TL-10

TL-10
Type	anti-ship / air-to-surface missiles
Place of origin	China
Service history
In service	prior to 2006 – present
Used by	China
Production history
Manufacturer	Hongdu Aviation Industry Corporation
Produced	prior to 2006
Specifications
Weight	105 kg
Length	2.5 meter
Diameter	0.18 meter
Warhead	30 kg warhead
Detonation mechanism	Semi-armor-piercing
Engine	rocket motor
Wingspan	0.568 meter
Propellant	solid fuel
Operational range	≈20 km
Speed	≈ Mach 0.85
Guidance system	ARH / ImIR IR / TV
Launch platform	Air & surface

The TL-10 (Tian Long - 10) or Sky Dragon (天龙) - 10 is a light anti-ship missile unveiled in the Zhuhai Airshow in 2004 in China, and it is the Chinese equivalent of the French MM-15TT / AS-15TT light anti-ship missile developed by Aérospatiale.

The development of the TL program appeared to have started in the mid-1990s and were originally identified as the FL-8 (TL-10) and FL-9 (TL-6) under China National Aero Technology Import & Export Company (CATIC). The program and missiles were officially revealed in the Zhuhai Airshow in 2004 by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC).

At the Zhuhai Airshow, two versions, TL-10A and TL-10B were revealed, A with the television seeker and the B with the radar seeker. The manufacturer revealed that plans to develop additional seekers such as imaging infrared were already in progress, that would enable the installation of the TL-10 on air and land platforms.

TL-10 along with TL-6 are both developed and manufactured by Hongdu Aviation Industry Corporation, and the philosophy is identical to that of its French equivalent MM-15TT / AS-15TT light anti-ship missile developed by Aérospatiale.

There are thousands small of fast attack craft and patrol boats armed with anti-ship missiles that pose great threats, but are not cost effective to engage with traditional anti-ship missiles such as Harpoon and Exocet that are designed to engage large warships. Thus, it has been proved necessary to develop a light anti-ship missile to engage these small yet highly lethal boats. TL-10, like C-701 is the Chinese answer to this problem.

TL-10 is specifically designed to engage boats displacing 500 tons or less, and when launched, the missile will first climb to enable the seeker to acquire targets, and then immediately descend down to sea-skimming cruise altitude during its flight. Like the anti-ship version of the C-701, TL-10 is also armed with a television seeker that is interchangeable with TL-6. However, unlike the C-701 guidance has an additional command option which enables the operator to alter the targets, TL-10 is a purely fire-and-forget weapon. Western sources have claimed that the Iranian anti-ship missile Kowsar which is manufactured by the Iran Aviation Industries Organization is based on TL-10 while the Nasr is based on the TL-6.