Ship-launched missiles

[buglerbilly]

Raytheon's Standard Missile-6 Completes Guided Test Vehicle Launch

WHITE SANDS, N.M., Jan. 14, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) Standard Missile-6 successfully completed its fourth guided test vehicle launch, clearing the way for the missile's at-sea testing this year.

"All GTV engineering test objectives were met, demonstrating the SM-6's capabilities in this critical engagement," said Frank Wyatt, Raytheon's vice president of Naval Weapon Systems. "With its over-the-horizon protection, SM-6 will provide the surface Navy with an increased battlespace against anti-air warfare threats. We now move forward with initial operational capability flights of this extended-range AAW system."

SM-6 takes full advantage of the legacy Standard Missile airframe and propulsion elements while incorporating advanced signal processing and guidance control capabilities of Raytheon's Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile. The merger of these two proven technologies allows SM-6 to use both active and semiactive modes.

"The last year has been very important for SM-6," said Wyatt. "We demonstrated integrated fire control, concluded the land-based test flights and entered low rate initial production. Importantly, SM-6 continues to be on time and on budget and is now ready for sea."

[buglerbilly]

Royal Australian Navy Test-Fires Raytheon Standard Missile-2

JERVIS BAY, Australia, Jan. 18, 2010 /PRNewswire

The Royal Australian Navy fired Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) Standard Missile-2 Block IIIA anti-air warfare missile during recent tests on board the HMAS Melbourne.

"With this firing, Melbourne's crew validated the work done to transition warships from SM-1 capability to SM-2," said Ron Shields, Raytheon's SM-2 program director. "This was the first time an SM-2 has been launched by any navy from an upgraded frigate, clearing the way for other fleets to make similar upgrades."

As the most widely fielded variant of SM-2, Block IIIA is deployed by the U.S. and eight allied navies. The missile is part of a long-range area air defense capability capitalizing on communication techniques, midcourse guidance, advanced signal processing and propulsion improvements. These enhancements substantially increase the intercept range to 90 nautical miles (104 statute miles) and provide high- and low-altitude intercept capability and performance against advanced anti-ship missile threats.

Three other Royal Australian Navy frigates are scheduled to be upgraded to the SM-2 configuration. The modifications, along with upgrades to the combat management systems, launchers and other systems, will improve the ships' capabilities against low-altitude and supersonic targets and provide extended area air defense protection.

"Standard Missile has been the U.S. Navy's primary surface-to-air fleet air defense weapon for more than three decades," said Shields. "This test shows the flexibility of SM-2, and why it is the global air defense missile of choice."

[Riđđu]

Just wanted to post that picture.

French submarine test-fires M51 missile for first time

English.news.cn

PARIS, (Xinhua) -- The French Navy successfully carried out its first test-firing of an M51 ballistic missile launched from a submarine, a defense ministry statement said on Wednesday.

The test, conducted earlier in the day, came after three flight tests from land-based launch facilities done between 2006 and 2008.

The test was carried out around 9:25 a.m. (0825 GMT) from the submarine, Le Terrible, at the Audierne Bay in northwestern France.

"(Defense) Minister Herve Morin expressed his great satisfaction with the success, which is so far the fourth experimental flight of the M51 strategic missile without a nuclear warhead," the statement added.

The missile, which reportedly weighs 54 tons and has a range of up to10,000 km, carries six to 10 independently-targetable thermonuclear warheads.

Six more flight tests have been planned for the missile before it enters service this year.

The submarine-launched missile will be part of France's nuclear deterrent program.

When in service, each submarine will carry up to 16 M51 missiles.

[buglerbilly]

01 February 2010

Barak-2 LR-SAM maiden flight later this year


The two versions of the Barak-8 extended air defense missile, developed by IAI. Photo: Defense Update

01 Feb 2010 8ak: Shiv Aroor reports that the maiden flight of India-Israel jointly developed Barak-2 long range surface-to-air missile (LR-SAM) is scheduled to take place in August this year. For full news. The Barak-2 LR-SAM is being developed jointly by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under a Rs2,600 crore contract.

The Barak-2 version will have a longer range between 120-350Km in comparison to the Barak MR-SAM, which has a range of 60 km vertically. The new LR-SAM is being developed to replace the aging Pechora (SA-3 GOA) missiles currently in service with the Indian Air Force.

Military cooperation between the two nations post Kargil war has been on a high. The Indian Government has earmarked a total funding of about Rs10,000 crore (about US$2.2 billion) for the medium range surface-to-air missiles (MR-SAM) project. The program will include the deployment of up to nine air defence squadrons. The MR-SAM development will be conducted under the bilateral agreement signed between the two countries, which will guide the scope of collaboration formulating between DRDO and IAI defined in a memorandum of agreement signed in New Delhi, June 2007.

India has also signed a US$1.1 billion deal for buying the state- manufactured state-of-the-art Barak 8 missile system. New Delhi is expected to receive the upgraded Barak missile system costing US$20-25 million if experts in India are to be believed, over the next six to eight years. The Barak-8 missile system is designed for use aboard ships and can shoot down incoming missiles, planes and drones, with the most advanced version capable of being deployed on land.

Other defence deals between the two nations include IAI Malat-built Searcher MkII and IAI Heron unmanned aerial vehicles for the Indian Air Force. The US$1.1 billion deal for delivery of three Phalcon Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), fitted on Russian-built Ilyushin II-76 aircraft. The first of the AWACS were inducted in the Indian Air Force in May last year. Upgrade of 32 Mi-24 helicopters by IAI and the 2008 contract for Rafael’s low-level quick reaction missile system (LLQRM.

One of the most important reasons for this substantial increase has been the common problem of terrorism being faced by both the nations. There have also been several high level visits by serving armed forces chief’s of the two nations. Israel’s Navy chief Vice Admiral Elizer Marom visited India to hold high level talks with his Indian counterpart and MoD officials.

[buglerbilly]

Darpa Eyes SM-3 For Hypersonic Strike

Feb 4, 2010

By Graham Warwick



The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) is seeking funding in Fiscal 2011 for ArcLight, a program to flight-test a long-range, high-speed strike weapon based on the Raytheon SM-3 ballistic-missile interceptor.

ArcLight will be based on an SM-3 Block II booster stack and a hypersonic glider, and designed to carry a 100-200 pound payload more than 2,000 nautical miles. The weapon will be compatible with the Mark 41 vertical launch system and capable of launch from U.S. Navy warships and submarines as well as Air Force assets.

The program is getting under way in Fiscal 2010 with $2 million in funding to conduct feasibility testing of new materials. The $5 million sought in 2011 would cover testing of key technologies and begin concept development.

Darpa is seeking a total budget of $3.1 billion in Fiscal 2011, up from $2.99 billion in 2010. This includes $303 million for advanced aerospace systems, such as ArcLight, an increase from the $258 million provided in 2010.

