Ship-launched missiles [Archive]

buglerbilly

05-02-10, 10:36 AM

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

06-02-10, 12:11 AM

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

22-03-10, 04:42 AM

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

23-03-10, 03:14 PM

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

29-03-10, 04:45 AM

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

30-03-10, 01:27 AM

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

31-03-10, 08:13 PM

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

01-04-10, 01:06 PM

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.

01-04-10, 01:54 PM

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.

01-04-10, 01:56 PM

Apparantly this is an April Fool!

Riđđu

01-04-10, 04:37 PM

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.

02-04-10, 01:16 AM

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

02-04-10, 10:02 AM

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

04-04-10, 04:54 AM

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

23-04-10, 04:16 PM

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.3.1

26-04-10, 07:57 AM

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."

ADMk2

26-04-10, 08:04 AM

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

26-04-10, 09:04 AM

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

26-04-10, 09:54 AM

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.3.1

26-04-10, 11:14 AM

buglerbilly

26-04-10, 12:33 PM

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.

ADMk2

26-04-10, 02:14 PM

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

26-04-10, 02:32 PM

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.3.1

26-04-10, 02:34 PM

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.

27-04-10, 12:47 PM

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

28-04-10, 12:43 AM

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

04-05-10, 05:16 PM

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

13-05-10, 01:52 AM

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

20-05-10, 04:00 PM

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

21-05-10, 03:22 AM

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

buglerbilly

15-06-10, 03:37 PM

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

09-07-10, 12:46 AM

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

14-07-10, 01:06 AM

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

13-08-10, 04:53 AM

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

17-08-10, 07:51 AM

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

17-08-10, 01:26 PM

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

ADMk2

17-08-10, 02:05 PM

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

17-08-10, 04:44 PM

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

18-08-10, 01:00 AM

buglerbilly

18-08-10, 01:49 AM

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

19-08-10, 04:32 PM

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.

buglerbilly

18-09-10, 04:35 AM

Russia to defy US by selling anti-ship missiles to Syria

Russia is to defy Israel and the United States by supplying Syria with advanced anti-ship missiles despite fears that they could fall into the hands of Hizbollah, the Iranian-backed group based in southern Lebanon.

By Andrew Osborn in Moscow and Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem for the UK Daily Teelegraph

Published: 5:44PM BST 17 Sep 2010

Anatoly Serdyukov, the Russian foreign minister, argued that Moscow had supplied Syria with an older version of the missile, pictured, and had not encountered problems Photo: AP

Anatoly Serdyukov, the Russian foreign minister, brushed aside pleas to halt the delivery of a consignment of P-800 Yakhont cruise missiles, arguing that Moscow had supplied Syria with an older version of the missile and had not encountered problems.

"The US and Israel ask us not to supply Syria with Yakhont," he told reporters during a confidence-building visit to the Pentagon. "But we do not see the concerns expressed by them that these arms will fall into the hands of terrorists.

If that system did not fall into the hands of terrorists then why should the new one?"

Israel says the sale, which was initially agreed in 2007, threatens to alter the strategic military balance in the Levant because the missile could pose a serious threat to its naval ships in the Mediterranean Sea.

With a range of nearly 200 miles, the Yakhont is known for its accuracy and its ability to avoid detection because of its speed and low trajectory. It is also far more sophisticated that any of the anti-ship missiles presently in Syria's arsenal.

Although there is no evidence to suggest that Syria passed on the earlier version of the Yakhont to Hizbollah, Russian weaponry has ended up in the hands of the militant Shia group before.

Kornet anti-tank rockets, supplied by Russia to the Syrian defence ministry, were discovered by the Daily Telegraph in abandoned Hizbollah positions following Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon in 2006.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, urged Vladimir Putin, his Russian counterpart, to abandon the missile sale last month. Similar appeals have been made in recent weeks by the Israeli and US defence ministers.

Following the resumption this month of peace talks with the Palestinian leadership, Israel fears that Hizbollah and Hamas, the Islamist group which controls Gaza, could use violence to undermine the negotiations.

Israeli soldiers shot dead a Hamas commander in the West Bank on Friday, two weeks after the group claimed responsibility for killing four Jewish settlers and wounding two others.

Salam Fayyad, the moderate prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, called the killing a "dangerous escalation" and gave warning that it could jeopardize progress in the peace talks.

buglerbilly

20-09-10, 04:41 AM

How serious is the P800 Yakhont threat? Does it has a destabilizing effect on the Middle East?

September 20, 2010 at 12:23 am

tamir_eshel

The Russians are using their Onyx version of the weapon with their Su-33 carrier-based naval fighters.

The expected arrival of the P800 Yakhont supersonic anti-ship missile in Syria is considered the first serious attempt by Syria to directly challenge the Israel Navy since the 1973 war, when the Israeli Navy sunk five Syrian vessels in the first missile-boat engagement known as the ‘Battle of Latakia’. Four decades later, the P800 Yakhont is far superior than the Styx missiles that failed to protect the Syrian Navy in 1973. Much like the Russian-Indian Brahmos, the earlier Moskit and Supersonic Alpha, Yakhont has the capability to strike its target at supersonic speed, flying at very low level, leaving the defender much shorter time to react. Yet, ship defenses have come a long way since the Electronic Warfare (EW) systems that saved the day and won the battle for the Israelis.

AEGIS systems, used on U.S. Navy and many NATO vessels, the European PAAMS used by the Royal Navy, French and Italian navies and Israel’s new Barak 8 ship air defense system are designed to match such treats. So does Israel’s ‘Magic Wand’ system, employing the Stunner missile interceptor, able to counter it effectively if employed in surface/surface or ship/surface role. However, the majority of smaller naval vessels, still equipped with ‘point defense’ anti-missile systems were not designed to counter such high speed attacks, particularly when it comes in salvos of two or four missile.

Such elements are at risk at ranges of 300 km from the Mediterranean Syrian naval bases at Tartus and Latakia. Yakhont typically cruises to the target area at high altitude, and then descends for a sea skimming attack from under the horizon. The distance at which it begins its descent can be programmed before launch, this determining the achievable range which is between 120 (low level flight) – 300 km (high mid-course, low-level beyond the horizon to the target.

The potential coverage of P800 Yakhont missiles fired from coastal sites (Tartus) or land sites in Southern Syria cover Israel's Mediterranean Naval Bases.

While some navies could avoid this area, for Israel, the long range of the P800 means its naval vessels are at risk even at their main base in Haifa, a site already compromised by rockets fired from Lebanon during the 2006 war. Israel’s second naval base in Ashdod could be targeted from land-based sites in Southern Syria. Furthermore, when targeting Israeli naval patrols in international water off the Lebanese coast, P800 can be vertically launched from inland sites in Syria or Lebanon, fired behind the Lebanon mountain ridge, avoiding detection from the sea, thus minimizing the early warning for the targeted vessels. Therefore, accelerated fielding of Barak-8 and Magic Wand systems should be a top priority for Israel. Another risk for Navies operating in the Persian Gulf is technology leak – such a missile falling into Iranian hands, could accelerate the introduction of such potent weapons in Tehran’s arsenal.

It is yet unclear which Syrian navy platforms will be equipped with the new weapon. The Yakhont can be fitted with relatively small vessels, from corvette size and larger. It can also be used from land and from airborne platforms. But even with these potent weapons in hand, the Syrians are not yet ready to employ them effectively. Syria currently do not have the means to effectively target the missile beyond the horizon, lacking maritime patrol aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles or attack aircraft capable of carrying such missiles. They do not have the capability to detect, track and designate targets at those ranges since until now they did not have weapons reaching out to these ranges. This is particularly true when the target is ‘silent’ and cannot be targeted by surface-based Electronic Support Measures (ESM).

If they are seriously planning to gain operational capability with the missile, watch out for Syria to reach for UAVs, naval patrol aircraft (Be-200 or Il-38 from any CIS nation or other countries decommissioning such aircraft could be an option). They could also opt for upgrading the Su-24MK ‘Fencer D’ to take on maritime attack role. Even more serious is a combination of Su-27/Su-30 and P800s, which could provides the P800 the stand-off targeting and attack capability against surface targets. The Russians are using their Onyx version of the weapon with their Su-33 carrier-based naval fighters. Knowing the P800 is at range, the Israeli Navy will definitely lose its dominant and unchallenged position in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly along the Lebanese coast.

Of course, for deliberate ‘ambush’ attacks Syria could try getting forward targeting using merchant or fishery vessels sailing in the Eastern Mediterranean or submarines, provided by allies such as Iran (since Syria do not have any submarines now, after decommissioning their 3 Romeo subs about six years ago). But this is really a long, long shot that would cost Syria dearly.

Altogether, for the short term, the arrival of the P800 in the Mediterranean is a serious threat. Over time, as the Israel Navy gets its Barak-8 missiles and Magic Wand deployed, the threat could be contained, given the Syrians will not deploy large numbers of these missiles on platforms and constellations that would maximize its capability to launch saturation attack against the IN leading vessels.

© 2010 Defense Update

Nice but brief video at the original article of the Stunner missile.........

http://defense-update.com/wp/20100920_yakhont_in_syria.html

buglerbilly

08-10-10, 02:35 AM

South Africa’s Denel Dynamics Offering Umkhonto Missile to Vietnam

Umkhonto IR short-range air defence scenario.

Deputy President Promotes South African Defence Technology in Hanoi

10:06 GMT, October 7, 2010 Denel Dynamics is bidding for a naval air defence contract in Vietnam and is offering the South-east Asian nation its Umkhonto short-range air defence missile as fitted on the South African Navy's frigate fleet and six Finnish warships.

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, currently in Hanoi, overnight said “Denel Dynamics has submitted a bid for a contract to supply its surface-to-air missile system to the Vietnamese Navy. We believe that the South African system is superior to other systems and that a successful bid would open new areas of cooperation between our two countries in the field of defence and would further strengthen the people-to-people contact.”

It is not clear on which ships the missiles will be installed. The Vietnamese People' Navy operates two new Russian-build Gepard-class frigates commissioned this year as well as five older Petya-class frigates. It also also operates 15 Pauk and Tarantul-class corvettes, numerous patrol and torpedo boats, minesweepers and six Kilo-class diesel-electric attack submarines.

The missile house last month showcased Umkhonto's capacity in the ground role at this years' edition of the Africa Aerospace & Defence 2010 exhibition in Cape Town. “With 45 years of air defence experience, we are proud of this versatile world-class missile,” said Machiel Oberholzer, Executive Manager Air Defence at Denel Dynamics. The missile displayed – and likely on offer to Vietnam – is the Block 2 version of the weapon featuring much enhanced “clutter” performance proven earlier this year during live firing trials with the Finnish Navy that operates the system aboard four Hamina class missile boats and two Hämeenmaa class minelayers.

Oberholzer says the 125kg, 12km range missile is now proven as a surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missile in high clutter naval environments including littoral water and land warfare scenarios.. “Umkhonto can now comfortably be applied to Ground Based Air Defence Systems (GBADS),” he adds. The Umkhonto is part of an evolving family of multi-service vertically launched air defence missile solutions from Denel Dynamics that is being developed in unison with future SANDF and international customer requirements, he continues.

The Finnish Navy launched Umkhonto Block 2 surface-to-air missiles during two successful test firings at the Lohtaja test range in May 2010. Finnish Navy minelayer Uusimaa and other participating vessels made their way to the test range through the winter ice and after taking up their respective positions, and after system and safety checks were completed, a Banshee target drone was deployed from land. “For the first firing this extremely small target was tracked by the ship sensor systems,” Denel says in a statement. “After a white run confirmed all systems were working, Umkhonto promptly destroyed the target with a direct hit during the red run. The second firing utilised a different ship sensor to track the target. Again Umkhonto achieved a direct hit confirming the unique capability of this missile.”

The Umkhonto is also in service aboard the SA Navy's four Valour-class frigates. Frigate project director Rear Admiral (JG) Johnny Kamerman at a media conference in 2006 said the development of the system had begun in 1993. South Africa decided to develop its own system even after sanctions was lifted because high-end systems such as the US Aegis were unaffordable -- "we can't afford the launchers, let alone the missiles," Kamerman explained -- and low-end systems like shoulder-launched missiles were "a waste of time".

Land-based testing ended in July 2005 when the system was adjudged shore-qualified. The testing involved telemetry intercepts of a Skua target drone in various profiles, including low-level, head on and in evasive manoeuvres. The tests culminated in a Skua being destroyed with a “standard warhead”, Kamerman said.

In May 2008 Oberholzer told defenceWeb the Umkhonto development path included an extended range (ER) IR variant as well as an all-weather radar-guided version and an ER version of that. As stated above, the current infrared-guided Umkhonto has a range of 12km. Oberholzer said this was being expanded as part of a pre-planned product improvement initiative. An extended-range infrared version is planned and will range up to 22km. The radar version, dubbed the AWSAM – all weather surface to air missile – would have a 20km range, while an extended range version fitted with a booster rocket (AWSAM-E) – would hit out up to 30km – which placed it in the medium-range capability. He added the advantage of such a family of missiles was that "you can have a cocktail of missiles in your launchers so you can engage with the most appropriate one to the threat. Infrared missiles are cheaper than radar and you don't want to use an expensive missile to shoot down an easy target."

Denel Dynamics CE Jan Wessels has said the company is looking for funding partners for the advanced Umkhonto future configurations. “It will ideally be a programme like A-Darter”, the R1 billion joint venture 5th generation IR short-range air-to-air missile being developed with Brazil. But he also questions the notion that Umkhonto IR is just a good-weather system. “If you can just highlight that's not the case. The fact that the SA and Finnish navies have selected Umkhonto after in-depth studies – despite typical naval weather conditions – says it all. How this missile works is you have an advanced 3D radar on the ship or launch point and that keeps tracking the target after the missile is fired and via datalink guides the missile to within the last kilometre or so.

“Only then does the IR seeker become active. The more accurate the 3D radar is, the more you can do and the better the performance as an all-weather system. The IR seeker is just used for the last pinpoint accuracy. The better the radar, the better the missile.” It is therefore no longer clear that the all-weather variant will be radar guided as was provided for in earlier thinking.

----
By Leon Engelbrecht, Editor, defenceWEB

(Courtesy by defenceWeb; First published at http://goo.gl/e1je)

buglerbilly

25-10-10, 03:51 AM

U.S. Navy Completes First Test of New Warhead for Tomahawk Block IV Missile

NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER CHINA LAKE, Calif., Oct. 24, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Navy completed the first live test of the Joint Multi-Effects Warhead System (JMEWS), meeting all performance objectives for the new warhead for the Tomahawk Block IV tactical cruise missile.

The JMEWS program is designed to deliver a warhead that will give the Tactical Tomahawk Land-Attack Missile all of the same blast-fragmentation capabilities that make it a formidable weapon today and to introduce enhanced penetration capabilities into a single warhead.

"This static test of the JMEWS program brings this powerful capability one step closer to potential integration into the Tactical Tomahawk Block IV missile, delivering enhanced capabilities to the operationally proven system," said Captain Dave Davison, the U.S. Navy's program manager for the Tomahawk Weapon System. "This first test demonstrates that the program is on schedule and moving forward as planned."

During the August 16 test, the warhead detonated, creating a hole large enough for the follow-through element to completely penetrate the concrete target and pass through two witness plates.

"The future of the Tomahawk Block IV missile includes a series of affordable enhancements to make the system more capable for the warfighter," said Gary Hagedon, Raytheon's Tomahawk program director. "JMEWS is the first of the planned system enhancements, and this test demonstrates that we have the right team in place to deliver these capabilities."

