What are the Chinese LS-6 bombs that the PAF dropped on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa village?

At least 30 people, including women and children, have been killed after the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) dropped LS-6 bombs on a village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The incident occurred around 2 am in the Pashtun-majority Matre Dara village, located in the Tirah Valley.

Gruesome images of the air strike have gone viral on social media. Authorities said the air force was targeting Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists. According to reports, Pakistan’s JF-17 jets – a joint project between Beijing and Islamabad – dropped several LS-6 bombs on the village, obliterating a large part of it.

The region in recent days has witnessed several operations by authorities against terrorist groups. However, all the victims here were civilians. The toll is expected to rise and rescue operations are ongoing. But what do we know about the LS-6 precision-guided glide bombs?

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Let’s take a closer look.

What we know

The LS-6 (LeiShi) is a Chinese-built glide bomb. The LS is a designation for a family of precision-guided munitions (PGM) named Thunder Stone Precision Guided Bombs. These bombs were developed by Luoyang Electro-Optics Technology Development Centre (EOTDC) – a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).

They can also be referred to as the Thunder Stone Gliding Guided Bomb, or LS GGB. They operate via an Inertial Navigation System (INS) with GPS or laser guidance, using China’s BeiDou satellite navigation system. The system comprises two modules – the guidance module and the gliding module. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force reportedly began conducting a series of tests of the LS-6 on the Shenyang J-8B in 2006. It was first unveiled to the public at the 6th Zhuhai Airshow held in November of that year.

How it works

It is a guidance/wing kit that allows conventional free-fall bombs – known as ‘dumb’ bombs – to be converted into precision weapons. This allows them to attack fixed targets on the ground. It is designed to attach to four bomb sizes – 500 kilos, 550 kilos, 100 kilos and 50 kilos.

It also comes with a pair of foldable wings and cruciform tail surfaces — made up of composite material and aluminium alloys — to increase range and allow in-flight guidance/steering. T his improves the bomb’s precision and allows aircraft to hit targets from further and higher away. The smaller variants can be carried in the internal weapons bays of fighters like the Chengdu J-20.

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Range and accuracy

Its range depends on the altitude and speed of the aircraft. It is said to have a range of 40 kilometres when released from a height of 8,000 metres and a range of 60 kilometres when released from a height of around 1,000 kilometres. The ordnance, around 15 metres from a target, hits a speed of Mach 1 (1,234 kmph).

Reports about its accuracy vary from under 15 metres to terminal accuracy depending on the variant, including those with laser terminal guidance or electro-optical / scene-matching seekers. There are additional versions reportedly under development, including those with an imaging infrared targeting system, which is based on the seekers of air-to-air missiles developed by EOTDC.

All models in the family of this weapon are built to Chinese military standard – meaning they can easily be deployed on any western platforms.

The LS-6 is essentially a relatively low-cost way to turn dumb bombs into precision guided munitions; it decreases the risk aircraft face from air defences and gives the air force flexible warhead options for different target sets.

With inputs from agencies