Funding sought includes $67.6 million for the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) program, to cover wind tunnel, propulsion and seeker testing and begin building flight-test vehicles. Lockheed Martin has contracts to study two LRASM concepts: one high, fast and ramjet-powered; one low, slow and highly stealthy.

Darpa is a seeking $60 million in 2011 to flight-test a subscale demonstrator for the Vulture extreme-endurance solar-powered stratospheric unmanned surveillance aircraft, and $43.4 million to begin building a subscale demonstrator for the Isis radar-carrying unmanned stratospheric airship.

Another $35 million is sought for the Mode Transition program to fund the ground-test of a turbojet/scramjet turbine-based combined-cycle engine to power a hypersonic aircraft or air-breathing launch vehicle.

New programs planned to start in 2011 include Responsive, Reliable Access to Space, with $7 million sought to develop reusable vehicle concepts, “which may include leveraging of commercial sector investments,” Darpa says.

Another planned new program is Counter-Unmanned Air Vehicles (C-UAV), with $5.1 million sought in 2011 to assess current threats and viable approaches to detecting small, slow, low-altitude UAVs.

Darpa is seeking funding increases in Fiscal 2011 for several programs, including $12.1 million to initiate design of the roadworthy vertical-takeoff-and-landing Transformer Vehicle; $11.8 million to begin design of the Mission Adaptive Rotor demonstrator; and $1.3 million for flight-tests to investigate the drag-reduction benefits of formation flight.

Photo: DoD

[buglerbilly]

Vertical launch of BrahMos missile successful

T.S. Subramanian

It smashes into Navy's decommissioned vessel, 290 km away, in Bay of Bengal


A file photo of the BrahMos missile.

CHENNAI: BrahMos, the supersonic cruise missile, lifted off vertically from Naval destroyer INS Ranvir and punched a hole in a decommissioned vessel 290 km away in the Bay of Bengal off the Orissa coast on Sunday.

The missile, which was fired at 11.30 a.m. from INS Ranvir, climbed 200 metres vertically, then manoeuvred at supersonic speeds to cruise horizontally before smashing into the vessel INS Meen.

This is the 22nd launch of BrahMos, which has already been inducted into the Army and the Navy. It has been jointly developed by India and Russia.

According to A. Sivathanu Pillai, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited, it was “a perfect mission” with the missile hitting the target precisely. Helicopters, which flew over the site of the target, had confirmed that INS Meen had been hit and damaged. It was taking in water.

Dr. Pillai said there were several advantages when the missile was launched vertically from a ship. It provided 360 degrees coverage of the target. In a vertical mode, the space it occupied in the ship was less. The missile could be totally hidden. This vertical launch was uniquely designed.

“No equivalent”

He called BrahMos “a formidable weapon”, which had “no equivalent.” It had a successful track record. The missile is nine-metre long and weighs three tonnes. It can fly at almost three times the speed of sound and can reach targets 290 km away. It is essentially an anti-ship missile.

Pat for engineers

President Pratibha Patil and Defence Minister A.K. Antony congratulated the missile engineers and the Naval personnel on the successful launch, Dr. Pillai said.

[buglerbilly]

First Firing of Exocet Block 3 Anti-Ship Missile from a Frigate

(Source: French Directorate General of Armaments; issued March 23, 2010)

(Issued in French only; unofficial translation by defense-aerospace.com)

The first firing of the latest Block 3 version of the Exocet MM40 anti-ship missile from a naval warship was successfully completed on March 18, 2010 at the DGA missile test range ay l’Ile du Levant, off Toulon in south-eastern France.

The missile was launched by Chevalier Paul, a Horizon-class frigate recently delivered by the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) to the Navy.

The contract to upgrade 45 Exocet MM40 Block 2 belonging to the French Navy to the latest Block 3 standard was awarded by the DGA to MBDA in late December 2008. This order follows a development contract originally awarded in January 2004. The MM40 B3 missile was qualified in April 2008, and the upgraded missiles will be delivered from December 2010 to June 2013.

MM40 B3s will initially equip the first two Horizon-class air defense frigates (Forbin and Chevalier Paul). It will also become the main anti-ship weapon of the La Fayette-class frigates from mid-2011 and of the FREMM-class multi-mission frigates to be delivered to the Navy from 2012.

Improvements of the Block 3 version of Exocet focus on a turbojet engine replacing the original solid-fuel rocket engine of earlier versions, and the integration of latest-generation avionics. These modifications double the missile's range, allow it to vary the angle of attack a target or to attack naval targets in the littoral zone, and designated by their geographical coordinates.

-ends-

[buglerbilly]

Admiral: China's buildup aimed at power past Asia

By Bill Gertz

The commander of U.S. military forces in the Pacific said Thursday that the buildup of Chinese armed forces is continuing "unabated" and Beijing's goal appears to be power projection beyond Asia.

"China's rapid and comprehensive transformation of its armed forces is affecting regional military balances and holds implications beyond the Asia-Pacific region," said Adm. Robert F. Willard, the Pacific Command leader. "Of particular concern is that elements of China's military modernization appear designed to challenge our freedom of action in the region."

The comments in testimony to the House Armed Services Committee are likely to fuel an ongoing debate inside the U.S. government among military, policy and intelligence officials over whether China's military buildup is limited to a future conflict with Taiwan or whether China harbors global military ambitions.

Some U.S. officials insist China's buildup of both conventional and nuclear forces is aimed solely at a Taiwan conflict, in which U.S. forces likely would intervene in support of the island.

Other officials have said China is seeking global hegemony through a combination of military, economic, political and intelligence power projection that seeks to diminish U.S. influence around the world.

"The United States remains the pre-eminent power in the Asia-Pacific, though China's rising influence is changing regional power dynamics in ways that create both challenges and, I think, opportunities," Adm. Willard said.

He also disclosed for the first time in the testimony that China is moving ahead with a new anti-ship ballistic missile capable of attacking aircraft carriers hundreds of miles from China's coasts.

China also will deploy its own aircraft carrier by 2012 and currently has more than 60 submarines, he said.

China is "developing and testing a conventional anti-ship ballistic missile based on the DF-21/CSS-5 medium-range ballistic missile designed specifically to target aircraft carriers," Adm. Willard said in his prepared statement.

It was the first time a U.S. official had disclosed that the unique precision guided missile was being tested.

Rep. Howard McKeon, California Republican and ranking member of the committee, questioned the admiral about the new space-transiting anti-ship missile and other weapons designed to attack U.S. forces in the Western Pacific.

"The China military capacity has been growing by and large unabated for the past 10 to 20 years," Adm. Willard said. "The past 10 years have been pretty dramatic, and as you suggest, this has included investments in what has broadly been termed anti-access capabilities. Area-denial capability is another way to think about it."