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 a history of innovation spanning 88 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 75,000 people worldwide.

Note to Editors:

The Tactical Tomahawk Block IV missile provides an expanded array of operational capabilities while reducing acquisition, operations and support costs. The missile has a two-way satellite data link that enables it to respond to changing battlefield conditions.

The strike controller can divert the missile in flight to preprogrammed alternate targets or redirect it to a new target. The controller can also command the Tactical Tomahawk Block IV missile to loiter over the battlefield until a target is identified as well as reprogram JMEWS fuzing for optimal lethality against this newly identified target.

The missile also can transmit battle damage imagery and missile telemetry information via the satellite data link.

buglerbilly

26-10-10, 12:04 PM

Underwater Test for MBDA's Scalp Booster Missile

By PIERRE TRAN

Published: 25 Oct 2010 13:36

PARIS - MBDA in September conducted a first underwater ignition of the booster for the submarine version of the Scalp Naval cruise missile, in preparation for a full test-fire launch in 2011, the European missile company said Oct. 25.

The underwater ignition of the booster was intended to prepare for a full test-fire launch of the missile from a submarine, MBDA said. (David Monniaux)

"The underwater test, which set the booster in operation for several seconds, was carried out at a significant depth in a Norwegian fjord using an instrumented model of a Scalp Naval rear section secured in a submerged structure," the company said in a statement released at the Euronaval trade show.

Read more: http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4969478&c=EUR&s=AIR

buglerbilly

26-10-10, 02:34 PM

More on this..........

MBDA Prepared for the First Test Firing of SCALP Naval in Its Submarine Configuration

(Source: MBDA; issued Oct. 25, 2010)

During September 2010, a high depth ignition test of SCALP Naval’s booster was organised by MBDA. The underwater test, which set the booster in operation for several seconds, was carried out at a significant depth in a Norwegian fjord using an instrumented model of a SCALP Naval rear section secured in a submerged structure.

First analysis of the test results show that the pressure profile of the booster, the ejection of the storage lid protecting the rear end of the missile and the model’s water-tight properties all behaved nominally. This latest test adds to the underwater travel tests for which a special installation, replicating submarine launch conditions, has been constructed by MBDA in conjunction with the French Direction Générale de l’Armement Essais de Missiles (DGA EM) Ile du Levant.

These combined tests prepare the way for the first test firing of SCALP Naval from a submarine envisaged during the course of 2011.

On 28th May 2010, MBDA successfully carried out the first firing of SCALP NAVAL from a series production Sylver A70 vertical launcher. During this test flight, lasting several tens of minutes, all launch phases up to and including the missile’s cruise flight phase were able to be tested.

SCALP Naval is being developed in two configurations to meet the requirements of the French Navy expressed in its Missile de Croisière Naval (Naval Cruise Missile).or MdCN programme. The first configuration will allow for vertical launch and is destined for entry in service on surface vessels of the FREMM frigate type as of 2013. The second configuration is a changing environment version destined to equip the Barracuda nuclear-powered attack submarines as of 2017.

The two configurations use the same missile and the same ejectable booster. Differentiating the second configuration from the first is the addition of a sea to air transition capsule. This is achieved through a container which totally encloses the missile and its booster, allowing it to be ejected through an immersed submarine’s torpedo tubes.

“MBDA is totally mobilised for the MdCN programme”, stated Antoine Bouvier, CEO of MBDA, “because this programme, which sets in motion a wide diversity of technologies, is the most eloquent proof of our business’s savoir-faire in meeting the strategic needs of the French customer”.

With industrial facilities in four European countries and within the USA, MBDA has an annual turnover of EUR 2.6 billion and an order book of EUR 12 billion. With more than 90 armed forces customers in the world, MBDA is a world leader in missiles and missile systems.

MBDA is the only group capable of designing and producing missiles and missile systems that correspond to the full range of current and future operational needs of the three armed forces (land, sea and air). In total, the group offers a range of 45 missile systems and countermeasures products already in operational service and more than 15 others currently in development.

MBDA is jointly held by BAE Systems (37,5%), EADS (37,5%) and Finmeccanica (25%).

-ends-

buglerbilly

27-10-10, 02:47 PM

Australia – SM-2 Block IIIB STANDARD Missiles

(Source: Defense Security Cooperation Agency; issued October 26, 2010)

WASHINGTON --- The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress today of a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Australia of 17 SM-2 Block IIIB STANDARD Warhead Compatible Telemetry missiles and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $46 million.

The Government of Australia has requested a possible sale of 17 SM-2 Block IIIB STANDARD Warhead Compatible Telemetry missiles, including AN/DKT-71 Telemeters and assembly kits, spare and repair parts, technical data and publications, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. government and contractor engineering, technical and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics support.

The estimated cost is $46 million.

Australia is one of our most important allies in the Western Pacific and contributes significantly to ensuring peace and economic stability in the region. Australia’s efforts in peacekeeping and humanitarian operations in Iraq and in Afghanistan have served U.S. national security interests. This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives and facilitates burden sharing with our allies.

The proposed sale of SM-2 Block IIIB STANDARD missiles will be used for anti-air warfare test firings during Combat Systems Ship Qualification Trials for the Royal Australian Navy’s three new Air Warfare Destroyers, currently under construction. Australia, which has already integrated the SM-2 Block IIIA, will have no difficulty absorbing these missiles into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The prime contractors will be Raytheon Missile Systems Company in Tucson, Arizona, The Raytheon Company in Camden, Arkansas. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of U.S. Government or contractor representatives to Australia.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

(ends)

Japan – SM-2 Block IIIB STANDARD Missiles

(Source: Defense Security Cooperation Agency; issued October 26, 2010)

WASHINGTON --- The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress today of a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Japan of 13 SM-2 Block IIIB Tactical STANDARD missiles and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $33 million.

The Government of Japan has requested a possible sale of, 13 AN/DKT-71A Telemeters, conversion kits, containers, spare and repair parts, support equipment, U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics support. The estimated cost is $33 million.

Japan is one of the major political and economic powers in East Asia and the Western Pacific and a key ally of the United States in ensuring the peace and stability of this region. The U.S. Government shares bases and facilities in Japan. It is vital to the U.S. national interest to assist Japan to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability. This proposed sale is consistent with these U.S. objectives and with the 1960 Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security.

The SM-2 missiles will be used on the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force fleet and will provide enhanced capabilities in providing defense of critical sea-lanes of communication. Japan has already integrated the SM-2 Block IIIB missiles into its ship combat systems. It maintains two Intermediate-Level Maintenance Depots capable of maintaining and supporting the SM-2. Japan will have no difficulty absorbing these additional missiles.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The prime contractors are Raytheon Missiles Systems Company in Tucson, Arizona, Raytheon Company in Camden, Arkansas, and United Defense, Limited Partnership in Aberdeen, South Dakota. There are no offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will not require any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives in Japan.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

-ends-

buglerbilly

28-10-10, 01:54 PM

Ares

A Defense Technology Blog

New Scalp Naval Model

Posted by Robert Wall at 10/28/2010 6:12 AM CDT

At this week's Euronaval conference, MBDA has for the first time shown a model accurately representing the Scalp Naval cruise missile now in development

The cruise missile, with a range of 1,000 km, will first be fielded on frigates (launched out of Sylver A70 vertical launchers) and later on submarines. The Fremm frigates are to be fielded with the missile in 2017, with the Barracuda attack submarine cruising with the weapon in 2017 if things go according to plan.

To get to the long range, developers worked on lightening the airframe and drag reduction. The warhead also is different from the Broach used on the air-launched Storm Shadow.

One difference to note on the model compared to earlier depictions is the three control fins. Prior depictions of Scalp Naval showed four fins.

The model also shows the pop-out wing configuration.

buglerbilly

11-11-10, 12:33 PM

Lockheed Tapped for New Anti-Ship Missile

By Jim Wolf

November 10, 2010

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp is to develop within 2 1/2 years a new long-range anti-ship missile, the Defense Department said on Wednesday.

The work falls under a $157.7 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, which has been responsible for some of the Pentagon's biggest technology breakthroughs, including the Internet's precursor.

The goal is to develop rapidly and demonstrate a ship-launched weapon that can knock out other ships "at significant stand-off ranges," an item in the Pentagon's daily contract digest said, without elaborating.

The work is expected to be completed by April 2013 in a joint effort between DARPA and the Office of Naval Research, the announcement said.

Development of a new weapons system sometimes takes a decade or more. Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon's No. 1 supplier by sales, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The project comes amid Pentagon concerns over China's development of antiship ballistic missiles capable of holding U.S. aircraft carriers and other warships at risk.

China also has been expanding its military edge over Taiwan and boosting the lethality of its short-range ballistic missiles while raising the risk of "misunderstanding and miscalculation," the Pentagon said in its latest annual report to Congress on China's growing military power.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in a May 3 speech to the Navy League of the United States, said a virtual U.S. monopoly on precision-guided weapons was eroding, "especially with long-range, accurate anti-ship cruise and ballistic missiles that can potentially strike from over the horizon."

"This is a particular concern with aircraft carriers and other large, multibillion-dollar blue-water surface combatants," he said.

(Editing by Eric Walsh)

Copyright 2010 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

buglerbilly

12-11-10, 02:09 AM

Newest Naval Missiles Reaching Operator Hands

Nov 11, 2010

By Robert Wall
Le Bourget, France

As development wraps up on a range of naval missile systems, designers are turning their attention to new applications and upgrades. But scarce funding is hampering several near-term ambitions.

The conundrum affects several manufacturers. MBDA’s Exocet Block 3 anti-ship missile is now operational with the French and Italian navies, while Kongsberg is readying the first shipments of the stealthy Naval Strike Missile (NSM) and the Saab/Diehl BGT Defense team isset to hand over the first RBS-15 Mk. 3 anti-ship and land-attack missiles.

Garnering export orders is another priority for companies. In that respect, Asia stands out as offering the most prospects, although the Middle East and Brazil are also sales targets, according to industry officials at last week’s Euronaval exhibition here.

The NSM is the newest weapon in the group; the other two types are upgrades of long-established product lines. The first missiles slated for use on Norwegian navy frigates have just completed their acceptance trials and are ready to be handed over to the customer, says a Kongsberg official. Norway also plans to use the system on its corvettes.

In addition to its home country, the stealth land-attack and anti-ship missile will be fielded by Poland. The weapons should be ready for delivery in 2012.

Kongsberg also is eyeing Malaysia as a potential export market while setting its sights on Brazil’s shipbuilding plans.

Meanwhile, the company may pursue further evolutions of the weapon. One potential application is a submarine-launched version; however, Norway’s new submarine program has yet to receive the green light.

Activity on the air-launched application is further advanced. Kongsberg has concluded initial design studies to modify the weapon for internal carriage on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The company is now on contract to start building prototype hardware.

An air-launched version also is in the upgrade road map for the RBS-15 Mk. 3. That development could emerge if the Eurofighter Typhoon prevails in the Indian Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition. (India has specified a requirement for an anti-ship missile capable of being fired from whatever aircraft wins the MMRCA contract, due to be awarded next year.)

The baseline RBS-15 Mk. 3 is currently in production for the German navy for use on K130 corvettes and for the Polish navy. Flight trials on the K130 are pending, depending on ship availability, a Diehl official says. The Mk. 3 features a variable-throttle engine, GPS guidance, more fuel to boost range around 2.5 times compared with the Mk. 2 standard, and an insensitive munition warhead.

Both Saab and Diehl have examined further upgrade possibilities, including the addition of an imaging infrared seeker to complement the radio-frequency terminal guidance sensor. A potential data link upgrade also has been studied; however, developers have not devised a preferred approach since the sea-skimming weapon would not allow for a high-frequency, line-of-sight data link, whereas a low-frequency radio would not have sufficient throughput for any useful application. Although both Saab and Diehl have separately studied upgrade paths, a Mk. 4 version would likely require a joint development that neither Sweden nor Germany looks ready to finance.

Instead, the focus for RBS-15 efforts is on expanding the customer base for the Mk. 3. Sweden, for one, has yet to commit to the program for its Visby-class ships beyond a small batch of integration missiles. But export prospects are seen in the United Arab Emirates, Ecuador, Romania and Bulgaria.

Also contesting the anti-ship missile market is MBDA; its latest version of the Exocet, the Block 3, has just begun operational service with Italian and French navy Horizon-class frigates. The Block 3 replaces the solid propellant with a turbojet to boost range to roughly 180 km. (112 mi.) from 72 km. The weapon also has been upgraded to a digital architecture. The latter is the only upgrade made to the air-launched AM-39 to convert those missiles into Block 2 Mod. 2 standards, although a concept exists to transition to the full Block 3 standard.

The French government also wants to upgrade its submarine-launched Exocets, which—similar to the air-launched version—would merely transition to the Block 2 Mod. 2 standard. Those would be used on the Barracuda attack submarine starting in 2017, and the nuclear-missile strategic submarines as well.

Ideas exist for further development of the weapon, including a seeker upgrade and two-way data link for battle-damage assessment; but so far, no funding has been set aside for such an endeavor.

In the meantime, Raytheon is mulling further evolutions of the Tomahawk. A Joint Concept Technology Demonstration (JCTD) is in the cards to add new levels of flexibility to the land-attack cruise missile. The two-year JCTD, due to kick off soon if funding can be secured, would add a radar seeker and a data link to allow missiles to exchange information, a Raytheon official notes. The radar seeker would augment navigation during the cruise phase and provide terminal guidance. What’s more, the radar could be employed for battle-damage assessment of another Tomahawk, with the information used (via the data link) to redirect other missiles.

The multimode Tomahawk also would introduce a new warhead, which recently underwent static testing. The Joint Multi-Effects Warhead System has a multi-stage warhead with a precursor charge and a follow-through penetrator, although the weapon retains its blast-fragmentation capability.

buglerbilly

12-11-10, 02:18 AM

Pentagon Readies New Ship-Killers for Pacific Showdown

By David Axe November 11, 2010 | 3:43 pm

Pentagon planners were wary of China’s double-digit military-budget growth rates even before the global economic crisis put the squeeze on America’s own defense investment. Now the Chinese army’s growth continues while America’s flat-lines. That’s got the U.S. military, especially the Navy, scrambling for new ideas.

The most hopeful is an emerging concept for mixing U.S. Navy ships and subs with Air Force planes to form a tightly-knit, super-lethal, ship-killing force meant to counter an increasingly powerful Chinese fleet. The Pentagon calls it “AirSea Battle,” an homage to NATO’s Cold War “AirLand Battle” concept that pioneered tactics for taking out thousands of Soviet tanks with smart weapons. U.S. Secretary of Defense Bob Gates called the classified AirSea Battle concept “encouraging.”

It seems AirSea Battle mostly involves better communications and command procedures for integrating ships and planes into the same task forces. But there’s at least one new piece of hardware: a new, more deadly anti-ship missile. On Wednesday, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded Lockheed Martin a 3-year, $160 million contract to develop the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile. The goal is for LRASM to give Navy ships “the ability to attack important enemy ships outside the ranges of the enemy’s ability to respond with anti-ship missiles of their own.”

LRASM must fit into the Navy’s existing vertical-launch cells and should rely less on “off-board” targeting — drones, planes, satellites — than current weapons. In other words, the LRASM must have its own, smart sensors. That would allow even isolated or electronically-jammed American ships to sink enemy vessels.

Darpa’s interest in ship-killing missiles represent a major sea change — or a blast from the past. Time was, 20 years ago, the Navy had a bigger arsenal of anti-ship missiles, ranging from the tiny Penguin to the mid-size Harpoon and the huge, long-range Tomahawk. Today the Tomahawk is used strictly for land-attack and only a few ships carry Harpoons.

