking similarity to the American AIM-9 (also in Taiwanese service) and fulfills a similar role on the Indigenous Defense Fighter to the AIM-9 on the F-16. In 2017 NCSIST exhibited a variant of the TC-1 with a larger diameter motor.^[6]

Service history

TC-1 missiles were employed during a 2019 training exercise off Taiwan’s east coast.^[7]

Variants

TC-1L

Antelope air defense system

The TC-1L is a ground-launched variant for use with the Antelope air defence system.^[8]

Sea TC-1

Developed for use with the Sea Oryx system, the Sea TC-1 variant has an improved seeker, data-link, and rocket motor.^[9]

See also

• Republic of China Air Force
• Sky Bow
• Sky Sword II

Similar weapons

• AIM-9 Sidewinder – (United States)
• RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile – (United States)
• AAM-3 – (Japan)
• AAM-5 – (Japan)
• R.550 Magic – (France)
• MICA – (France)
• MAA-1 Piranha – (Brazil)
• A-Darter – (South Africa)
• Fatter – (Iran)
• R-73 – (Soviet Union)
• PL-9 – (China)
• Python – (Israel)

References

1. "NCSIST". www.ncsist.org.tw. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
2. "IR Seeker (Sky Sword I)". cmano-db.com. CMANO. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
3. "The Antelope – Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance".
4. "Antelope Tien Chien 1 TC-1 surface-to-air defense missile system technical data sheet specifications | Taiwan Taiwanese missile vehicle system UK | Taiwan Taiwanese army military equipment vehicle U".
5. Jane's Weapon Systems. F. Watts. 1987.
6. Cheng Jiawen, Hong Zhe Zhengyi. "國造海劍羚艦對空飛彈 預計111年服役". udn.com. UDN. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
7. Evelyn Kao, Matt Yu and. "Taiwan holds live-fire drill along east coast". focustaiwan.tw. Focus Taiwan. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
8. "Antelope Air Defense System". www.ncsist.org.tw. National Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
9. Minnick, Wendell (12 August 2015). "Taiwan Defense Show Exhibits New Weapons". www.defensenews.com. Defense News. Retrieved 1 April 2019.

External links

• TC-2 info on Global Security
• TC-2N test video:[1]