The new missile is designed to hit targets at extended ranges from the Chinese mainland, and other anti-access weapons include a large number of submarines, new integrated air- and missile-defense capabilities and cyberwarfare and anti-space weapons, Adm. Willard said, noting "all of which we have been monitoring very closely for some years."

Adm. Willard said he is confident that U.S. forces would be able to penetrate the new Chinese forces in a conflict and noted that the Pacific Command is working to identify and address shortcomings in countering China's area-denial weapons.

China cut off military relations with the Pentagon in October 2008 and again earlier this year to protest U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

Adm. Willard recently formed a special task force to address China's military buildup. Last year, he told reporters that China's military buildup exceeded U.S. intelligence estimates every year for more than a decade, an indirect criticism of what other defense officials have called weak intelligence reports on Beijing's military buildup.

[buglerbilly]

NOT a ship-launched missile but it's the only anti-ship missile category we've got and will not run to more than one or two articles in any case..........

China Testing Ballistic Missile ‘Carrier-Killer’

By admin March 29, 2010 | 12:12 pm



Dr. Andrew Erickson is a professor at the U.S. Naval War College’s China Maritime Studies Institute and a Truman Security Fellow. This is his first post for Danger Room; these are solely his personal views.

Last week, Adm. Robert Willard, the head of U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM), made an alarming but little-noticed disclosure. China, he told legislators, was “developing and testing a conventional anti-ship ballistic missile based on the DF-21/CSS-5 [medium-range ballistic missile] designed specifically to target aircraft carriers.”

What, exactly, does this mean? Evidence suggests that China has been developing an anti-ship ballistic missile, or ASBM, since the 1990s. But this is the first official confirmation that it has advanced (.pdf) to the stage of actual testing.

If they can be deployed successfully, Chinese anti-ship ballistic missiles would be the first capable of targeting a moving aircraft-carrier (.pdf) strike group from long-range, land-based mobile launchers. And if not countered properly, this and other “asymmetric” systems — ballistic and cruise missiles, submarines, torpedoes and sea mines — could potentially threaten U.S. operations in the western Pacific, as well as in the Persian Gulf.

Willard’s disclosure should come as little surprise: China’s interest in developing ASBM and related systems has been documented in Department of Defense (.pdf) and National Air and Space Intelligence Center (.pdf) reports, as well as by the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) and the Congressional Research Service. Senior officials — including Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair (.pdf) and Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead — have pointed to the emerging threat as well.

In November 2009, Scott Bray, ONI’s Senior Intelligence Officer-China, said that Chinese anti-ship ballistic missile development “has progressed at a remarkable rate.” In the span of just over a decade, he said, “China has taken the ASBM program from the conceptual phase to nearing an operational capability.… China has elements of an [over-the-horizon] network already in place and is working to expand its horizon, timeliness and accuracy.”

When someone of Bray’s stature makes that kind of statement, attention is long overdue.

Equally intriguing has been the depiction of this capability in the Chinese media. A lengthy November 2009 program about anti-ship ballistic missiles (video) broadcast on China Central Television Channel 7 (China’s official military channel) featured an unexplained — and rather badly animated — cartoon sequence. This curious 'toon features a sailor who falsely assumes that his carrier’s Aegis defense systems can destroy an incoming ASBM as effectively as a cruise missile, with disastrous results.

The full program is available in three segments (parts 1, 2, and 3) on YouTube. Skip to 7:18 on the second clip to view this strange, and somewhat disturbing, segment.

Likewise, Chinese media seem to be tracking PACOM’s statements about this more closely than the U.S. press. The graphic above is drawn from an article on Dongfang Ribao (Oriental Daily), the website of a Shanghai newspaper.

Beijing has been developing an ASBM capability at least since the 1995-96 Taiwan Strait Crisis. That strategic debacle for China likely convinced its leaders to never again allow U.S. carrier strike groups to intervene in what they consider to be a matter of absolute sovereignty. And China’s military, in an apparent attempt to deter the United States from intervening in Taiwan and other claimed areas on China’s disputed maritime periphery, seems intent on dropping significant hints of its own progress.

U.S. ships, however, will not offer a fixed target for China’s DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missiles. Military planning documents like the February 2010 Joint Operating Environment (.pdf) and Quadrennial Defense Review (.pdf) clearly recognize America’s growing “anti-access” challenge, and the QDR — the Pentagon’s guiding strategy document — charges the U.S. military with multiple initiatives to address it.

In a world where U.S. naval assets will often be safest underwater, President Obama’s defense budget supports building two submarines a year and investing in a new ballistic-missile submarine. And developing effective countermeasures against anti-ship ballistic missiles is a topic of vigorous discussion in Navy circles. The United States is clearly taking steps to prevent this kind of weapon from changing the rules of the game in the Western Pacific, but continued effort will be essential for U.S. maritime forces to preserve their role in safeguarding the global commons.

Image: Dongfang Ribao

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/03/china-testing-ballistic-missile-carrier-killer/#more-23446#ixzz0jbwQgFtr

[Riđđu]

Something odd in this, don´t you think?

US test-fires Trident missile in drill with Saudis

By SALAH NASRAWI
The Associated Press
Wednesday, March 31, 2010


CAIRO -- The United States test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads during a joint military exercise Wednesday with Saudi Arabia, a Western military official said. The Trident missile launch was carried out in the kingdom, the official said, but he would not give a precise location. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The U.S. has been strengthening missile defenses in allied Arab nations in the Gulf to help counter any potential missile strike from Iran. Like its nuclear work, Iran's missile program is of top concern to Washington and Arab nations wary of Tehran's growing influence in the region.

A defense official in Washington confirmed the missile launch on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record. He said, however, that it took place late last week and was part of a demonstration.

The Western military official in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, said U.S. Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly, head of the Missile Defense Agency, attended the test launch.

Earlier this month, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited the kingdom to tell Saudi officials that the Obama administration's efforts for diplomatic engagement with Iran had come to naught, and he asked for the influential kingdom's help to win wide backing for biting economic penalties against Tehran over its nuclear program.

Gates also discussed bolstering Saudi air and missile defense capabilities as part of the broader U.S. effort to boost security in the Gulf in the face of Iran's expanding arsenal of ballistic missiles.

The United States has promised to speed up weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies, which have bought billions of dollars worth of American weapons - including missile defense hardware - in recent years.

The U.S. military is trying to reassure Gulf allies by buttressing its defense systems with upgraded Patriot missiles on land and more U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf capable of destroying missiles in flight. The Patriot missile systems, which originally were deployed in the region to shoot down aircraft, have now been upgraded to hit missiles in flight.

Saudi Arabia has long warned of the potential for a nuclear arms race in the Gulf region if Iran were to gain the bomb. Iran's assurances that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes such as power generation have failed to ease concerns.

On Monday Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan said Saudi and U.S. warplanes will carry out joint exercises soon.
---
Associated Press Writers Pauline Jelinek in Washington and Abdullah al-Shihri in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, contributed to this report.