Meanwhile, other nations have pulled ahead in ship-sinking technology. Russia, India and Japan all have new ASMs. Indeed, those weapons — particularly the Japanese XASM-3, pictured — might offer a preview of LRASM’s eventual design elements. Look for a stealthy shape, supersonic speed and several overlapping sensor types. And don’t expect it to be cheap.

Photo: Japanese Ministry of Defense

Better image from War is Boring..............

Deks

12-11-10, 03:30 AM

Are the other options not available for Vertical Launch, or not have sufficient range? I would have thought that something off the shelf would be just what the doctor ordered for the relatively-cash-strapped US.

Raytheon's upgraded tomahawk supposedly would take 36 months to develop, and use existing missiles to be upgraded when they go through for pre-scheduled updates. Even that sounds more logical than developing a new missile from scratch.

Am I missing something?! Hope so :)

Gubler, A.

12-11-10, 04:40 AM

You can vertically launch most missiles: JASSM, Harpoon, etc. Considering the cost (only $150m), the timetable (30 months), the contractor (Lockheed), the requirement (long range) it is pretty clear this is either an anti ship version of JASSM or the NSM based JSM.

ADMk2

12-11-10, 04:56 AM

Pentagon Readies New Ship-Killers for Pacific Showdown

Time was, 20 years ago, the Navy had a bigger arsenal of anti-ship missiles, ranging from the tiny Penguin to the mid-size Harpoon and the huge, long-range Tomahawk. Today the Tomahawk is used strictly for land-attack and only a few ships carry Harpoons.

Shh. No-one tell David AXE about JSOW-C1, JASSM maritime attack, Harpoon Block II, the new anti-shipping mode being added to Tomahawk or the fact that Standard SM-2 missiles can and are used for anti-ship missile functions...

http://www.raytheon.com/newsroom/feature/tomahawk_05-09/

What a douche...

Deks

12-11-10, 01:32 PM

FWIW as per my last post Raytheon isn't doing the upgrade of Tomahawk, they're just saying that they can.

Still, that makes sense A. Thanks!

buglerbilly

12-11-10, 01:55 PM

Shh. No-one tell this guy about JSOW-C1, JASSM maritime attack, Harpoon Block II, the new anti-shipping mode being added to Tomahawk or the fact that Standard SM-2 missiles can and are used for anti-ship missile functions...

http://www.raytheon.com/newsroom/feature/tomahawk_05-09/

What a douche...

The douche comment was aimed at the guy that wrote the original article I hope.................:doh

ADMk2

12-11-10, 02:07 PM

The douche comment was aimed at the guy that wrote the original article I hope.................:doh

Of course. As if anyone needs to tell you of all people about JSOW-C1 etc...

David Axe OTOH...

buglerbilly

12-11-10, 02:12 PM

Just having a "precious" moment mate, and someone here did email about it.........:shrug

Dear Readers, please use a bit of commonsense when reading postings and responses................:thumbsup

(That's aimed at the person who emailed me, to avoid any further confusion!)

ADMk2

12-11-10, 02:50 PM

All fixed now. There shouldn't be any more misunderstandings...

;)

Cheers,

AD

Shh. No-one tell David AXE about JSOW-C1, JASSM maritime attack, Harpoon Block II, the new anti-shipping mode being added to Tomahawk or the fact that Standard SM-2 missiles can and are used for anti-ship missile functions...

http://www.raytheon.com/newsroom/fea...omahawk_05-09/

What a douche... \

buglerbilly

13-11-10, 08:21 AM

Northrop Grumman Enters Competition for Missile Defense Agency's Next-Generation Aegis Missile

10:06 GMT, November 12, 2010 HUNTSVILLE, Ala. | Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) is highlighting its deep experience on early intercept of ballistic missile threats to compete for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) next-generation ballistic missile interceptor currently planned for fielding in 2020.

The company announced that it has submitted a proposal for the Next Generation Aegis Missile's (NGAM) concept definition and program planning phase set to get underway in 2011. The new interceptor will be designed to provide early intercept capability against some short range ballistic missiles, all medium range ballistic missiles, all intermediate range ballistic missiles and non-advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles.

"This opportunity extends Northrop Grumman's long partnership with MDA to enhance the Ballistic Missile Defense System with an earlier intercept capability that helps achieve a layered missile defense," said Duke Dufresne, sector vice president and general manager, Strike and Surveillance Systems Division for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems.

"We will apply our team's complete set of tools, techniques, trade studies, lessons learned and investments to help MDA achieve its vision for the phased adaptive approach to missile defense," Dufresne added. "We also bring to bear our corporate expertise and capability in Aegis shipbuilding and naval systems to ensure a smooth land-to-sea transition. Our approach emphasizes an objective analysis of NGAM's mission needs with emphasis on affordability, quality, producibility and risk reduction to define a sweet-spot solution."

Northrop Grumman is a primary supplier of technologically advanced missile and missile defense weapon systems, including the Space Tracking and Surveillance Demonstration program, and the Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center, Colorado Springs, Colo.

ARH v.3.1

13-11-10, 04:23 PM

All fixed now. There shouldn't be any more misunderstandings...

;)

Cheers,

AD

What a pair of douches!:anon

ADMk2

14-11-10, 05:08 AM

What a pair of douches!:anon

Guilty!

buglerbilly

14-11-10, 06:33 AM

Takes one to know one..........:razz

ARH v.3.1

14-11-10, 08:36 AM

I know you are but what am I?

buglerbilly

14-11-10, 12:07 PM

Douche Leader, His Supreme Apple Crumbleness........:rofl :rofl :rofl

buglerbilly

24-11-10, 03:22 AM

Raytheon's Rolling Airframe Missile Block 2 Completes Key Flight Test

TUCSON, Ariz., Nov. 23, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) Rolling Airframe Missile Block 2 completed the fourth of four controlled test vehicle flights designed to demonstrate the system's upgraded kinematic performance and stable airframe control capability.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101123/NE06133 )

The test also focused on RAM's rocket motor, airframe, control section and autopilot software, which will be used to evolve and improve the accuracy and fidelity of future simulations. Raytheon will build 25 Block 2 missiles during the design and development test period. The company expects a low rate initial production contract to follow.

"RAM Block 2 will redefine ship self-defense against sea-skimming, diving and maneuvering anti-ship missiles," said Alan Fabos, Raytheon's RAM Block 2 program manager. "With its rapid fire-and-forget performance, RAM Block 2 will be equally deadly against rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft and surface threats."

RAM is a supersonic, lightweight, quick reaction, fire-and-forget missile providing defense against anti-ship cruise missiles, helicopter and airborne threats, and hostile surface craft. The missile's autonomous dual-mode, passive radio frequency and infrared guidance design provides a high-firepower capability for engaging multiple threats simultaneously. Produced in partnership by Raytheon and RAMSYS of Germany, RAM is in the fleets of seven nations serving as an integral self-defense weapon.

The Block 2 upgrade includes a four-axis independent control actuator system and a redesigned rocket motor. These upgrades increase the RAM's effective range and deliver a significant improvement in maneuverability. The improved missile also incorporates an upgraded passive radio frequency seeker, a digital autopilot and engineering changes in selected infrared seeker components.

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 a history of innovation spanning 88 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 75,000 people worldwide.

buglerbilly

07-12-10, 03:55 AM

Ares

A Defense Technology Blog

LRASMs Fast And Slow

Posted by Bill Sweetman at 12/6/2010 10:18 AM CST

DARPA has posted an update on the Long Range Anti Ship Missile (LRASM) program, for which the first of two parallel demonstration contracts was awarded in November.

The update clarifies some aspects of LRASM. Specifically, we now know that the program involves two entirely different airframe/propulsion approaches, both developed by different divisions of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. Both use a common seeker from BAE Systems in Nashua, New Hampshire, the former Lockheed Sanders. The project is jointly sponsored by DARPA and the Office of Naval Research.

One set of demonstrations will focus on air launch and the other on surface-ship launch, but both teams will define both air- and ship-launched versions - confirming that the plan would be to take only one weapon into full-scale development.

LRASM-A is being developed by the Strike Weapons unit in Orlando and is based on the Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile Extended Range (JASSM-ER) airframe, and its demonstration program will culminate in two air-launched demonstrations. The formal contract award does not appear to have been published yet.

LRASM-B is run by Tactical Missiles (legacy Vought) out of Grand Prairie, Texas, and uses "prior ramjet development activities" - which I suspect means hardware developed under a black or long-forgotten program - to provide a supersonic-cruise missile with some stealth qualities. The ramjet technology is out of Pratt & Whitney at West Palm Beach. LRASM-B will wind up with four boosted launches out of Vertical Launch System (VLS) tubes. The program is due to be complete by April 2013.

BAE Systems' role suggests that the core of the sensor suite is based on passive radio-frequency technology. However, previous discussion of LRASM has made it clear that it will use multiple sensors in order to autonomously select warship targets even in a cluttered sea lane, while operating in a GPS-denied environment.

buglerbilly

08-12-10, 02:15 PM

Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) Contract with Poland

(Source: Kongsberg Defence Systems; issued December 7, 2010)

Kongsberg Defence Systems has signed a MNOK 660 contract with the Polish Ministry of Defence. The scope of the contract includes Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) and logistics equipment.

The contract is pending approval of the related offset contract.

Kongsberg is an international, knowledge-based group that supplies high-technology systems and solutions to customers engaged in the oil and gas industry, the merchant marine, and the defence and aerospace industries. In 2009, Kongsberg had a turnover of NOK 13.8 billion, and the Group had 5 423 employees in more than 25 countries as of 31 December 2009.

This information is subject to disclosure requirements pursuant to §5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

BACKGROUND NOTES:

When searching for missiles for its new frigates and coastal corvettes, the Royal Norwegian Navy studied thoroughly existing missiles on the market and the planned upgrades of these. None of these missiles were found to satisfy the requirements of a modern navy well into 2015 and beyond. It was therefore decided to develop a completely new missile based on latest technology, the NSM.

NSM is the only fifth generation long range precision strike missile in existence as per today. Already chosen by the Royal Norwegian Navy for its new frigates and new coastal corvettes, the NSM will be fully operational on these ships when they enter service in the near future. The NSM is also selected by the Polish Navy for use on its new coastal artillery installations.

The NSM is a very flexible system which can be launched from a variety of platforms against a variety of targets.

The airframe design and the high thrust to weight ratio gives the NSM extremely good maneuverability. The missile is completely passive, has proven its excellent sea skimming capabilities and with its advance terminal maneuvers it will survive the enemy air defences. The Autonomous Target Recognition (ATR) of the seeker ensures that the correct target is detected, recognised and hit, at sea or on land.

Being a cost-effective system which has demonstrated unsurpassed capabilities in numerous tests, the international interest for this missile is strongly increasing in NATO and other countries.

-ends-

buglerbilly

22-12-10, 02:46 PM

DGA Delivers First MM40 Exocet Block 3 Missiles

(Source: French Armaments Agency, DGA; issued Dec. 22, 2010)

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

PARIS --- Direction générale de l'armement (DGA), the French defense ministry’s armaments agency, on Dec. 6 awarded its operational qualification to the Block 3 version of the MM40 Exocet anti-ship missile, designated MM40B3.

An initial batch of 45 missiles, ordered in December 2008 from prime contractor MBDA, will be delivered to the French navy between end 2010 and mid-2013. The first four missiles were formally accepted on Dec. 16 by DGA’s quality control department.

The Block 3 version maintains the MM40’s operational capabilities at the cutting edge by doubling its range and giving it the capability to engage targets located in the littoral zone.

This missile will initially equip the two new Horizon-class air-defense frigates, Forbin and Chevalier Paul, and subsequently all first-line frigates, including the FREMM multipurpose frigates jointly developed with Italy.

-ends-

buglerbilly

04-01-11, 01:11 AM

Japan-U.S. missile project canceled.

BY KUNIICHI TANIDA SENIOR STAFF WRITER

2011/01/03

An SM-3 interceptor missile is launched from the Aegis guided missile destroyer Chokai off Kauai, Hawaii, in this November 2008 file photo (Maritime Self-Defense Force)

A joint U.S.-Japan research program to develop software for a ship-borne ballistic missile defense system has collapsed after the two sides failed to agree on conditions for exporting the technology, sources said.

Tokyo's insistence that the United States obtain prior consent from the Japanese government before selling the software to a third country caused the breakdown, the sources said. The United States has decided to continue with the project alone.

The software on which the two countries were working is meant to improve the ship-board Aegis guided missile system, which is supposed to intercept ballistic missiles, by improving onboard computer displays and providing a backup system in case of system failure.

It was being developed jointly by the governments and private sectors of the two countries under the Ballistic Missile Defense Open Architecture Research (BMDOAR) program.

While cooperation on the system was just the second in a series of planned joint ballistic missile defense projects between the two countries, its collapse could have implications for other programs.

In negotiations over the joint development of a new surface-to-air intercept missile, known as the SM-3 Block 2A, which was started before the software development project, the Japanese government has also insisted that it must consent to exports to third countries.

Japan-U.S. cooperation on the ballistic missile defense project began in 2004 under the administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

Joint research has been ongoing from 2006 through 2009, and actual development was supposed to start in fiscal 2010 and last about six years. Total costs were scheduled to reach 9.2 billion yen ($113.3 million), with 1.6 billion yen in outlays for fiscal 2010.

According to multiple Japanese Defense Ministry sources, negotiations started last spring. Talks fell through last autumn after the two sides failed to narrow differences over Japan's insistence on prior consent.

Then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda issued a statement in 2004 which stated that if Japan engaged "in joint development and production of ballistic missile defense systems with the United States ... the Three Principles (on Arms Exports) will not be applied, under the condition that strict control is maintained."

The three principles are that exports will not be permitted to: communist-bloc countries, countries subject to arms export embargoes by the United Nations Security Council, and countries involved in or likely to be involved in international conflicts.

Fukuda's statement, issued upon signing of a memorandum of understanding by the two sides, loosened those principles. However, in line with Fukuda's insistence on "strict control," the memorandum of understanding included a clause which prohibited the use of jointly developed systems for purposes other than those initially intended or the transfer of the systems to third countries without prior consent from the Japanese government.

Under the agreement, the Japanese foreign minister and U.S. ambassador to Japan would have to sign official documents prior to the actual export of a specific item. The Japanese side would have to gain Cabinet approval for suspending the three principles.

The U.S. side subsequently asked through various channels for the procedures to be revised.

In October 2009, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates informally asked Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa to revise the three principles to allow the export of newly developed missiles to Europe.

The United States, which had announced in September 2009 that it would deploy the ballistic missile defense system in Europe, has been signaling its intention to sell the systems, including those developed under BMDOAR, to Europe and others.

A senior Japanese Defense Ministry official said it was likely that the United States "did not want to be bound by complicated procedures brought about by the terms of prior consent set by Japan."

"While we cannot disclose details on negotiations, there were several reasons for the failure. In the end, we have to say we lacked tenacity," said another senior official in charge of the technical aspects of the project.
.

buglerbilly

10-01-11, 04:31 AM

Govt to OK U.S. transfers of missiles

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The government will approve the transfer by the United States of next-generation antimissile missiles currently under joint Japan-U.S. development to third-party countries, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

To that end, the government will compile criteria that would allow the United States to have the SM-3 Block IIA missiles deployed in Europe and other parts of the world. The move is aimed at showing Japan's resolve to deepen its alliance with the United States, several government sources have revealed.