[Unicorn]

Could have been fired from an SSBN in Saudi waters.

To the best of my knowledge, there are no existing land based launch facilities for Trident in existence.

[Gubler, A.]

Or more likely it was an Ohio SSGN that fired a Tomahawk cruise missile. Just someone got their wires crossed when they saw Ohio class submarine firing missile... I find it extremely unlikely that a SSBN with nuclear armed ballistic missiles would be invovled in an exercise not to mention aa exercise in the Middile East!

[Gubler, A.]

Apparantly this is an April Fool!

[Riđđu]

Apparantly this is an April Fool!

Objection! If it was April Fool then
a.) It wasn´t funny
b.) It was published on March 31

:puke

Pentagon Denies US Test-Fired Trident Missile
Mar 31, 2010 4:13 pm US/Pacific

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The Defense Department denied Wednesday that the United States test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads during a joint military exercise with Saudi Arabia.

A Western military official in Saudi Arabia, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said a Trident missile was launched Wednesday out in the kingdom. But Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington, a Defense Department spokesman, said there was no launch of Trident or any other missile during the exercise, which began last week.

The U.S. has been strengthening missile defenses in allied Arab nations in the Gulf to help counter any potential missile strike from Iran. Like its nuclear work, Iran's missile program is of top concern to Washington and Arab nations wary of Tehran's growing influence in the region.

The Western military official in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, said U.S. Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly, head of the Missile Defense Agency, attended the test launch, but a second defense official in the United States said that while O'Reilly was in the region last week, he did not attend a missile launch.

[Gubler, A.]

b.) It was published on March 31.

When its March 31 in America its April 1 in much of the rest of the world: rotation of the sun west to east...

[Riđđu]

When its March 31 in America its April 1 in much of the rest of the world: rotation of the sun west to east...

Yes, but Finland has the same time zone as Egypt and America comes after us. Anyway, news stories come and go.. :nobodycares

[buglerbilly]

Mystery of missile test failure solved for new destroyers

02 April 2010

By Matt Jackson, Defence correspondent, The News, Portsmouth UK

The weapons system for the navy's new destroyers is one step closer to working after an investigation into test failures.

The MoD and its commercial partners were left bemused when the multi-million-pound Sea Viper system failed in November during routine testing, as revealed by The News.

It is the main defence weapon for the £1bn Daring class destroyers, the first of which is due to enter full service at the end of the year.

But an investigation into the firing off the south coast of France found that it was a design flaw with the Aster missiles - rather than a problem with the launcher or control system. The missiles are now being redesigned and a new firing is planned to check if the system works properly.

An MoD spokeswoman said: 'Some production weaknesses in the most recent batches of the Aster missile have been identified and these are being corrected through minor re-design work.

'Sea Viper is undergoing a rigorous test programme to ensure that all aspects of this complex system have been thoroughly trialled and any problems resolved before it enters service.'

Four test firings of the Sea Viper System have so far taken place - but two have not met their trials objectives.

Portsmouth South MP Mike Hancock, who sits on the Commons defence committee, said: 'I am very sceptical about this - are we really to believe that a whole batch of missiles was just made wrong for such an expensive system? If you read this in a novel it would be believable, but when it's a programme that is already late it's incredible.

'I think the only way we can be certain that the problem is resolved is when these missiles are fired from a moving ship, and not from a static platform off France.'

The MoD has said the problem with Sea Viper is not due to cause a delay to the delivery of the system to HMS Daring and Dauntless.

The first test firings of the system are planned to happen on Dauntless, the second ship to arrive in her base port of Portsmouth.

[buglerbilly]

US says Japan sticks to key missile-shield program

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - Japan remains fully committed to building a linchpin multibillion-dollar missile interceptor with the United States, the head of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency told Congress, even as U.S.-Japanese ties adjust to a new era.

Army Lieutenant General Patrick O'Reilly said he had held several high-levels program reviews with government officials since the Democratic Party of Japan's victory in the Aug. 30, 2009, elections for the legislature's lower house.

"They have indicated that they are in full support and their commitments are solid," he told the Senate Appropriations Defense subcommittee, referring to the Standard Missile-3 upgrade program in its fifth year of development.

Published reports from Japan have said the coalition government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama that took power in September plans to reduce missile-defense spending.

Japan already has spent just over $1 billion to help build a more capable SM-3 version, said Richard Lehner, a U.S. Missile Defense Agency spokesman. It is being co-developed with Waltham, Massachusetts-based Raytheon Co (RTN.N), the world's biggest missile maker.

The new version, dubbed SM-3 Block IIA, is key to U.S. plans to be able to defend all of NATO's European territory from a perceived Iranian ballistic missile threat as soon as about 2018.

It is designed to improve the antimissile's velocity, range and ability to discriminate among a ballistic missile target and any decoys, and would be deployed on land as well as at sea. A follow-on version, called Block IIB, with yet higher velocity, is intended to help protect the U.S. East Coast from potential long-range Iranian missiles by about 2020.

O'Reilly said the United States and the Hatoyama government had identified all steps necessary to successfully integrate the upgraded Block IIA SM-3 interceptor.

Its first flight test should be in 2014 and the first intercept test in 2015, he said.

"Within the next year, we will begin our discussions on production arrangements between the United States and Japan," he said.

Since the Democratic Party of Japan's victory, bilateral tensions have arisen over the desire of some Hatoyama government members to change a 2006 U.S.-Japan deal to relocate a controversial U.S. Marine air station to a less densely populated spot on Okinawa.

Japan has acquired from the United States a layered shield against ballistic missiles that could be fired by North Korea and tipped with chemical, biological or nuclear warheads.

The SM-3 co-development program represents "not only an area of significant technical cooperation but also the basis for enhanced operational cooperation to strengthen regional security," Bradley Roberts, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, told a House of Representatives Armed Services subcommittee on April 15. (Reporting by Jim Wolf, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

[ARH v.3.0]

This could fit into a number of categories, but for convenience I'll post it here.

Defence experts are warning of a new danger of ballistic weapons proliferation after a Russian company started marketing a cruise missile that can be launched from a shipping container.



It is feared that the covert Club-K missile attack system could prove "game-changing" in fighting wars with small countries, which would gain a remote capacity to mount multiple missiles on boats, trucks or railways.

Iran and Venezuela have already shown an interest in the Club-K Container Missile System which could allow them to carry out pre-emptive strikes from behind an enemy's missile defences.

Defence experts say the system is designed to be concealed as a standard 40ft shipping container that cannot be identified until it is activated.

Priced at an estimated £10 million, each container is fitted with four cruise anti-ship or land attack missiles. The system represents an affordable "strategic level weapon".

Some experts believe that if Iraq had the Club-K system in 2003 it would have made it impossible for America to invade with any container ship in the Gulf a potential threat.

Club-K is being marketed at the Defence Services Asia exhibition in Malaysia this week.