The Obama administration has been seeking Japan's accord on deployment of the next-generation missiles, which are being developed primarily to beef up Japanese, U.S. and European missile defense networks.

However, the government's approval must conform with the nation's three principles of not exporting weapons to communist bloc countries, countries subject to U.N. arms embargoes or countries involved in or likely to become involved in international conflicts, the sources said.

Japan's current self-imposed ban on arms exports in principle prohibits exporting weapons or weapons-related technology, except for joint Japan-U.S. development and production of missile defense-related weapons.

Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa will express the government's intention to draw up the criteria in a way that conforms with the three principles on weapons exports in a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who is scheduled to make a two-day visit to Japan on Thursday and Friday, according to the sources.

Officials from the Defense Ministry, Foreign Ministry and Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry and other relevant government organizations will soon start discussing how to draw up the criteria, they said.

The three principles on weapons exports were first declared in 1967 under the administration of Prime Minister Eisaku Sato and made tougher in 1976 by the Cabinet of Prime Minister Takeo Miki, effectively banning exports of any weapons or weapons-related technology.

In 2004, the government of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, in light of the threat of missile attacks from North Korea, made the joint development of missile defense-related weapons and technology with the United States an exception to the export ban.

In announcing the easing of the principles on weapons exports, then Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda issued a statement in December that year.

The statement noted that the Japan-U.S. joint development and production of weapons for the two countries' missile defense programs "are exceptions to our country's arms exports ban," adding that the exceptions should be allowed on condition they would be "strictly managed."

In reference to the exceptions, a diplomatic document exchanged between the two countries in June 2006 reiterated the need for "strict management."

The document said "strict management" meant the United States should not use jointly developed weapons or technologies for purposes other than missile defense without prior Japanese agreement and should not transfer weapons or technology under the joint development to any third-party country without Japan's prior agreement.

The sources said Washington has been concerned Tokyo may refuse to allow the United States to transfer missile defense-related weapons or technology to third-party nations under the "strict management" criterion.

Under the circumstances, the government considers it necessary to clarify criteria with which to interpret "strict management" in a way that will show Japan's willingness to allow transfers of missile defense-related weapons and technology from the United States to third-party countries under certain conditions, according to the sources.

They said it would take the government about one year to work out details of procedures involving the implementation of the envisioned criteria and specific conditions to be attached to them.

The government's plans to establish the criteria in line with the goal set by the United States of building missile defense networks covering Europe before completing a global, comprehensive missile defense system around 2020.

In September 2009, the U.S. government announced it would finish deploying SM-3 Block IIA missiles by 2018 in the United States, Europe and elsewhere.

If Japan does not consent to the U.S. plans, the United States will not be able to deploy the missiles in countries other than Japan and the United States.

Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reaffirmed the strength of the Japan-U.S. alliance, which had deteriorated after the launch in 2009 of the administration led by the Democratic Party of Japan, in a meeting in Washington on Jan. 6.

The government's plans to work out criteria that would allow the transfer of interceptor missiles is a measure of Japan's commitment to the alliance, the sources said.

(Jan. 10, 2011)

buglerbilly

23-01-11, 05:52 AM

K-15 test rescheduled to Jan 31

Hemant Kumar Rout, TNN, Jan 21, 2011, 01.20pm IST

DRDO BALASORE: The DRDO has rescheduled the test-firing of submarine launched ballistic missile ( SLBM) K-15 to January 31. It was supposed to be test-fired from an underwater platform off the Vishakhapatnam coast on January 20.

"The test was first scheduled on January 16, but was postponed to January 20. Now it has again been rescheduled to January 31 due to delay in arrangements. It is a coordinated exercise of both land and Navy personnel," a source said.

"India can join the league of five nations, Russia, US, France, Britain and China, with the successful launch of the K-15 missile. These countries already possess advanced missiles that can be launched from a submarine," sources said.

The indigenously developed K-15 or the B-05 missile are 10 metres in length, one metre in diameter and weighs ten tonnes with a strike range of around 700 km.

This missile uses solid propellant and carries a conventional payload of about 500 kg to one tone and also be fitted with a tactical nuclear warhead. "The missile is ready for the test. But preparation is on for locating the Pontoon (replica of a submarine) inside the sea. The tracking machineries and technical equipment have been shifted from the integrated test range to Vishakhapatnam," the source added.

The K-15 missile has been tested at least six times and is in serial production. The missile was initially test-fired under the name of Sagarika project. While its launching was recorded partial success twice, the rest were claimed as "successful trials" by the DRDO.

The missile, which can be compared with the Tomahawk missile of US, is India's response to Pakistan's Babur missile. The source further said that the Navy has reportedly been insisting for the test of K-15's cruise variant as it is hard to be obstructed and has pinpoint accuracy.

"Cruise missiles are more difficult to detect and hence less vulnerable to anti-missile defence, which can track and destroy ballistic missiles with comparative ease," a defence scientist said. "Besides, the K-15 missile, India has another missile which can also be launched from a submarine. In a joint collaboration with Russia, a submarine-launched version of BrahMos cruise missile has been developed," he added.

Read more: K-15 test rescheduled to Jan 31 - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/K-15-test-rescheduled-to-Jan-31/articleshow/7329929.cms#ixzz1Bpa8j4Jp

buglerbilly

01-04-11, 06:19 AM

Missile Defense Agency Awards Raytheon $312 Million for New SM-3 Block IB

TUCSON, Ariz., March 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Missile Defense Agency awarded Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) a $312 million manufacturing contract for the Standard Missile-3 Block IB program. The contract provides the funding necessary to complete the development phase of the SM-3 Block IB program and deliver the rounds to the MDA.

"We expect to deliver the first flight test rounds to the MDA this summer," said Frank Wyatt, vice president of Raytheon's Air and Missile Defense Systems product line. "The SM-3 Block IB will provide an increased engagement capability against a wider variety of ballistic missile threats, giving the warfighter increased flexibility to protect U.S. and allied forces."

Raytheon's next-generation SM-3 Block IB maintains the reliability of the Block IA variant while incorporating an advanced two-color infrared seeker, an advanced signal processor, and a new throttleable divert and attitude control system. SM-3 Block IB will be deployed in both sea-based and land-based modes as part of phase two of the current administration's Phased Adaptive Approach for missile defense.

Raytheon is developing SM-3 as part of the MDA's Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, and more than 130 SM-3s have been delivered to date. The missiles are deployed with both U.S. and Japanese navies to defend against short- to intermediate-range ballistic missile threats in the ascent and midcourse phases of flight.

Raytheon Company, with 2010 sales of $25 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 89 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 72,000 people worldwide.

Note to Editors:

This contract award was originally announced by the Department of Defense March 29, 2011.

buglerbilly

07-04-11, 03:20 AM

Antiship Missiles Threaten Status Quo

Apr 6, 2011

By Andy Nativi
Genoa

The debate over China’s new DF-21D antiship ballistic missile and the impact it could have on sea power in the region is reviving concerns over the threat antiship missiles pose—a threat that had faded with the end of the Cold War.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Western naval strategists have seen little need to continue developing ship-killing missiles. The trend has been to retrofit weapons in service with advanced features. With few instances of antiship missiles being used against naval targets, many commands viewed the threat as remote. Several prominent projects were canceled as a result, including the French Future Antiship Missile program and Italy’s Ulisse long-range missile. This also explains the longevity of the Boeing Harpoon and MBDA’s Exocet, which have added capabilities to existing designs, and the U.S. Navy’s decision to retire the antiship version of Raytheon’s Tomahawk cruise missile.

But the situation is changing, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, where China, India and South Korea are building blue-water navies that will include carrier battle groups. Another concern is the proliferation of advanced antiship missiles, mainly of Russian origin, which are raising doubts about the effectiveness of Western ship defenses.

The DF-21D is actually of less concern—at least for now—than a salvo of Russian-made Club cruise missiles. A massed attack of antiship missiles would give a defender tens of seconds to react when detected on radar, compared with 12 min. for a ballistic missile. This is due to their low sea-skimming attack profile—as little as 2 meters (6.5 ft.) above the waves—and supersonic or high subsonic speed.

Antiship missiles are becoming more dangerous. Many feature advanced radar and infrared (IR) stealth designs, such as Kongsberg’s NSM and Saab’s evolved RBS-15. Modern missiles are wired for “smart” flight with, among other features, improved electronic counter-countermeasure capabilities. Weapons such as the latest Exocet Block 3 from MBDA fly elaborate attack profiles, pulling high g-forces and 3D maneuvers to defeat defensive systems. Other missiles dive at supersonic speed or, like the Club, fly meters above the waves at Mach 2. Supersonic weapons, moreover, don’t need heavy warheads due to the kinetic energy they develop and the incendiary effect of residual fuel.

Modern antiship missiles can be launched from ships, aircraft, coastal batteries or submarines. In some cases a single weapon type is used for all these platforms—for example, the Harpoon or Russian Kh-35 Uran.

As a result of renewed concerns about these weapons and fears that some navies could be outgunned in a confrontation, a number of missiles are under development or being radically upgraded.

There is a business as well as a strategic benefit to having an exportable, modern weapon: The Harpoon has been sold to 30 countries and produced in around 7,300 units, reducing cost.

Following termination of the Harpoon Block 3 program, which would have added a Rockwell Collins data link and improved attack features to the Boeing missile, the Block 2 is the sole heavy weapon in the U.S. antiship missile arsenal. Weighing 690 kg (1,518 lb.) and carrying a 220-kg warhead, Harpoon is turbojet-powered and has a range of 80 nm. It will likely evolve until a replacement comes from the many research programs dealing with high-speed strike missiles or other initiatives, such as the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile project initiated by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. In this effort, Lockheed Martin is working on an extended-range Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (Jassm) derivative and a ramjet-powered supersonic missile (see p. 33), which are to fly in demonstrator form in 2013.

In Europe, MBDA’s Exocet MM40 Block 3 is the latest evolution of the Exocet, which dates to the 1970s. The main innovation is replacement of the rocket sustainer engine with a Microturbo TRI-40 turbojet, which solves the issue of the Block 2’s relatively short range. The Block 3 flies more than 100 nm. and benefits from new features such as advanced electronics and a corkscrew attack profile. The electronics are being retrofitted to the Block 2 air-launched AM39 Mod 2 and sub-launched ASM39 Block 2. Mod 2 Exocets carry 160-kg warheads and reach high subsonic speeds. They are in service with 35 countries and have been produced in more than 3,500 units. The Exocet is also an extensively used weapon, with at least 700 fired in action, many in the air-launched variant. MBDA is evaluating further improvements, including a new radar seeker and a data link.

MBDA also offers the Otomat Mk2 Block IV, which has an inertial navigation system (INS) and GPS for intermediate cruise flight, an active seeker and a radio link that allows the missile to be controlled during flight from a ship or helicopter. It has a range of more than 100 nm., weighs 770 kg and is fitted with a semi-armor-piercing 210-kg warhead.

MBDA contributed to the development of Kongsberg’s NSM, which uses the Exocet Block 3 engine. The NSM, which replaces the Penguin missile, has an imaging IR sensor for terminal guidance. The attack radar sensor opens up at ranges beyond 30 mi. An inertial and satellite navigation system is used for the mid-course phase and eventually combines with a data link or radio command. A highly accurate radar or laser altimeter is another standard feature. NSM is light—and so a candidate for helicopter launch—but delivers a heavy punch with a 120-kg warhead at a range exceeding 100 nm.

Saab and Diehl are producing the RBS-15 Mk3 missile, in use by the Swedish, German and Polish navies. With a range of more than 120 nm., the Mk3 is the latest variant of a family of missiles introduced in the 1980s. It weighs 630 kg, flies a sea-skimming profile, maneuvers at more than 8g during final attack and has a warhead of at least 250 kg.

Four companies have taken the lead in development of Russian antiship missiles—Zvezda, Novator, NPO Mashinostroyenia and Raduga.

The Zvezda-Strela Kh-35 Uran (known in the West as the SS-N-25 Switchblade) is jet-powered, weighs 600 kg, has a 143-kg warhead, 70-nm. range (a newer Uranium version doubles the range) and high subsonic speed. It conducts final attack 3-5 meters above the water.

Novator’s Club family includes specialized missiles launched from torpedo tubes and vertical launch systems, making it a popular international weapon. The antiship versions of the SS-N-27 Sizzler are the 3M-54E1 cruise missile, with 160-nm. range and high subsonic speed; and the 3M-54E, which includes a terminal rocket-powered stage that accelerates to Mach 2.9. Each weighs 2 tons, is 9 meters long and carries different warheads. The subsonic version has a 400-kg warhead and 150-nm. range, and the supersonic missile has a 200-kg warhead and 120-nm. range.

NPO’s Moskit (SS-N-22 Sunburn), at 4.2 tons and 9.2 meters long, is a ramjet-powered missile that flies at high altitude at Mach 3, or at a 7-20-meter sea-skimming profile at Mach 2.2. It has a range of 50-120 nm., and carries a 300-kg warhead.

The NPO P-800 Yakhont (SS-N-26 Sapless) is 3 tons, 9.75 meters long, ramjet-powered and reaches Mach 2.8. It can adopt a low-high-low profile, with a cruise altitude of 14,000 meters and final attack profile of 10-15 meters. High-altitude flight yields a 170-nm. range; at low altitude, range is less than 70 nm. The Yakhont has a 250-kg semi-piercing warhead and pulls 20g. It is the basis for the Indian-Russian BrahMos, now entering service.

China’s Cheta missiles are not advanced (the People’s Liberation Army Navy relies to a large extent on Russian missiles). The older C-601/611 missiles of Styx heritage are obsolete. But the newer C-801/802A missiles are 800-kg weapons, turbojet-powered, with 190-kg warheads, 100-nm. range, and loaded with INS and active radar guidance. The C-602 cruise missile is 1,350 kg, carries a 300-kg warhead and has a range of 160 nm. The C-705 cruise missile is 325 kg, has a 130-kg warhead and 80-nm. range.

None of these weapons compares with the best that Russian and Western companies are developing or deploy, but they are cheap and can be sold to countries that have no access to anything better.

Other countries have developed indigenous designs, such as Israel’s IMI Delilah SL, a turbojet missile with a range of more than 140 nm., for ground and air launch.

Taiwan has the Mach 2 HF-3, which has a range of 300 km.

South Korea’s Lig Nex1 C-Star is a turbojet missile with a range exceeding 80 nm.

Photo: Boeing

buglerbilly

09-04-11, 12:41 PM

Fri, 8 April, 2011

Three Firms To Design Advanced Interceptor

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) on April 7 awarded contracts totaling $127 million to three firms for trade studies and initial designs for a new interceptor intended to defeat long-range missiles, according to a Pentagon announcement.

Lockheed Martin Corp. of Bethesda, Md., received a $43.3 million study contract for the new Standard Missile (SM)-3 Block 2B interceptor; Raytheon Missile Systems of Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $42.7 million contract; and Boeing Defense, Space & Security of St. Louis was awarded a $41.2 million contract.

The SM-3 Block 2B interceptor is planned to be deployed in 2020 as one of the later elements of the United States’ so-called Phased Adaptive Approach for European missile defense. It will be designed to destroy long-range ballistic missiles — with ranges of up to 12,000 kilometers — in the early stages of flight.

Raytheon is the incumbent contractor, having developed the SM-3 Block 1A interceptors that are deployed today on U.S. Navy ships and the more capable SM-3 Block 1B interceptors that are expected to begin flight testing this summer. Raytheon also is the prime contractor for the larger SM-3 Block 2A interceptor that the United States and Japan are co-developing.

Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems of Los Angeles was the only other firm that bid for the SM-3 Block 2B study contracts.

buglerbilly

09-04-11, 12:43 PM

U.S. gears for high-stakes missile defense test

By Jim Wolf

WASHINGTON | Thu Apr 7, 2011 5:54pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is preparing for its first test of a sea-based defense against longer-range missiles of a type that officials say could soon threaten Europe from Iran.

Much is riding on the event, including confidence in the Obama administration's tight timeline for defending European allies and deployed U.S. forces against the perceived Iranian threat.

The last two intercept tests of a separate U.S. ground-based missile defense, aimed at protecting U.S. soil, have failed.

The planned sea-based test this month will pit Lockheed Martin Co's Aegis shipboard combat system and a Raytheon Co missile interceptor against their first intermediate-range ballistic missile target, said Richard Lehner, a spokesman for the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency.

Previous such sea-based drills have been against shorter-range targets. Intermediate range is defined as 3,000 to 5,500 kilometers (2,000-3,500 miles) -- a distance that would put London, Paris and Berlin within range of Iran's westernmost soil.

The coming test, dubbed FTM-15, is "to demonstrate a capability against a class of ballistic missiles, and is not country-specific," Lehner said in an emailed reply to queries from Reuters.

The layered, multibillion-dollar U.S. anti-missile effort also focuses on North Korea's growing arsenal of missiles, which, like Iran's, could perhaps be tipped with chemical, biological or nuclear warheads.

The "window" for the Aegis shootdown attempt runs to April 30, Lehner said. He said the Aegis-equipped ship used in the test will be in the south central Pacific and the ballistic missile target will be launched from Kwajalein Atoll, part of the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific.

"During FTM-15, Aegis BMD (ballistic missile defense) will demonstrate for the first time its capability to negate the longer-range threats that must be countered in Phase 1" of the U.S.-planned bulwark for Europe, J. Michael Gilmore, the Pentagon's top weapons tester, said in congressional testimony last month.

Riki Ellison, head of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, a private booster group, described the test as a "proof of concept" for the Obama administration.

"It is tremendously important that it's a success as this exact architecture is to be deployed in Europe by the end of this year in the first phase of Obama's plan," he said.

The United States expects to meet its goal of putting an initial missile defense capability in Europe by the end of this year even though efforts to find a host nation for a powerful Raytheon-built radar station are still under way, Brad Roberts, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, told the House of Representatives Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces on March 31.

Obama in 2009 scrapped a George W. Bush-era plan to build a European version, in the Czech Republic and Poland, of the ground-based shield already deployed in California and Alaska. Instead, his Pentagon turned to the more flexible Aegis technology to better match its Iran expectations.

On March 7, the Obama administration began deploying its so-called "Phased Adaptive Approach" to missile defense in Europe by sending the Aegis cruiser Monterey into the Mediterranean. The ship carries SM-3 Block 1A interceptors.

As part of the Pentagon's plan, the United States is seeking a southeastern European country to host the Raytheon X-band radar that would hand off data to the Aegis ships -- a concept dubbed "launch on remote."

In the coming test, the interceptor missile will be cued by such an AN/TPY-2 radar unit, fed through a battle management center, just as is planned for Europe, Army Lieutenant General Patrick O'Reilly, the Missile Defense Agency chief, told the Strategic Forces subcommittee on March 31.

"The USS Monterey is at sea today and, when paired with the AN/TPY-2 radar, will provide initial BMD protection of southern Europe from existing SRBM, MRBM and IRBM threats," he said, abbreviating for short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

Greg Thielmann, a missile defense expert at the private Arms Control Association, discounted the likelihood of a near-term Iranian intermediate-range missile threat.

"Any suggestion that a threat to the heart of Europe looms in the next couple of years does not seem consistent with public statements from the U.S. intelligence community," he said.

(Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

buglerbilly

14-04-11, 02:46 AM

Sea Air Space 2011: Raytheon outlines growth path for ESSM

April 13, 2011

NATO countries operating the maritime Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) have expressed an interest in an extended range variant to compete with earlier derivations of the in-service SM-2 Standard Missiles, according to Raytheon officials.

Speaking to Shephard at the Navy League Sea Air Space exposition, ESSM programme director Edward Roesly said a number of SeaSparrow operating nations had approached Raytheon with such a request. However, he warned that the US was 'not supportive' of this initiative at the present time as it would lead to competition with its SM-2 missile system. Today, ESSM is used by Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Turkey and the US.

The in-service Block I ESSM is designed for ship protection against anti-ship missiles; aircraft; helicopters; and surface targets out to approximately 40km, Roesly said. The SM-2, also manufactured by Raytheon, boasts ranges between 130km (Block II) and 170km (Block IIIB), not to mention its Block IV extended range version which can engage targets up to 240km away. Raytheon was unable to comment on what would be substantial range increases for an extended ESSM variant to match SM-2 capabilities.

In addition, Roesly said Raytheon was also developing a new warhead as part of the same Block II upgrade although he could only admit that it would provide 'flexibility for lethality'. The Block II system is expected to reach an initial operating capability in 2015. Other improvements will include guidance upgrades and ESSM's own active radar system.

'We are in risk reduction right now with the EMD [engineering manufacturing development] due to start in 2014 and an initial operating capability in 2018/19,' Roesly added.

Meanwhile, moves are also afoot to equip the US Marine Corps' last remaining Tarawa LHA-1 class amphibious assault ship with ESSM, although Roesly conceded that this would not materialise for another three to four years.

Finally, Raytheon said it was interested in pitching ESSM to countries operating SA-6 and Hawk missiles with plans afoot to demonstrate its capability in Poland next year. SA-6 launchers are already compatible to fire the ESSM missile and Roesly admitted that there were a number of requirements in eastern Europe including not only Poland but also the Czech Republic.

Andrew White, Washington, DC

buglerbilly

15-04-11, 03:01 PM

Sea-based Missile Defense Flight Test Results in Successful Intercept

(Source: Missile Defense Agency; issued April 15, 2011)

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA), U.S. Navy sailors aboard the Aegis destroyer USS O’KANE (DDG 77), and soldiers from the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command operating from the 613th Air and Space Operations Center at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, successfully conducted a flight test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) element of the nation’s Ballistic Missile Defense System, resulting in the intercept of a separating ballistic missile target over the Pacific Ocean.

This successful test demonstrated the capability of the first phase of the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA) announced by the President in September, 2009.

At 2:52 a.m. EDT (6:52 p.m. April 15 Marshall Island Time), an Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile target was launched from the Reagan Test Site, located on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, approximately 2,300 miles southwest of Hawaii. The target flew in a northeasterly direction towards a broad ocean area in the Pacific Ocean.

Following target launch, a forward-based AN/TPY-2 X-band transportable radar, located on Wake Island, detected and tracked the threat missile. The radar sent trajectory information to the Command, Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC) system, which processed and transmitted remote target data to the USS O’KANE.

The destroyer, located to the west of Hawaii, used the data to develop a fire control solution and launch the SM-3 Block IA missile approximately 11 minutes after the target was launched.

As the IRBM target continued along its trajectory, the firing ship’s AN/SPY-1 radar detected and acquired the ballistic missile target. The firing ship’s Aegis BMD weapon system uplinked target track information to the SM-3 Block IA missile. The SM-3 maneuvered to a point in space as designated by the fire control solution and released its kinetic warhead. The kinetic warhead acquired the target, diverted into its path, and, using only force of a direct impact, destroyed the threat in a “hit-to-kill” intercept.

During the test the C2BMC system, operated by soldiers from the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, received data from all assets and provided situational awareness of the engagement to U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Strategic Command.

The two demonstration Space Tracking and Surveillance Satellites (STSS), launched by MDA in 2009, successfully acquired the target missile, providing stereo “birth to death” tracking of the target.

Today’s event, designated Flight Test Standard Missile-15 (FTM-15), was the most challenging test to date, as it was the first Aegis BMD version 3.6.1 intercept against an intermediate-range target (range 1,864 to 3,418 miles) and the first Aegis BMD 3.6.1 engagement relying on remote tracking data. The ability to use remote radar data to engage a threat ballistic missile greatly increases the battle space and defended area of the SM-3 missile.

Initial indications are that all components performed as designed. Program officials will spend the next several months conducting an extensive assessment and evaluation of system performance based upon telemetry and other data obtained during the test.

FTM-15 is the 21st successful intercept, in 25 attempts, for the Aegis BMD program since flight testing began in 2002. Across all BMDS elements, this is the 45th successful hit-to-kill intercept in 58 flight tests since 2001.

Aegis BMD is the sea-based midcourse component of the MDA's Ballistic Missile Defense System and is designed to intercept and destroy short to intermediate-range ballistic missile threats. MDA and the U.S. Navy cooperatively manage the Aegis BMD Program. (ends)

Raytheon Completes SM-3 Test Flight Against Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile

(Source: Raytheon Co.; issued April 15, 2011)

PACIFIC MISSILE RANGE FACILITY, KAUAI, Hawaii --- Raytheon Company completed the first flight test of a Standard Missile-3 Block IA against an intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM). The test also demonstrated the SM-3 Block IA's ability to engage a ballistic missile target when launched on remote.

"This test certifies phase I of the Phased Adaptive Approach," said Frank Wyatt, vice president of Raytheon's Air and Missile Defense Systems product line. "Executing the launch-on-remote engagement demonstrates both the increased capability of Raytheon's SM-3 Block IA and the U.S. Navy's forward-deployed Aegis ships."

The IRBM target was launched from Kwajalein Atoll. As it rose above the horizon, the target was acquired and tracked by a forward-based Raytheon AN/TPY-2 X-band radar located on Wake Island.

The target information was relayed through the command, control, battle management and communications system to an Aegis ship. The Aegis Weapon System computed a firing solution, forwarded this information to the SM-3 Block IA and initiated the launch sequence. By leveraging off-board sensors, the SM-3 Block IA engaged the IRBM.

"This was the 19th successful intercept for Raytheon's SM-3, and it clearly demonstrates the missile's increased capability," said Wyatt. "We've taken a proven missile and made it even more capable through sensor netting."

Raytheon is developing SM-3 as part of the Missile Defense Agency's Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, and more than 130 SM-3s have been delivered to date. The missiles are deployed with both the U.S. and Japanese navies to defend against short- to intermediate-range ballistic missile threats in the ascent and midcourse phases of flight.

Raytheon Company, with 2010 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 72,000 people worldwide.

-ends-

buglerbilly

26-04-11, 03:04 AM

Raytheon Delivers First Standard Missile-6 to U.S. Navy

TUCSON, Ariz., April 25, 2011/PRNewswire/ --Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) delivered the first Standard Missile-6 production round to the U.S. Navy.

"Five years ago, Raytheon promised the U.S. Navy that SM-6 would be delivered in March 2011, and we delivered on that promise," said Frank Wyatt, vice president of Raytheon's Air and Missile Defense Systems product line. "Raytheon delivered the SM-6 to our customer and met cost expectations for system development and demonstration. Now the U.S. Navy has a missile that provides an umbrella of protection against the full spectrum of air threats."

SM-6 leverages the legacy Standard Missile airframe and propulsion elements while incorporating the advanced signal processing and guidance control capabilities of Raytheon's Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile.

"SM-6 is a remarkable missile because it combines the reliability of time-tested systems with all the latest advancements in missile technology," said Wyatt. "This missile can use both active and semiactive modes, giving the warfighter an enhanced ability to reach remote targets."

Raytheon Company, with 2010 sales of $25 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 89 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 72,000 people worldwide.

buglerbilly

16-05-11, 03:47 PM

Israel Aerospace Industries to Present a Maritime Application for Its Autonomous Artillery System- Jumper at IMDEX, Singapore

(Source: Israel Aerospace Industries; issued May 16, 2011)

Potential LCS Applications................???

The JUMPER system contains eight canistered missiles and one integrated command and a control unit that are arranged in a launcher pack.
Overall dimensions are: 1.4X1.4X2m.

The system requires no operating crew and no special launching platform. Pinpoint accuracy and short time of flight make the JUMPER a perfect solution for the autonomous fire support to the Ground Forces. The missile is 1800 mm long, has a diameter of 150 mm, and weighs 63 kg. The missile is equipped with a GPS/INS and 4 steering fins at its tail. In addition, the missile can home to a laser designation.

BEN GURION International Airport, Israel --- Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)/MLM Division of Systems, Missiles and Space Group will present a new maritime application for its autonomous artillery system – Jumper at the Singapore International Maritime Defense Exhibition and Conference – IMDEX Asia 2011. IAI's exhibit will be located in booth M-1 from May 18th to May 20th, 2011.

Designed and manufactured by MLM Division, the Jumper is an innovative concept for precise tactical weapon system, supporting the maneuvering echelon. The Jumper missiles are launched from a Vertical Launcher Hive (VLH) to precisely and effectively strike targets at ranges of up to 50 Km (fragmentation or penetration).

The VLH can be deployed on a truck or on the ground for Army /Marine operations or on a vessel deck for sea-to-land fire support. The VLH is composed of eight or more canistered wooden round missiles and one integrated command and control unit. Each Jumper missile is GPS/INS and optional Laser seeker guided for optimal operation in the battlefield.

The Jumper system provides the maneuvering force commander with autonomous, immediate, and precise fire – regardless of weather and visibility conditions. The system, using the autonomous VLH pack, enables to maximize the investment toward the required operational effect rather than in platforms and crews.

Itzhak Nissan, President and CEO of IAI said: "IAI is always striving to achieve new goals and extract its abilities to the max. In this maritime exhibition we shall present our advanced technologies and products, which deliver our clients the best solutions in all fronts."

IAI's exhibit will feature a wide array of products and technologies:

-- IAI/MBT Missiles Division of Systems, Missiles and Space Group, will present its Naval Barak-8 - long range missile defense and air defense systems; Naval Lahat - an advanced Laser Homing Attack Missile.

-- IAI/MALAT Division will present its comprehensive solutions for the maritime arena, based on its fixed-wing Maritime Heron unmanned aerial system (UAS) and naval rotary UAV (NRUAV) vertical takeoff/landing (VTOL) System. Maritime Heron System has an automated takeoff and landing capability and its Naval Rotary UAV (NRUAV) is capable of operating from a land base as well as from a dynamic maritime platform (any ship landing deck).

-- ELTA Systems Ltd., IAI's group and subsidiary will present advanced systems among them: Multi-function Surveillance Track and Guidance Radar (MF-STAR) EL/M 2248 and Advanced Lightweight Phased Array Naval Radar (ALPHA) EL/M 2258, Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) EL/1-3360 and a SIGNIT/COMINT Suite – UAV Integrated Communication Intelligence (COMINT) EL/K-7071.

-- TAMAM Division of the Missiles, Systems and Space Group will present part of their stabilized Plug-In Optronic Payload (POP) Family– POP300LR Observer, Mini-POP and the SeaMOSP - Multi-Mission Optronic Stabilized Payload – MOSP3000.

-ends-

buglerbilly

24-05-11, 02:11 AM

Ares

A Defense Technology Blog

CAMM On Path To Replace Seawolf

Posted by Bill Sweetman at 5/23/2011 6:46 AM CDT

This could have happened 20-30 years ago rather than squander funds on three sets of missile developments to suit the three Services needs..............all with basically the same performance.

MBDA will unveil the land-based launcher for its new Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM) at September's DSEi show in London, according to company officials at the IMDEX show in Singapore last week.