Novator, the manufacturer, is an advanced missile specialist that would not have marketed the system without Moscow's approval. It has released an emotive marketing film complete with dramatic background music.

It shows Club-K containers stowed on ships, trucks and trains as a neighbouring country prepares to invade with American style military equipment.

The enemy force is wiped out by the cruise missile counter attack.

Russia has already prompted concern in Washington by selling Iran the sophisticated S-300 anti-aircraft missile system that would make targeting of Iranian nuclear facilities very difficult.

"This Club-K is game changing with the ability to wipe out an aircraft carrier 200 miles away. The threat is immense in that no one can tell how far deployed your missiles could be," said Robert Hewson, editor of Jane's Air-Launched Weapons, who first reported on the Club-K developments.

"What alerted me to this was that the Russians were advertising it at specific international defence event and they have marketed it very squarely at anyone under threat of action from the US."

Reuben Johnson, a Pentagon defence consultant, said the system would be a "real maritime fear for anyone with a waterfront".

"This is ballistic missile proliferation on a scale we have not seen before because now you cannot readily identify what's being used as a launcher because it's very carefully disguised.

"Someone could sail off your shore looking innocuous then the next minute big explosions are going off at your military installations."

[Aussie Digger]

And how exactly are these 3rd world Countries targetting these missiles against a moving carrier group?

China can't reliably track a USN CBG, how is some backward arsed tin pot dictator supposed to manage it, exactly?

[buglerbilly]

Is that question before or after the USA and Others launch 50-100 cruise missiles and close down all control and command facilities..................???

ps: LOVE the CGI! Make a good Disney/Pixar cartoon

[JimWH]

And once you've gone though your supply of 10-20 such launch units what exactly is the US/NATO forces going to do? I'm guessing 'sit down and negotiate' is quite a way below 'bomb your arse back into the stone age'.

Actually now I think of it, using this system could actually be a huge own goal in real terms. ROE tend to be very restrictive, for pretty good reasons, but if you have cruise missiles launched from containers whilst aboard civilian vehicles, then the gloves would come off really quickly. Therefore, the moment you launch such a missile, you instantly forfeit all 40 foot shipping containers in your country, and theoretically any ship train or lorry capable of moving one.... That's going to cripple an economy really quickly.

[ARH v.3.0]

I'm not sure how much of a difference it will make once shots start being fired, but the need to monitor every single platform that could potentially hold container launched missiles would have to royally fuck with ISR, not to mention the shit storm that would be created if they actually managed to hit anything...

[buglerbilly]

Above: The LCS-2 Independence - the Precision Attack Missile (insert) is the principal surface attack weapon of this vessel.
Photos: General Dynamics and Raytheon

Army NLOS Dead. Will the Navy Keep it Alive?

As the U.S. Army recommends terminating the NLOS-LS Weapon System, the Navy will have to keep the program alive, securing the principal surface weapon system of the Littoral Combat ShipFollowing a review of its precision fires capabilities and requirements, the U.S. Army is recommending to cancel the XM-501 Non-Line of Sight Launch System (NLOS-LS) program. NLOS-LS was developed as a 'Platform independent Precision Weapon System', as a common system to be used by the U.S. Army and Navy. The program suffered significant setback in the recent Limited User Test, (LUT) scoring only two hits out of six launches. The system was jointly developed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin under the Netfires industry team. The missile was intended to become the cornerstone of the new, highly maneuverable light brigade, to be equipped with the 'Future Combat Systems (FCS) system of systems.


Replenishment of missiles can be performed at sea, sustaining the LCS on extended combat missions. Photo: US Army

Even before the cancellation of FCS program, in June 2009, the Army systematically eliminated key elements of the program, to save cost. After the termination of the program, only few of the systems considered to be the most mature remained in the acquisition channels. These included two robotic systems, various sensors, networking elements and the NLOS-LS, which remained the only weapon system to survive the cuts, until now...

While the cancellation will relieve the Army of financial burden of a weapon system considered too costly and redundant, since combat brigades already have other precision guided weapons that can deliver firepower at the precision and timely response as the NLOS, the U.S. Navy, which counted on the weapon will have to support the continued development and fielding of the system by itself. The Navy is scheduled to begin at-sea testing of the NLOS-LS medium range surface to surface missile module by 2012.

According to the Navy's plans, NLOS-LS would become the principal weapon for the Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) 'Surface Warfare Module' enabling the vessel to dominate a large coastal and littoral area. Each LCS will carry three Command Launch Modules packed in two shipping containers, carrying a total of 45 missiles. The missile would be used as the 'long arm' of the vessel, enabling the LCS team to act upon information obtained by remote intelligence sensors and the vessel's own sensors – helicopters, UAVs, SIGINT and COMINT.

Launched at individual targets, or in salvos of multiple missiles, the Precision Attack Missiles would be used to defeat enemy over the horizon, inside the bases or at the shoreline, as well as defensively, eliminating attacks by swarms of fast boats. In escort missions, these missiles, supported by helicopters and UAVs, could be used to cover larger areas, protecting merchant ships from small boats attacks. The ability of the crew to control each of the missiles, and selectively aim at specific weak points enable the LCS to effectively engage and defeat larger targets, support friendly forces ashore and reducing the risk of collateral damage. Absent of such a weapon, the LCS will be toothless (the only other weapon on board is the single barrel 57mm gun).

Another advantage of the NLOS system is its flexibility and rapid replenishment. In fact, the 'missile in a box' concept could be utilized at sea, rapidly rearming the LCS by helicopters, therefore extending its combat endurance over extended missions.

Given the importance of the weapon to the Navy, it is likely that the program will not meet the fate of other FCS systems and continue through fielding, funded by the Navy. However, in this case, the missile would be tailored for the Navy's needs and will not necessarily have the operating modes the Army would eventually need. These modes are also likely to be more costly and complicated. Previous reports have indicated that Raytheon proposed to deliver the missiles at a unit cost below $200,000, given a multi-year production of about 9,900 units is secured. This cost is about a third of the cost of a typical naval attack missile currently available (like the Harpoon or Exocet) but it is about three times more expensive than the Javelin or Hellfire missiles, used extensively in Afghanistan. The current cost of a pre-production missile stands on $450,000 per unit.

Key Components of the LCS' Surface Weapons Mission Package

Two gun mission modules MK 50 MOD comprising the MK 46 30mm Gun Weapon System, that uses All Navy Qualified 30mm x 173mm Ammunition, 400 Rounds in the urret, plus two Ready Service Magazines with 240 Rounds Each

3 Shipping Containers carrying three Container Launch Units (CLUs) loaded with 45 Non-Line of Sight missiles

2 Shipping Containers supporting the MH-60R Helicopter, loaded with MK299 MOD2 Launchers with 8 HellFire Missiles, GAU21 .50 Caliber Machine Gun and M240 7.62mm Machine Gun

2 Support Modules supporting two MQ-8B FireScout Vertical Takeoff Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Maritime Security Module comprising tTwo 11m RHIBs, a Berthing Module

One Equipment Module hosting VBSS Detachment

Mission Package and Application Software and seven multipurpose user consoles, Four racks of computer servers, networks that interface with the total ship computing environment


Precision Attack Missile (PAM) launched from the NLOS-LS. Photo: Raytheon

This next picture possibly shows one of the problems for a replacement system, something small and light enough to be man-handled, a fundamental of a sea-borne system such as this, "preferable" at least........


Army soldiers practice reloading of PAM missiles into the Command Launch Unit (CLU) - the 'missile in a box container which makes the NLOS-LS system. Photo: US Army

© Copyright 2010 - Defense Update, Lance & Shield Ltd.

[Aussie Digger]

I'm not sure how much of a difference it will make once shots start being fired, but the need to monitor every single platform that could potentially hold container launched missiles would have to royally fuck with ISR, not to mention the shit storm that would be created if they actually managed to hit anything...

Starting with those within a reasonable range of the coast would be an immediate priority, I'd imagine, along with containers "rapidly" moving out of launch range, once the onslaught the US would launch, begins...

I saw this article the other day. To me it seemed akin to the enormous rows of medals third world militaries bestow upon themselves. Shiny to look at and show to the media, but practically worthless once combat begins...

[JimWH]

I saw this article the other day. To me it seemed akin to the enormous rows of medals third world militaries bestow upon themselves. Shiny to look at and show to the media, but practically worthless once combat begins...

You mean those rows of medals don't mean that the presidents of third world countries aren't improbably badass?

[ARH v.3.0]

Once combat begins they'd be next to useless, but they can make the job of preparing for that fight all the more harder at little cost to the would be arse-kickee. I look at it in the same way as submarine launched SAM's. They'll end up doing fuck all real damage, but their value will come about in the lengths people will go to prevent them from causing any damage.

[Gubler, A.]

There is nothing new about hiding a missile launcher in a civilian vehicle or structure. The very first cruise and ballistic missiles were hidden in such a way (zie Germanz) and it was SOP for Iraq during ODS and OIF. Anyway how different is this to hiding a launcher under a camo net? The whole objective if to make the active anti-missile force not think the missile launcher is a missile launcher!

It is certainly NOT game changing like the armchair general response from the hysterics-for-comments mob that seem to dominant the “defence expert” lobby. Its just the supplier catching up to the customer and providing the product in a condition it is usually modified to in after market activity.

ISR is currently been called on to monitor all moving vehicles so this is nothing extra to the bag. Frankly it’s a lot easier than looking for a container that may hold something more passive and lethal like a CBRN threat.

Finding such missile launchers is usually a role for signals intelligence anyway not vis/radar surveillance. Until it launches in which case the launching signature provides the back track to blow the launching vehicle up if your kill chain is quick enough.

[Deks]

Personally, I would have thought that a country under attack would ship these things out to the home country of the invader to do some eye for an eye type attack.

How well could new york, boston or seattle defend against a swarmed cruise missile attack? Hell, you could even ship the things O/S and only fire them off if you have an issue.

That being said, no doubt these things are looked for and would likely be found, but on the other hand you could always ship as much as your budget allows assuming that some will be stopped.

[buglerbilly]

Raytheon's Standard Missile-6 Program Begins Sea-Based Flight Testing

(Source: Raytheon Company; issued May 3, 2010)(Source: Raytheon Company; issued May 3, 2010)

WASHINGTON --- Raytheon Company's Standard Missile-6 begins sea-based flight testing this month, paving the way for initial operational capability (IOC) in 2011.

"With its over-the-horizon protection, SM-6 increases the surface Navy's battlespace against air and cruise missile threats and offers protection for coalition forces ashore," said Frank Wyatt, Raytheon's vice president of Air and Missile Defense Systems product line. "These sea-based flight tests clear the way for Raytheon to deliver a critical capability to the warfighter by 2011."

SM-6 takes full advantage of the legacy Standard Missile airframe and propulsion elements while incorporating advanced signal processing and guidance control capabilities of Raytheon's Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile. The merger of two proven technologies enables SM-6 to employ both active and semiactive modes.

"Since Raytheon began SM-6 development five years ago, the on-time and on-budget program has completed five successful land-based flight tests and moved to low rate initial production," said Wyatt. "With the hard work of Raytheon's employees, our dedicated suppliers and our U.S. Navy customer, we are on track to achieve the IOC milestone in 2011."

Raytheon Company, with 2009 sales of $25 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 75,000 people worldwide.

-ends-

[buglerbilly]

House Authorizers Shift NLOS R&D Funding to Navy

By KATE BRANNEN

Published: 12 May 2010 19:00

Anticipating and encouraging the U.S. Navy's takeover of the Non-Line of Sight Launch System (NLOS-LS) program, the House Armed Services air and land forces subcommittee transfers $75 million in research and development funding for the program from the Army to the Navy in its markup of the defense authorization bill for 2011, according to congressional documents.

Citing the Army's decision to cancel NLOS-LS, the subcommittee cuts the $350.6 million the Army requested for procurement of NLOS-LS in 2011 and the $81.2 million in research and development funds.

According to a congressional source, the House Armed Services seapower and expeditionary forces subcommittee's markup will also include the additional $75 million for the Navy to complete NLOS-LS development.

Although the Army decided in April to recommend canceling the NLOS-LS program, Pentagon acquisition executive Ashton Carter has yet to make a final decision on the acquisition category 1 program. Originally part of the Army's Future Combat Systems program, NLOS-LS also is intended for the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship.

An excerpt from the subcommittee's markup report notes the Army decision to cancel the program in April.

"However, the committee is concerned that the Army chose to terminate a program that had been touted for years as a key element in improving the lethality of light infantry brigades," the language reads. "The committee is also concerned that the Army is walking away from a $1.0 billion investment in research and development for this system."

The Army's decision to recommend Carter cancel the program came after a series of poor test results and the service's completion of a precision-fires portfolio review. The NLOS-LS Precision Attack Missile failed to hit its target four out of six times during a flight-limited user test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., between Jan. 26 and Feb. 5. The Army determined that fixing the system's problems would delay the program more than a year and keep it from being included in the first brigade set of Increment 1 equipment of the Brigade Combat Team-Modernization program.

The cost of the system's missile had also become a key concern. There are two major components to NLOS-LS: the Precision Attack Missile built by Raytheon and the Lockheed Martin Container Launch Unit.

In the Army's budget request for 2011, each Precision Attack Missile costs $466,000. Both the service and industry expected that, once the missile reached full-rate production, that number would fall.

"While the committee understands the need for the Army to reduce redundancy and fund other priorities, the committee believes that in this case the Army could have extended the engineering and manufacturing development phase for another year at a modest cost," the subcommittee writes in its report.