MBDA cites CAMM as one of the first initiatives to emerge from the UK's Team Complex Weapons initiative, a partnership between government and industry designed to structure and stabilize the development of guided weapon systems. The missile is designed to replace the Royal Navy's Seawolf, the Army's Rapier and (eventually) the Royal Air Force ASRAAM. The earliest requirement is to replace the Seawolf system on the Type 23 frigates, as the missiles reach the end of their useful lives from 2016 onwards.

Type 23 frigate Richmond will be rearmed with CAMM

CAMM is based on the ASRAAM design. The sea-launched and land versions have folding tailfins and are soft-launched from a vertical tube, with a short booster that uses squib thrusters to orient the missile towards the target before its motor fires.

Aboard ship, soft launch eliminates the need to duct hot rocket gases out of the ship and therefore permits much denser packing, with as many as four CAMMs in the space taken by one Seawolf. The land-based configuration comprises four three-pack launchers mounted on a single 4 x 4 truck.

As well as being more compact than Seawolf, CAMM has a longer range (25 km versus 8 km) and the system can guide multiple missiles simultaneously. CAMM is also "radar agnostic" -- target tracking data and updates can come from any radar.

Although CAMM uses the ASRAAM design, MBDA is not specific about how closely it resembles ASRAAM in detail. However, the active radar seeker is new, and the rest of the electronics are probably quite different from the 1990s ASRAAM. On the other hand, the similarities are strong enough to make integration easier on fighters that already use ASRAAM.

Zen9

24-05-11, 11:46 PM

I predicted CAMM so I'm always rather chuffed its still going.

Soft launch does have its issues (rocket failure means the thing crashes on deck).

Chief annoyance is the need for better target data, than single faced non-AESA set can provide. The move to just rely on Artisan is more about the need to free topweight on the Type 23 for EW 'soft kill' in place of the ______ (forget the damn designation of the blasted thing) radar.

A new seeker? Sounds good.
And development from ASRAAM may be of use if AAM variant enhances the engagement envelope. I do wonder if the orientation motors might be of use for luanch from a weapons bay.

buglerbilly

26-05-11, 04:04 AM

SUCCESSFUL LAUNCHES OF TWO MBDA ASTER MISSILES FROM THE CAVOUR CARRIER

05/25/2011

MBDA announces two successful launches made on May 18th and 19th to demonstrate the effectiveness of its Aster missiles. Both launches were from the Italian Navy's Cavour carrier in the Poligono Interforze di Salto di Quirra (PISQ) and were made with the assistance of MBDA.

The launches to test the effectiveness of the SAAM/IT system were carried out: one in “autonomous” (self-controlled) mode and the other in “integrated” mode, controlled by the combat system. The autonomous mode launch was intended to test the SAAM/IT system's ability to search, identify and intercept an attacking sea-skimmer missile as a direct threat to the ship herself.

The purpose of the integrated trial was to demonstrate the combat management system's ability to target threats and to designate the SAAM/IT system to neutralise a threat similar to a sea-skimmer missile.

In both trials, the threat was simulated using a MIRACH aerial target, configured as a missile.

Both launches were entirely successful and the Aster missiles completed their tasks as required.

Antoine Bouvier, CEO of MBDA, announced: “These successful launches are further proof of MBDA's technical capacities".

Antonio Perfetti, Managing Director and CEO of MBDA Italia and Executive Group Director Sales & Business Development MBDA Group, pointed out: “The success of these launches demonstrates to all our domestic and export clients that the SAAM/IT system is now fully operational".

buglerbilly

27-05-11, 05:50 PM

Japan Considers Export of SM-3 Block IIA Missiles

By PAUL KALLENDER-UMEZU

Published: 27 May 2011 07:29

TOKYO - Sources here confirmed that Japan is actively considering allowing the export of SM-3 Block IIA missiles to third-party countries following repeated requests by the U.S. government that the next-generation missile defense system, which is being co-developed by Japan and the U.S., be made available to protect other U.S. allies.

An SM-3 is launched from the destroyer Hopper during a 2009 test by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. (U.S. Missile Defense Agency)

In an official comment by the Ministry of Defense (MOD), a spokesman said the issue is "under careful consideration" between the two governments, but the MOD had not yet reached a conclusion on the issue.

However, a senior official confirmed May 27 that the Japanese government is actively considering how to relax the export ahead of two-plus-two security talks in June by U.S. and Japanese defense and foreign ministers.

"Yes, the MOD's Policy Division is considering the issue," the official said.

The move is politically sensitive for both sides as Japan has strict regulations on arms exports, and the U.S. is keen that the advanced, next-generation Block IIA missiles, which are much more capable than the current SM-3 missiles, be available to allies.

In 1967, Japan introduced laws banning the export of weapons to communist bloc countries, countries subject to U.N. arms embargoes, or countries involved in or likely to become involved in international conflicts. In 1976, it extended the ban to weapons-related technology, although this was later relaxed in 1983 to allow export to the U.S. only. In a 2005 agreement, Japan further relaxed the law to include missile interceptors to be deployed by the two countries. However, re-export to third countries of the SM-3 Block IIA would still be banned unless Japan changes its position.

According to the MOD, Japan is spending 47.3 billion yen (U.S. $583.9 million) this fiscal year on development of the missiles, which will have a burnout velocity that is 45 percent to 60 percent greater than that of the Block IA and IB versions, as well as a larger-diameter kinetic warhead. This year, as part of the final phase of the development, prototype missiles will be designed and manufactured for use in a sea-launched missile experiment, according to the MOD documents.

Under the Obama administration's European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA) for European ballistic missile defense (BMD) operations, the more advanced SM-3 Block IIA missiles would be placed on BMD-capable Aegis ships and would operate in European waters to defend Europe from potential ballistic missile attacks from countries such as Iran.

In September 2009, the U.S. government said it would deploy SM-3 Block IIA missiles by 2018 in the United States, Europe and elsewhere.

Keidanren, Japan's most powerful industrial lobby that has been exerting pressure on the government for decades to allow the export of Japanese defense and space equipment, supports the impending change, said Satoshi Tsuzukibashi, director of Keidanren's Office of Defense Production Committee. "Yes, we support the relaxation of export rules in principal, as long as the exports remain carefully controlled to trusted allies," he said.

Japan is supposed to reach a decision on the issue by the end of 2011, according to a statement released by Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa in January.

An official at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo declined comment on the issue except to say that missile defense cooperation was a "central element" in the U.S.'s bilateral defense relationship with Japan.

buglerbilly

06-06-11, 03:08 PM

MBDA Qualifies the New Naval Version of the Marte Mk2 Missile

(Source: MBDA; issued June 6, 2011)

A naval configured Marte missile was launched at the Poligono Interforze di Salto di Quirra on 26 May. The purpose of the launch was to qualify the new munition by checking canister behaviour during missile launch and ensuring that the missile and canister separated correctly.

The firing exercise progressed as planned with the missile executing a trajectory which included a number of different way points to check its dynamic capabilities.

Analysis of the missile's flight parameters, which were sent in real time to the ground station, are still ongoing and will provide an accurate final assessment of the launch.

The launch demonstrated that the Marte missile operates equally as effectively in its naval configuration as in its air-launched configuration..

Antonio Perfetti, Managing Director of MBDA Italia and Executive Group Director Sales & Business Development MBDA Group, stated: “With this launch, the Marte missile has now become a full MBDA legacy product in the maritime superiority domain. The system is growing to include all possible applications as is our confidence in its further export potential”.

With industrial facilities in four European countries and within the USA, in 2010 MBDA achieved a turnover of EUR 2.8 billion with an order book of EUR 10.8 billion. With more than 90 armed forces customers in the world, MBDA is a world leader in missiles and missile systems. In total, the group offers a range of 45 missile systems and countermeasures products already in operational service and more than 15 others currently in development. MBDA is jointly held by BAE Systems (37.5%), EADS (37.5%) and Finmeccanica (25%).

-ends-

buglerbilly

13-06-11, 02:39 PM

Kalam for A Hypersonic Version of BrahMos Missile

(Source: ddi Indian Government news; issued June 12, 2011)

Having jointly developed the BrahMos supersonic anti-ship missile family with Russia, India is considering developing a hypersonic variant. (Indian MoD photo)

Former President A P J Abdul Kalam has asked the BrahMos aerospace company to develop an advanced version of the cruise missile to maintain India's leadership in this field.

"You should develop a hypersonic version of BrahMos which can be reused...meaning that the missile should be able to deliver its payload and return to base. This will help in maintaining our leadership in this arena," he said.

The former President was addressing a function on the 10th anniversary of the launch of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. India is the only country to have a supersonic cruise missile developed in a joint venture with Russia.

Speaking on the occasion, BrahMos Aerospace chief A Sivathanu Pillai said BrahMos is a unique missile which can be configured for multiple types of platforms on land, on sea and underwater against different types of targets on land and sea. "Its competitor is yet to be born. Its speed and devastating power has made it unparalleled," he said.

The missile system has already been inducted in the Army and the Navy and its orders for the next ten years from all the three services. Work is also underway to develop an air-launched and underwater version of the missile.

The first launch was carried out a decade ago at the Interim Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea which coincided with Russia Formation Day which falls on 12th June.

The name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.

The missile travels at speeds of Mach 2.8 to 3.0 and is about three-and-a-half times faster than the US' subsonic Harpoon cruise missile.

-ends-

buglerbilly

17-06-11, 04:26 PM

Friday, June 17, 2011, 03:33 PM

French Company MBDA will reveal a new naval missile the CVS401 Perseus at Paris Air Show 2011.

During the incoming "Paris Air Show 2011" (Salon du Bourget), which takes place next week, MBDA will unveil on June 21 a radically newer missile concept, able of multi-role attack carried out from surface ships & submarine.

Drawing of future MBDA new naval missile CVS401 Perseus

Named "CVS-401 Perseus", this missile offers flexibility & modularity to replace the heavy anti-ship missiles in service by adding land strike capabilities with target recognition and ability to fire on targets scattered and quickly relocatable.

buglerbilly

21-06-11, 01:04 AM

Ares

A Defense Technology Blog

Successful Underwater Firing of French Naval Cruise Missile

Posted by Christina Mackenzie at 6/20/2011 3:40 PM CDT

Today the DGA French procurement agency announced that on June 8 it had successfully undertaken the first underwater firing of the naval cruise missile known by its acronym MdCN (missile de croisière naval), 150 of which will equip the FREMM multi-mission frigates (from 2014) and 50 of which will be for the Barracuda-class submarine (from 2017).

photo credit: DGA

The test took place in the Mediterranean from an underwater platform to simulate a launch from a submerged submarine.

The MdCN, made by MBDA and derived from the airborne Scalp-EG cruise missile, has a range of several hundred kilometres and is designed for missions such as the destruction of high value strategic infrastructure deep in enemy territory.

buglerbilly

21-06-11, 07:05 AM

Tue, Jun 21, 2011

HF-2E to be shown at the Double Ten ceremony: reports

By Rich Chang / Staff Reporter, Taipei Times

Advanced weapons systems including the Hsiung Feng II-E (HF-2E) cruise missile and anti-ship missiles will be on display during this year’s Double Ten National Day ceremonies to mark the Republic of China’s 100th anniversary, newspapers reported over the weekend.

This would be the first time the HF-2Es are shown in public, the reports said.

MODEL

The HF-2E, which has a range of about 600km and was developed by the Chung-Shan Institute for Science and Technology, has not officially entered military service. It is intended for launch from both land and sea and would be capable of striking airports and missile bases in southeastern China, as well as locations such as Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Locally made HF-2 ship-to-ship missiles and PAC-3 missile defense batteries will also be featured in the parade in front of the Presidential Office, the reports said.

Ministry of National Defense spokesman Lo Shao-ho (羅紹和) on Saturday did not confirm the reports, saying those were only proposals that needed to be discussed by a task force in charge of the program for the Double Ten National Day ceremonies.

FLYBY

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) told a legislative meeting last week that the air force should also have a flyby above the Presidential Office involving F-16s, Mirages and Ching Kuo Indigenous Defence Fighters (IDF) during the parade.

He said the latest weapons systems, including locally built multiple-rocket launchers and joint standoff precision-strike weapons, should also be on display during the ceremonies.

Lo said a decision on a flyby also needed to be discussed.

The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) also reported on the weekend that Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), who is the director of a task force overseeing the programs for the National Day ceremonies, supported the idea of a flyby and would propose it to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) this week.

DOWNPLAY

Flybys and military parades have traditionally been part of the Double Ten celebrations. Celebrations were canceled in 2009 following the devastation caused by Typhoon Morakot in the south, which killed hundreds of people. Since coming into office in 2008, the Ma administration has also sought to downplay the military aspect of Double Ten National Day celebrations amid efforts to foster closer relations with China.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER

buglerbilly

21-06-11, 07:23 PM

More on PERSEUS............

Monday, June 20, 2011, 09:53 PM (posted 21/06)

MBDA presents the CVS401 Perseus, a visionary naval and land attack weapons missile system.

At Paris Air Show 2011, the Defence Company MBDA unveils a new visionary concept of naval and land attack weapon missile system, the CVS 401 Perseus, in the global project Concept Visions.

CVS401 Perseus naval and land attack missile weapon system at Paris Air Show 2011

The Concept Visions project continues to open up new opportunities for sharing the vision of the future naval warfare capabilities with international military customer and exploring in an unconventional way the weapon systems architecture to match it.

The CVS401 Perseus is capable of multiple operating modes against a wide land and maritime target set whilst capable of defeating advanced enemy defence systems. it is designed as a tactical weapon system operated through and advanced Operations & Mission Planning system at the crossroads of naval, land and air warfare.

The advanced supersonic, agile and stealthy airframe is powered by a revolutionary ramjet motor built around a high compact Continuous Detonation Wave Engine making it an unrivalled penetrator of defence, and a perfect weapon against fast relocatable Targets when combined with the advanced dual mode sensor package.

The lethal package includes two guided effectors ejected from the payload module and a third warhead remaining on-board for a dispersed lethal effect on multi-elements targets such as large warship or a ground based missile system.

The new modular composite structure allows reductions to the overall mass and fosters opportunities for capability enhancement through life, simplifying maintenance operations through the whole life cycle and supporting and developing a family of products.

buglerbilly

21-06-11, 07:51 PM

And more............

MBDA Unveils Naval Warfare Missile Concept

Jun 21, 2011

By Robert Wall wall@aviationweek.com
LE BOURGET

MBDA has devised a new stealthy naval warfare missile concept, the Perseus, which calls for the use of submunitions to defeat ship self-defense systems.

Perseus is part of MBDA’s Concept Visions project, that is aimed at shaping the missile systems market at 2030 and beyond, rather than targeting a specific requirement, says Steve Wadey, executive group director technical at MBDA. The goal is to address key defense challenges; last year it was a weapons family for dismounted soldiers.

The CVS401 Perseus derives from 150 concept and technology ideas, Wadey says. The concept has already been shown to the French navy and Royal Navy; both customers also provided early input on operational scenarios.

The weapon is a long-range, supersonic precision missile, with both anti-ship and land-attack capability. The missile is about five meters long, and weighs 800 kg.

Lionel Mazenq, MBDA’s project leader notes that the missile is designed to be capable to engage time-sensitive targets, deep behind enemy lines. One scenario calls for the ability to strike a target at a range of 300 km within seven minutes.

Although primarily intended as a ship-launched system, it could be fired from any platform currently using Exocet or Harpoon missiles.

Various attack modes are planned. A high-altitude flight plan with the missile flying at greater than Mach 3; it would use a top-attack mode, with the missile maneuvering, to defeat ship defenses.

Another is a sea-skimming mode with missile flying greater than Mach 2.