"This extension could have at least provided the Army with more options for procuring different versions of the missile, perhaps at a lower unit price," the report says.

Earlier this month, Michele Lohmeier, deputy vice president of Land Combat at Raytheon, said the company could deliver a range of missiles that vary in capability and cost, including a fully capable round with the dual-mode seeker for $150,000. However, that price still depends on the Army buying 9,942 missiles.

The committee directs the secretary of the Army to provide a report to the congressional defense committees by Feb. 1, 2011, on how the service can use some of the technology developed under NLOS-LS in the future.

[buglerbilly]

NAVSEA concludes Water Piercing Missile Launcher testing

By Richard Scott

20 May 2010

A team from the US Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) has successfully completed testing on the Water Piercing Missile Launcher (WPML) with a successful launch and fly-out of an AIM-9X surrogate missile at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) in Crane, Indiana.

The WPML effort, while not a Department of Defense programme of record, is designed to test and validate the ability of a submerged submarine to engage hostile aircraft and small, fast surface ships with a slightly modified AIM-9X air-to-air missile that could be integrated into the attack and guided missile submarine fleets. A Raytheon-led team is in parallel separately pursuing the Littoral Warfare Weapon (LWW) programme, designed to prove the adaptation of the AIM-9X air-to-air missile for submerged launch.

According to NAVSEA's Undersea Technology Program Office (NAVSEA 073R), WPML technology could provide the submarine force with a universal underwater launch technology capable of employing currently deployed weapons and payloads without significant modification to the weapon itself. This requires a 'hole' to be punched through the water column to the broach point at the sea surface.

177 of 531 words
Copyright © IHS (Global) Limited, 2010

[buglerbilly]

Pretty pics time...........water piercing missile testing

[buglerbilly]

Ares

A Defense Technology Blog

Scalp Naval Starts Flight Trials

Posted by Robert Wall at 6/15/2010 7:26 AM CDT

France has begun flight trials of the MBDA Scalp Naval sea-launched cruise missile.

The test firing of the MdCN (missile de croisiere naval), as the Scalp Naval is formally known by its customer, the French armaments agency DGA, took place at France’s missile range at Biscarrosse on May 28, but DGA only announced the event June 15.

The missile was fired from a vertical launcher which would be used for the operational application on the Fremm multipurpose frigate and the Barracuda submarine.


(photo: MBDA)

France is looking to field 150 Scalp Navals on Fremm frigates starting in 2014, with the 50 submarine-launched weapons due to come into inventory in 2017.

[buglerbilly]

New Navy Missile Could Hit Global Targets

July 08, 2010

Military.com|by Craig Hooper

As the venerable Tomahawk missile loses the battle against modernized air defenses, observers have long wondered why the Navy isn't racing to fill the U.S. surface fleet's nearly 8,000 Vertical Launch System cells with a new generation of anti-ship or land-attack munitions.

Now, the Pentagon's top researchers at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency are aiming to outfit ships like Aegis cruisers with weapons that can hit nearly anywhere on the globe – increasing the power of surface ships to that of ballistic missile-equipped submarines.

The so-called "ArcLight" program has the potential to change the way the world thinks about U.S. surface combatants, experts say.

"The ArcLight program will design, build, and flight test a long range vehicle that carries a 100-200 lb payload," DARPA says.

According to DARPA, the ArcLight program will use a high-tech missile based on the current Standard Missile 3 booster with a hypersonic glider that can reach more than 2,300 miles to its target. The missile could be fired out of a standard vertical launcher on many surface ships.

Outfitting Navy ships with ArcLight missiles will do far more than just "add capability," analysts say. It is a potential game-changer because the missiles would transform the largely defensive nature of the U.S. surface combatant carrier escorts to offensive strike ships.

That shift from the "Missile Defense" destroyer or "Air Defense" cruiser of old to a "Global Strike Combatant" is likely to pose a real conceptual challenge to any potential adversaries, experts say.

Loading run-of-the-mill surface ships with "strategic" missiles would potentially be a boon to advocates of the so-called "Prompt Global Strike" mission who have faced opposition from lawmakers in Congress over concerns of a new arms race.

The ArcLight program will also likely resonate with Undersecretary of the Navy Robert Work, who has long preached the virtues of America's VLS-equipped surface fleet. Any prospect of leveraging new technologies for the old launch system will likely spark the Undersecretary's interest, analysts say.

© Copyright 2010 Military.com. All rights reserved.

[buglerbilly]

Ares

A Defense Technology Blog

Time-Critical Strike in a Tube

Posted by Graham Warwick at 7/13/2010 2:07 PM CDT

DARPA may still be working out what went wrong with the April 22 launch of the HTV-2 hypersonic glider by a Minotaur IV booster, but it's pushing ahead with plans for its little brother, ArcLight.

ArcLight aims to demonstrate technology for a high-speed, long-range strike weapon consisting of a hypersonic boost/glide vehicle fired from the US Navy's standard Mk41 vertical launch system (VLS). The vehicle would carry a 100-200lb payload 2,000nm in 30min.

Inviting proposals for Phase 1, DARPA says deploying ArcLight in some of the 8,500 VLS tubes across the Navy's cruisers, destroyers and submarines would give it the ability to strike time-critical targets at long range, and reduce the need for forward-based strike forces.

ArcLight is focusing only on the hypersonic glider and wing materials and not looking at how such a weapon would be targeted and guided, but performers will have to develop a concept of operations for an operational vehicle, and conduct an analysis to demonstrate its capability and survivability in defended airspace.

Phase 1 will cover conceptual design of the operational vehicle and preliminary design of a demonstrator, which would be launched by a surrogate booster - DARPA's ArcLight website identifies the Standard SM-3 Block II booster stack. Arcjet and aerothermal windtunnel testing would follow in Phase 2 and flight test in Phase 3. Multiple teams will launch demonstrators, the agency says.

The requirement to fit atop a booster that is compatible with the VLS tube, and uses the existing Mk72 first stage from the Standard missile booster, puts a tight constraint of the size and shape of the AcrLight glider.

Also in Phase 1, DARPA separately plans to award contracts to develop high-temperature materials that enable a hypersonic glider with high lift/drag ratio and control authority. That implies a sharp-edged vehicle, like HTV-2. The solicitation specifies materials "that can change shape or harden post launch and withstand the flight environment".

[buglerbilly]

Lockheed Martin Successfully Demonstrates New Launching System for Active Missile Decoys


Extensible Launching System

BALTIMORE, Md., August 12th, 2010 -- Lockheed Martin’s [NYSE: LMT] new Extensible Launching System (ExLS) successfully conducted the first vertical launch of Nulka offboard countermeasure test rounds at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

The flight test culminated three years of development and integration efforts to validate the ExLS architecture. It also demonstrated the new launcher in a fully tactical configuration.