The missile can deploy and target two 40 kg effectors with a small warhead. “Spreading the damage is the best solution to mission kill” when attacking ships, Mazenq notes.

In addition to the inertially guided, unpowered effectors, which can be ejected seconds before impact, the missile also carries a larger warhead that remains within the missile. The overall lethal package weighs 200 kg. The effectors can also be retained within the missile in certain attack modes.

Wadey adds that other lethal packages may be possible depending on customer requirements. The missile is designed for modularity. That means it could also serve also as a potential Storm Shadow/Scalp cruise missile replacement in the future.

The missile has a multi-mode radio frequency (RF) seeker with an active phased array seeker capable with synthetic aperture radar capability. It also features an augmented laser radar for high-resolution scanning, mainly for land-attack, as well as a semi-active laser seeker.

Wadey notes the missile is “super agile” to defeat future air defenses.

Different ramjet-powered motor technologies are still being considered, including a scaled up version of the motor used on the Meteor air-to-air missile.

Wadey calls Perseus “a step-change in maritime strike weapons.”

The technology should be ready in about 10 years for a weapon in 15-20 years. Funding could accelerate the timeframe, Wadey believes.

buglerbilly

24-06-11, 03:04 PM

Kongsberg’s NSM Naval Strike Missile Completes Final Milestone

(Source: Kongsberg Gruppen; issued June 23, 2011)

Remember this missile is also air-launched as well as ground/vehicle and ship-launched...........

The Royal Norwegian Navy and Kongsberg have earlier this month performed the first live fire shot against a sea target with a series produced NSM (Naval Strike Missile). The test was conducted at the US Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division's Point Mugu range in California and again demonstrated the unrivalled capabilities of the missile.

The missile was launched from its canister and completed the planned route, performed a wide range of advanced manoeuvres including extreme sea skimming capabilities, before locating, engaging, hitting and destroying the sea target. International observers at the test witnessed a successful demonstration

The NSM is in series production for the Norwegian Navy, the Fridtjof Nansen class frigates and Skjold class coastal corvettes, and the Polish Navy Coastal Squadron system. Deliveries for the platforms are scheduled for 2011-2014.

The NSM is the only 5th generation long range precision strike missile in existence today. It is designed as a highly discriminative anti-ship missile able to penetrate shipboard defences and operate effectively in both blue water and littoral environments. It is a stealthy and highly manoeuvrable weapon combining GPS-aided midcourse guidance with an advanced dual-band IIR seeker.

The NSM is a very flexible system, which can be launched from a variety of platforms against a variety of targets. The airframe design and the high thrust to weight ratio gives the NSM extremely good manoeuvrability. The missile is completely passive, has proven its excellent sea skimming capabilities and with its advanced terminal manoeuvres it will survive the enemy air defences.

The Autonomous Target Recognition (ATR) of the seeker ensures that the correct target is detected, recognised and hit, at sea or on land. The international interest for the missile is increasing in NATO and other countries.

The experience and competence accumulated during the NSM development and production, as well as the experiences with the Penguin missile through more than 50 years, is the foundation in the development of the new JSM missile (Joint Strike Missile) to be used on the F-35.

-ends-

Tim

26-06-11, 05:38 AM

Perseus sounds quite interesting... in my travels I've been reading/watching quite a bit about WWII surface ship battles and it strikes me that although many commentators these days appear to get caught up on quantifying the quality of a naval gun on the basis of its capability to pierce an armoured belt (particularly the Bismarck uber alles types, my god...), quite a few battles seem they were decided by damage to the unarmoured superstructure, ie mission killing a target rather than sinking it. This seems a much more reasonable (and more easily attained) goal for a weapon system in the 1940s and the present day, so I find it interesting that Perseus seems to be focused on enhancing that aspect of an AShM's effectiveness. But then that's nothing new I suppose... it just seems a prevailing attitude in some quarters that one must sink a ship to vanquish a ship, which of course isn't really the case.

In my limited understanding it seems bloody enormous by Western AShM standards but I look forward to seeing what comes of it, along with the LRASM-B program. The Kongsberg sounds like it's coming along nicely too...

I'm really not well versed when it comes to naval topics, but I do wonder sometimes when the venerable Harpoon will be retired, and if so, is the replacement likely to be something like the Kongsberg? I'd be curious to hear what opinions you fellows have on the topic, as I wonder how much longer the Harpoon (in particular the surface and sub launched variants) will remain effective in the face of developing sensor and anti-missile capabilities, particularly when compared with emerging weapons like the NSM, Perseus etc...

Milne Bay

26-06-11, 06:05 AM

ADMk2

26-06-11, 06:19 AM

IIRC, we contributed cash to a study on the NSM some years ago and this was predictably misreported as contributing to the development of the weapon, but in reality I'd suggest this was one of Defence's many 'watching briefs'.

I doubt we've done any significant resourcing of this program as there haven't been the usual high level blatherings about being involved in "leading edge" missile tech and blah blah blah...

On top of which our defence industry can't be involved in it, as it seems to be proceeding well...

Gubler, A.

26-06-11, 07:32 AM

I broke the story on the NSM back in 05 and all the Australian invovlement was money for an integration study for the missile and the F-35.

See here for the original story.

Tim

27-06-11, 05:09 AM

Thanks for the input guys and for the link Abe, but the article seems to only be a 235x247 image when I attempt to open it, so I can't read it. Would love to see it though, as I find this topic very interesting.

buglerbilly

01-07-11, 01:41 PM

NSM Demonstrates Precise Land-Target Strike

(Source: Kongsberg; issued June 29, 2011)

Kongsberg has conducted the first ever live-fire with the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) against a land target. This demonstration is a milestone in Kongsberg’s missile business extending the portfolio of operational capabilities from the sea-target domain to include precision strike against land targets.

The missile was launched from a land-based mobile vehicle platform which is part of the Polish Navy Coastal Squadron. The missile performed a tactical flight in excess of 150 km, before precisely hitting the specified land target.

“This firing documents the versatility of and positions NSM as the first choice for long range precision strike against heavily defended targets,” says Harald Ånnestad, President of Kongsberg Defence Systems.

The NSM is in series production for the Norwegian Navy, the Fridtjof Nansen class frigates and Skjold class coastal corvettes, and the Polish Navy Coastal Squadron system. Deliveries for the platforms are scheduled for 2011-2014.

The NSM is the only 5th generation long range precision strike missile in existence today. The missile combines unsurpassed penetration capability due to “low observable” shape, super sea skim, high-G random maneuvers and I3R seeker with Autonomous Target Recognition (ATR) providing programmable hit-point and optimized fuze-setting,

“With the demonstrated NSM capability we today provide the same strike capabilities that other concepts plan for the 2030 timeframe. In addition NSM has unsurpassed advantages in the littorals and a seeker with Autonomous Target Recognition (ATR),” states President Ånnestad.

Kongsberg now market the following leading missile products:

-- Penguin for naval helicopters
-- NSM for ships and trucks
-- JSM (Joint Strike Missile) for F-35

-ends-

buglerbilly

08-07-11, 09:55 AM

Taiwan 'tests sub-launched missile'

(AFP) – 23 hours ago

TAIPEI — Taiwan has testfired for the first time a locally developed submarine-launched missile designed to counter the threat of China's fast-expanding navy, a report Thursday.

An unknown number of Hsiung Feng II (Brave Wind II) ship-to-ship missiles, developed by the military-run Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, were launched during a drill late last month, the Liberty Times said.

The drill was part of the navy's five-year project to enhance the capabilities of two Dutch-built Sword Dragon class submarines acquired in the late 1980s, it said, citing an unnamed military source.

"Although Taiwan has only two combat-ready submarines, once they are armed with such missiles, they will be able to serve as a deterrent to the Chinese naval fleets," the source said.

Taiwan's navy operates a fleet of four submarines, but only the two Dutch-built ships could be deployed in the event of war. The other two were built by the United States in the 1940s.

The Ministry of Defence declined to comment on the report.

Taiwan's military has also put into service land-based and air-launched Hsiung Feng IIs which have a range of 150 kilometres (90 miles).

Tensions between Taiwan and its former rival China have reduced markedly since Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly Kuomintang party came to power in 2008 on promises of beefing up trade links and allowing in more Chinese tourists.

But Beijing still considers the island part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, even though Taiwan has governed itself since China's civil war ended in 1949, prompting Taiwan to continue modernising its armed forces.

Analysts say the missile will give the two subs beyond-vision striking capability that could be used to offset the threat of China's naval fleet which has undergone rapid modernisation to make it the world's second-biggest.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved

buglerbilly

09-07-11, 03:16 AM

Reports of Taiwan Sub Missile Test False: Experts

By WENDELL MINNICK

Published: 8 Jul 2011 12:31

TAIPEI - Recent local media reports that Taiwan test-fired an anti-ship Hsiung Feng 2 (Brave Wind) missile from a Dutch-built Hai Lung (Sea Dragon) submarine during an exercise in late June now appear to be false.

On July 7, the Chinese-language Liberty Times reported the missile test, which was picked up by an English-language media service in Taipei without confirmation. The Liberty Times is closely linked to the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, which opposes unification with China.

Taiwan's Hai Lung's have "absolutely no capability" of launching anti-ship missiles from their torpedo tubes, said a former Taiwan Navy official who worked with ordnance used on the submarines. "This is common sense since they still have problems with just launching torpedoes with the old fire control system."

A former U.S. defense official agreed the fire control system was antiquated.

"This technology is believed to require significant and costly annual care and maintenance," he said.

Taiwan has only two combat operational diesel submarines acquired in the 1980s from the Netherlands and midlife upgrades on both are on hold until the Navy can secure the funds. Taiwan also has two World War II-era Guppy submarines used for training. In 2001, the U.S. offered to sell Taiwan eight diesel submarines, but political and technical problems haunted the program from the beginning.

The U.S. released a $200 million package for 32 UGM-84L sub-launched Harpoon anti-ship missiles to Taiwan in 2008, but the Navy has not gone forward with the order due to submarine upgrade delays and other budgeting issues.

"One of the optimal solutions is to replace the existing fire control system with a new one that would have Harpoon processing and also the existing torpedo launch capability embedded in it - the upgraded or new fire control system also would be able to handle future torpedoes," the former U.S. official source said.

However, the Taiwan Navy appears to favor a stand-alone processing and control system with links to the Harpoon or Hsiung Feng missile. This creates problems because all interaction between the torpedo and the missile would have to be "manual and not automated - meaning more time, weight, efficiency; not to mention the missile would be fired with less accurate data," he said.

Taiwan's Air Force and Navy have been using Harpoon anti-ship missiles since the 1990s on fighter aircraft and surface ships, not submarines, and recent sales demonstrate a continued reliance on the U.S. system. On July 7, the Pentagon's Foreign Military Sales Program awarded Boeing a $27 million contract for the procurement of two Lot 86 Harpoon missile bodies, two exercise Grade B canister All Up Round (AUR) and eight anti-submarine rocket AURs for Taiwan.

Taiwan's military-run Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) does have an indigenous anti-ship missile program. The Hsiung Feng family includes three variants and CSIST is now working on a land-attack cruise missile, the HF-2E, capable of hitting targets in China.

buglerbilly

11-07-11, 02:36 PM

First Test Launch for MDcN Configured for Barracuda

(Source: French Defence Procurement agency, DGA; issued July 11, 2011)

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

The Mediterranean test range of DGA’s missile test division on July 8 successfully carried out the first test firing of a Missile de Croisière Naval (MDcN) naval cruise missile configured for the future Barracuda-class nuclear-powered attack submarine.

This highly complex firing was carried out from DGA’s underwater launch platform for missile tests, located at the Ile du Levant island. After an initial submarine phase, the missile left the water and transitioned to cruise flight. It can fly for several hundreds of kilometres to reach its target, with high accuracy and very discreet signatures.

Click here to view a related video, on the DGA website.

http://www.defense.gouv.fr/dga/actualite/1er-essai-en-vol-du-missile-mdcn-en-configuration-barracuda

-ends-

buglerbilly

23-08-11, 01:39 PM

This is a land OR ship-launched missile system..............

DATE:23/08/11

SOURCE:Flight International

MAKS: Russian firm debuts shipping container-housed cruise missiles

4-round launcher on a cargo vessel...........

Russia's Morinformsystem-Agat used the MAKS air show to unveil a container-launched cruise missile concept, which it said has already attracted "considerable interest" from potential overseas customers.

To be armed with Novator 3M-54TE "Klub-K" surface-to-surface missiles and dubbed 'Pandora's Box', the design uses a standard 12m (40ft) shipping container, housing two weapons, communications and targeting equipment and a protected cabin for two operators.

After receiving targeting data via satellite while concealed aboard a ship, train or truck, the missiles would be raised to a vertical position using hydraulic rams before being fired.

Armed with a high-explosive penetrating warhead, the Klub-K can be used against land-based targets or surface vessels from a range of up to 270km (145nm).

buglerbilly

13-09-11, 03:21 PM

Ares

A Defense Technology Blog

Fire Shadow Takes To The Sea

Posted by Robert Wall at 9/13/2011 1:00 AM CDT

MBDA is unveiling a new weapons concept at the DSEi defense show in London.

With the Fire Shadow loitering munition development effort nearing completion, MBDA has cooked up a Maritime Fire Shadow concept. The effort is part of MBDA's broader push to reuse technologies for multiple applications.

Unlike the regular Fire Shadow, the maritime version so far does not have a customer at this point.

(Graphic: MBDA)

MBDA says the weapon offers "stand-off capability for the precision attack of moving land targets in complex littoral scenarios." The main difference appear to be the ship-deck launcher.

In a statement announcing the concept, Steve Wadey, MBDA U.K.'s managing director says the system "gives the capability that can engage moving targets that are otherwise masked by terrain without risking manned rotary or fixed wing assets and at a range that puts the launch vessel beyond coastal defenses."

It is the second maritime domain concept MBDA has unveiled this year. At the Paris air show, the company showcased the Perseus, its latest in its design concept efforts: an anti-ship missile and potential Exocet replacement.

JimWH

13-09-11, 03:34 PM

Umm.... a launch ramp, whilst totally retro-furtistically cool is also about the least useful way imaginable to integrate a weapon onto a ship. Especially since (ASFAIK) the plan was to fire it from a VLS ashore. Really having difficulty thinking what possessed their art department.

buglerbilly

13-09-11, 03:51 PM

For serious shit like LCS its going to be a VLS but there is a potential here to adopt it for non-primary Naval vessels such as Amphibs, AOR's, Mine Warfare vessels etc..............think Littorals combat and anti-piracy roles where a Loitering Missile would have major benefits, e.g. Iranian "swarm" tactics or Somalian Pirates..............a simple ramp that can be easily stowed in a small locker c/w small missile in a case or six, and hey presto you have a serious punch NOT available at the moment beyond 25-40mm cannon and .50cals (which you'd keep of course) and this punch should be able to reach out to 25 kilmotres or so (if not more).

They say Land Targets here but I'd vote for naval targets in more cases.................still the Land capability would be of much interest in some cases like Libya, Somalia, etc

buglerbilly

14-09-11, 03:03 AM

DSEi: Raytheon SM-3 Sales Depend on Ships With Mk41 Launcher

By PIERRE TRAN

Published: 13 Sep 2011 18:37

LONDON - Raytheon's hopes of selling its SM-3 missile to European navies are focused on 10 out of 24 warships equipped with the Smart-L or active phased array radar (APAR), said Wes Kremer, vice president for air and missile defense systems.