ExLS is installed in an existing Vertical Launching System (VLS) cell, providing a common solution for integrating missiles with the MK 41 and MK 57 VLS. The Lockheed Martin team used a single solution, which reduced integration costs by more than 50 percent.

“ExLS is the latest example of our innovation and commitment to providing more affordable solutions for our customers,” said Dan Schultz, vice president of Lockheed Martin’s Ship and Aviation Systems. “The testing support we received from Naval Sea Systems Command and the Naval Surface Warfare Center throughout this process was instrumental in our ultimate success. ExLS’ snap-in design enables our customers to maximize the investment in their Vertical Launching Systems and realize significant integration savings.”

ExLS enables the rapid deployment of completely assembled weapons and munitions, such as the Nulka, to augment traditional VLS missions and eliminate the need for separate topside launchers. Lockheed Martin leveraged its nearly 30 years of experience with the combat proven MK 41 VLS and understanding of the MK 53 decoy launching systems to provide ExLS with the new capabilities and load-out flexibility needed by ships equipped with Vertical Launching Systems.

The ExLS test was conducted with testing support from the Naval Surface Warfare Centers at Dahlgren, Va. and Crane, Ind., as well as Nulka developer BAE Systems Australia.

Video at source, here............

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2010/081210_LM_ExLS.html

[buglerbilly]

Heaps more on this from Defense Update...........


Extensible Launcher Could Transform Weaponization Flexibility of Surface Combatants

Lockheed Martin Successfully Demonstrates New Launching System for Active Missile DecoysLockheed Martin’s [NYSE: LMT] has conducted the first vertical launch test of a new Nulka offboard countermeasure, fired form an Extensible Launching System (ExLS) for the first time. The test took place at the Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. The launcher used for the test was a fully tactical configuration. ExLS has been under development and integration for the past three years.

ExLS was specifically designed to rapidly integrate qualified missiles or other weapons that were developed and certified in an All Up Round (AUR) configuration, such as the Nulka, the RAM Block 2 missile and the Precision Attack Missile. ExLS enables smaller weapons to be stored and deployed from existing Vertical Launching System (VLS) cells. The sub-launcher provides a common solution for integrating missiles with the MK 41 and MK 57 VLS.



“ExLS is the latest example of our innovation and commitment to providing more affordable solutions for our customers,” said Dan Schultz, vice president of Lockheed Martin’s Ship and Aviation Systems. “ExLS’ snap-in design enables our customers to maximize the investment in their Vertical Launching Systems and realize significant integration savings.” ExLS employs a single solution for both Mk 41 and MK 57 VLS, slashing integration costs by more than 50 percent.

The ExLS launcher is built of lightweight composite structure attached with drop-in/snap-in connectors and mechanical interfaces as the existing canisters. The launcher features Open System Architecture and Open Software and Cell Based Electronics. For rapid interface with the ship's combat management system. This design enables the rapid deployment of completely assembled weapons and munitions, such as the Nulka, developed BAE Systems Australia, RAM Block II short range air defense missiles or Precision Attack Missiles (PAM), to augment traditional weapons designed for the VLS missions – such as the Standard SM-2 and 3 and Tomahawk, Evolved Sea Sparrow (ESS) and Anti-Submarine VL-ASROC weapon.

This new capability enable naval planners to flexibly tailor the surface combatant weaponry with a wider choice of weapons sofar unavailable for the larger ships, eliminate the need for separate topside launchers. Maintaining the AUR integrity is critical from both a fleet commonality perspective and the need for eliminating costly VLS canister development. ExLS offers the unique ability to snap-in AURs into a reconfigurable system that will provide unprecedented flexibility for the U.S. Navy.

© Copyright 2010 - Defense Update, Lance & Shield Ltd.

[Unicorn]

Nice idea, however each such Mk 41 cell taken up by a quad-pack Nulka is a cell that cannot carry a hard kill SAM or a strike missile such as a Tomahawk.

Most combatants only have a finite number of Mk 41 VLS cells and I am not so sure that the desire for a single launching system at the expense of weapon loadout when the current Nulka system seems to work well is such a good idea.

Unicorn

[Aussie Digger]

It's a nice idea alright. Hopefully warships in the future won't be quite so parsimonious with their numbers of vertical launch cells in future years...

Such an adapter, if that is the correct term, would come into it's own then. Particularly if LO is increasingly incorporated into future vessels.

[Deks]

Looks like there's a significant amount of wasted space in NLOS/NULKA installations, perhaps a shorter type VLS (more easily placed?) would be worthwhile. You could then stash them at other points in the ship? I remember you lot talking about additional launchers on the AWD. Having a 'common' launching method - if not common launchers - would have to be beneficial from a maintenance and training perspective.

[Zen9]

Hmmmmm what is the benefit of RAM Blk II fired VLS when its seperated from the sensor, and does not lock on prior to launch?

This seems to step on precisely the same ground as CAMM in FLAADS, or for that matter MICA-VLS.

[buglerbilly]

Hmmmmm what is the benefit of RAM Blk II fired VLS when its seperated from the sensor, and does not lock on prior to launch?

This seems to step on precisely the same ground as CAMM in FLAADS, or for that matter MICA-VLS.

Does any VLS lock on before launch? VLS is still a quicker way of discharging a warload than any trainable launcher, the lock-on aftr launch is attained in seconds or less...............depending on missile.

Its all about options, the option to easily change a warload between engagements to more or less anything that is available...........

[buglerbilly]

Ares

A Defense Technology Blog

Bulava to Resume Test Launches

Posted by M Pyadushkin at 8/19/2010 8:51 AM CDT

The test launches of Russia’s new Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile can resume at the end of August or beginning of September. Yesterday Russia's Kommersant daily cited a representative from the defense industry saying that initially the next launch was planned for August 11-13, but was postponed due to the need for additional bench tests of the missile. Until the end of the year, the Russian Navy plans to conduct 3 trial launches of Bulava. Two launches will be made from the Dmitry Donskoy project 941 (Typhoon class) submarine used as a test bench for Bulava, while another missile will be fired from the new Yuri Dolgorukiy project 935 (Borei class) strategic sub designed to carry this missile.


Yuri Dolgorukiy will fire Bulava for the first time (credits - Sevmash)

Bulava can deliver 1,150 kg throw weight to a range of 8,000 km. Its first two stages are solid-propellant while the third stage works on liquid fuel which ensures the necessary speed at the warheads separation phase. The missile can reportedly carry from 6 to 10 nuclear warheads of 100-150 kilotons each.

Since the beginning of the trials in 2004, Bulava has made 11 test launches, out of which only five were successful. During the last launch made in December 2009 from Dmitry Donskoy, the missile failed to reach the target due to the technical failure with the missile’s third stage.

Nevertheless the Russian military is keen to continue the development of Bulava that will be the main armament of the new Borei class strategic submarines. The Russian Navy plans to have eight such submarines by 2017 to replace its ageing fleet of Devta-IV class subs.