The distinguishing factor on the 10 warships - four Dutch, three German and three Danish frigates - is that they equipped with the Mk41 missile launcher, Kremer told journalists at the Defense & Security Equipment International show, which opened here Sept. 13.

The Mk41 launcher meant it would be easiest to deploy the Standard Missile onto those warships, Kremer said.

Raytheon presented its prototype dual-band data link, designed to enable ships to use S-band and X-band radars to communicate with the SM-3 missile and guide it to its target, namely, an enemy medium-range ballistic missile in the exo-atmosphere.

The U.S. company has used its own funds to develop the dual-band data link over 18 months and is now looking to sign up customers. A further six to eight months would be needed to complete the data link, consisting mainly of packaging work, Kremer said.

A first test-fire of an SM-3 Block IB weapon on Sept. 1 failed to hit its target in an attempted intercept in the Pacific Ocean.

Equipping European warships with the SM-3 would give those vessels the ability to intercept missiles in the upper tier in a layered NATO missile defense, while European companies would gain work share by modifying interfaces on the weapon systems, Kremer said.

Thales Netherlands, which makes the Smart L radar, stood to get a large amount of work in fitting the SM-3 on European warships, Kremer said.

Raytheon first laid out its plans to market the SM-3 into European fleets at the Paris Air Show in June.

buglerbilly

14-09-11, 02:41 PM

MBDA’s Next Generation Naval Missile System Prepares for Global Success

(Source: MBDA; issued Sept. 13, 2011)

MBDA’s Future Local Area Air Defence System (FLAADS-Maritime) programme is achieving key development milestones that exemplify the high maturity and global market potential of the system.

The FLAADS-M system will equip the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigates and future Global Combat Ship and can easily be integrated onto a range of alternative naval platforms.

The heart of FLAADS-M is the Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM), a high performance missile intended to deal with all current and future threats. CAMM will also be the centrepiece of the related FLAADS-Land system intended to replace the British Army’s Rapier Air Defence System at the end of the decade.

MBDA is progressing rapidly with the FLAADS-M programme, fully exploiting its experience of developing the world leading Sea Viper system now in service on the Royal Navy’s T45 Destroyers. Significant achievements are being made in all areas, notably with the development of the FLAADS Command and Control system (featuring greater than 75% re-use of Sea Viper C2 software) and the development of the FLAADS Platform Data Link, both of which are already undergoing trials in MBDA development facilities. Moreover there has been a seamless progression of experienced staff and facilities from the Sea Viper programme onto the FLAADS-M programme, all to ensure that the lessons learned during the successful Sea Viper development are fully brought to bear.

The maturity of the CAMM missile design has been shown in a number of important trials in recent months. The novel Soft Vertical Launch concept has been conclusively proven in a number of trials, culminating in a successful ejection and turnover trial that took place on 20th May at MBDA’s Bedfordshire facility. This trial took place from a truck platform, providing direct read-across to the FLAADS-L programme.

Significant progress has also been made with the CAMM RF seeker development, with a series of successful air carry trials having taken place earlier this year. CAMM benefits from significant re-use of technology from other MBDA products, providing a missile with high maturity for this stage of development.

Ease and versatility of platform integration, coupled with low cost of ownership, are intrinsic to the FLAADS-M system design. Most notably, there is no need for complex – and expensive to maintain – platform mounted trackers. As such the system is an excellent proposition for a variety of naval platforms and a high degree of interest is already being shown.

Commenting on the significant progress made by FLAADS programme, Executive Group Director Technical and MBDA UK Managing Director Steve Wadey said:

“MBDA can rightly claim to have developed some of the most advanced weapon systems in-service today and that experience, combined with the next generation of technology, ensures that FLAADS will offer a key air defence system for the UK Armed Forces over the coming decades. It will offer the Royal Navy and British Army a multitude of benefits in terms of operational performance, platform flexibility and lower cost of ownership, which is being designed into the system from the outset. These features also make the system highly suitable for the international market with the opportunity to take these advantages and tailor them to a host of platforms and applications.”

BACKGROUND NOTES:

FLAADS is the next generation of Short Range Air Defence weapons systems planned to replace Seawolf, Rapier and eventually possibly ASRAAM in the Maritime, Land and Air environments respectively. CAMM is the common effector for FLAADS. FLAADS and CAMM are currently being developed by MBDA.

With industrial facilities in four European countries and within the USA, in 2010 MBDA achieved a turnover of EUR 2.8 billion with an order book of EUR 10.8 billion. With more than 90 armed forces customers in the world, MBDA is a world leader in missiles and missile systems.

MBDA is jointly held by BAE Systems (37.5%), EADS (37.5%) and Finmeccanica (25%).

-ends-

ADMk2

15-09-11, 05:13 AM

Looks a LOT like a radar guided ASRAAM missile to me...

Not that that is necessarily a bad thing...

buglerbilly

15-09-11, 10:01 AM

Yeah a lot of the thrust vectoring technology goes back to an experimental short-range missile designed by Hawker Siddeley in the 1970s, SRAAM/Taildog. Elements of this ended up in ASRAAM and thus we now progress to CAMM-M and later CAMM-L, the Rapier replacement..........VLS on a truck, 4 x4-pod launchers plus room to add something like MBDA's MICA............

buglerbilly

16-09-11, 03:28 PM

Raytheon and German Partner Develop Rolling Airframe Missile Block 2

(Source: Raytheon Co.; issued September 15, 2011)

LONDON --- Raytheon Company and its German industry partner, RAMSYS, completed missile upgrades and integration testing as part of the Rolling Airframe Missile Block 2 program. The partnership completed five control test vehicle flights and met all upgrade requirements for Block 2.

RAM Block 2 features enhanced kinematics, an evolved radio frequency receiver, a new rocket motor and an upgraded autopilot system. These improvements enable the missile to outpace evolving threats.

"The next-generation RAM will provide the naval warfighter with an improved ship defense capability," said Rick Nelson, vice president of Naval Weapon Systems for Raytheon Missile Systems.

RAM is a supersonic, lightweight, quick reaction, fire-and-forget missile providing defense against anti-ship cruise missiles, helicopter and airborne threats, and hostile surface craft.

The program will begin guided flight tests later this year and is expected to enter low rate production in late 2012.

For more than 35 years, the U.S. and Germany have worked together developing and maintaining RAM. Development, production work and funding are shared between Raytheon and RAMSYS.

Raytheon Company, with 2010 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 72,000 people worldwide.

-ends-

buglerbilly

18-09-11, 06:39 AM

U.S. tells Japan of 2-yr delay in development of missile interceptor

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The United States has notified Japan that a new type of ship-based missile interceptor being jointly developed by the two countries will be delayed by about two years because of the need for further testing of its warheads, sources close to bilateral ties said Friday.

The delay is expected to put off by several years the planned deployment in 2020 of the Block 2A type of the sea-based Standard Missile-3 interceptor on Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers, the sources said.

Tokyo decided to engage in joint research with Washington on missile defense in 1998 after North Korea fired a ballistic missile over the Japanese archipelago that year.

Under the joint development program that got under way in fiscal 2006, the United States is mainly in charge of developing kinetic warheads to destroy ballistic missiles, while Japan focuses on the nose cone and rocket motor.

Development of the advanced version of the SM-3 series was initially set for a nine-year period until fiscal 2014, with Japan paying $1.0 billion to $1.2 billion and the United States $1.1 billion to $1.5 billion.

With the delay stemming from Washington's verification of its kinetic warhead development, the United States will shoulder the additional costs to be incurred, the sources said.

The United States plans to deploy the SM-3 Block 2A interceptors around 2018. The delay in joint development will not hinder the plan because it employs a system that allows the technology to be upgraded after deployment.

As the SM-3 Block 2A can intercept ballistic missiles targeting the United States, there is growing concern that the MSDF's deployment and use of the interceptors could run counter to the Japanese government's interpretation of the country's pacifist Constitution as forbidding the exercise of collective self-defense.

The Japanese government has already deployed SM-3 Block 1 interceptors, which were developed solely by the United States and cover a smaller range than the Block 2A type, on four MSDF Aegis destroyers and plans to equip two more destroyers with the Block 1 type by fiscal 2015.

Under Japan's missile defense program, the MSDF's sea-launched SM-3 will be used to intercept a ballistic missile outside the Earth's atmosphere. If it misses the target, a ground-launched Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile of the Air Self-Defense Force will be used to shoot down the missile as it reenters the atmosphere.

(Mainichi Japan) September 17, 2011

buglerbilly

23-09-11, 02:23 AM

German Navy Gets Capability to Strike Targets on Land

By ALBRECHT MÜLLER

Published: 22 Sep 2011 12:11

BONN, GERMANY - The German Navy received its first series-production RBS15 Mk3 type missile on Sept. 22, giving the Navy the capability to attack land targets from sea for the first time.

The heavyweight, fire-and-forget, anti-ship missile will become the primary weapon system of the service's new K130-class corvettes. RBS15 Mk3 has a range of well over 200 kilometers and can also be used to engage land targets from the sea.

The subsonic missile can strike targets in all weather and is equipped with a radar altimeter enabling extremely low sea-skimming. The missile uses GPS and a high-resolution radar seeker.

The German military will procure 30 systems for about 65 million euros ($88.99 million).

The primary contractor is German company Diehl BGT Defence, which has signed a cooperation deal with the Swedish developer of the RBS 15, Saab Bofors Dynamics. It includes marketing, production, deliveries, maintenance and future upgrades for both the Swedish and German navies, as well as for the export market.

buglerbilly

25-09-11, 04:09 PM

Fri, 23 September, 2011

Senate Panel Proposes Cutting Next-generation Aegis Missile

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Rachel Bernstein

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate appropriators have proposed canceling development of a missile interceptor that the Pentagon has slotted for a key role in the future defense of Europe.

In its version of the 2012 defense spending bill, unveiled Sept. 15, the Senate Appropriations Committee provides no funding for the Standard Missile (SM)-3 Block 2B interceptor, which is the subject of a three-way competition between Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) requested $123.5 million for the effort next year.

The SM-3 Block 2B, also known as the Next Generation Aegis Missile, is the latest of SM-3 variants either in development or undergoing testing. Raytheon Missile Systems of Tucson, Ariz., is prime contractor on the other two, as well on the operational SM-3 Block 1A variant deployed on U.S. Navy ships as part of the MDA’s Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system.

In the report accompanying the bill, Senate appropriators said the SM-3 Block 2B is one development program too many at this time. “Each of these missiles is successively more capable and technologically complex,” the report says. “The Committee is concerned about the high concurrency of these developmental efforts, particularly in light of the development issues that have plagued the SM-3 Block 1B missile.”

The SM-3 Block 1B failed in its first intercept test Sept. 1, marring what has been an otherwise solid track record for the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense program in testing to date. The MDA is investigating the failure, which Senate lawmakers said could delay the fielding of that variant at a time of high demand for SM-3 capabilities from the U.S. military. Citing that demand, plus concerns about the industrial-base impact of an SM-3 production break, the committee directs the MDA to redirect funding requested next year for SM-3 Block 1B procurement to production of the older variant to the extent there is such a delay.

The MDA requested $565 million next year to buy 46 SM-3 Block 1B missiles.

The request also includes $424 million for the SM-3 Block 2A, which is being developed jointly with Japan and is slated for fielding in 2018. The bill recommends boosting that figure by $50 million, which would be drawn from the Block 2B/Next Generation Aegis program.

The SM-3 Block 2B interceptor is planned to be deployed in 2020 as part of the MDA’s Phased Adaptive Approach for European missile defense. The approach utilizes ship-based SM-3 variants in its current phase, but plans call for eventually deploying land-based variants capable of intercepting longer-range missiles on European territory.

The Next Generation Aegis Missile is expected to destroy missiles with ranges of up to 12,000 kilometers in the early stages of flight. The Block 1A and Block 1B missiles are designed to intercept short- to medium-range ballistic missiles, MDA spokesman Richard Lehner said.

But the committee says the requirements, acquisition strategy and deployment plan for the Block 2B/Next Generation Aegis interceptor remain uncertain. “Finally, the Committee understands that in its current form, the SM-3 Block 2B missile is of limited mission value due to technical constraints,” the report states.

The MDA in April awarded $127 million in Next Generation Aegis Missile design contracts to three competitors. Lockheed Martin Corp. of Bethesda, Md., received $43.3 million; Raytheon Missile Systems was awarded $42.7 million; and Boeing Defense, Space & Security of St. Louis was awarded $41.2 million.

Those contracts will continue as scheduled, Lehner said.

“There’s a long way to go until there’s a signed defense bill,” he said. “It’s part of the president’s program. But we don’t comment on it yet; that’s just not appropriate for us.”

Riki Ellison, founder of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance here, said development of the SM-3 Block 2B should continue. “The whole reason behind this program was to get to this point,” Ellison said. “If they want to cut funding from [the SM-3 Block 2B], then maybe they need to start looking at alternatives for how to protect the U.S. and Europe.”

Ellison said it is still early to be alarmed about the proposed cut, since the U.S. House of Representatives did not cut funding for the program in its defense spending bill passed in the summer.

On other missile defense-related programs, the Senate appropriators recommended:

No funding for the Airborne Infrared system, designed to detect ballistic missiles from aircraft. The MDA requested $47 million for that effort. The lawmakers also raised questions about an effort to develop airborne missile interceptors.

Adding $130 million to the MDA’s $106 million request for cooperative programs with Israel. These programs include the Arrow interceptor and the David’s Sling weapon system.

Trimming the MDA’s request for the Theater High Altitude Area Defense system by $162 million, to $671 million. The report cited producibility issues on the program.

Full funding, at $1.1 billion, for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, the MDA’s primary U.S. territorial missile shield. Boeing is currently prime contractor on the program, but the MDA is holding a competition for a contract to take over the system’s continued development, operation and maintenance.

Full funding, at $96 million, for the Space Tracking and Surveillance System, a pair of experimental satellites designed to track missile warheads as they coast through space.

buglerbilly

27-09-11, 08:03 AM

09-26-2011 17:32

Seoul develops supersonic cruise missile

By Lee Tae-hoon

South Korea is about to become one of the few countries to produce supersonic cruise missiles, senior defense officials said Monday.

Equipped with the new missiles, they said Seoul will be able to significantly improve its defense capabilities against North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats.

Currently, only the United States, Russia, France, China and India are known to possess supersonic cruise missiles.

“All I can say for now is that it will be able to fly faster than Mach 1,” a senior official at the state-run Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said on condition of anonymity.

Though he declined to provide more details as the project is classified, he noted that the supersonic missile is capable of evading the North’s defense systems and striking launch pads with high accuracy.

A ranking official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) confirmed that the latest cruise missile is named Haeseong II, supersonic modification of the anti-ship Haeseong I.

Seoul developed the Haeseong I with a range of 150 kilometers in 2003 and deployed them on KDX-II and Aegis-equipped KDX-III destroyers, each carrying eight and 16, respectively.

“The Haeseong II is a ship-to-surface cruise missile, designed to strike ground targets,” said the official who serves as a liaison between the U.S. and Korean governments over missile development.

“Korea has been independently developing it without technology transfer from the United States, but has been closely consulting with Washington in accordance with the New Missile Guidelines (NMG) agreed between the two allies.”

The two sides signed the NMG in January 2001, which requires Seoul to give Washington prior notification of any missile test-firing in return for easing some restrictions on development.

The official added that the Haeseong II will not be exported as Korea is a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the multinational effort to restrict the proliferation of missiles.

The MTCR prohibits the export of missiles, unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), and related technology for systems capable of carrying a 500 kilogram payload for at least 300 kilometers.

An informed source said that the Haeseong II will be deployed around 2013 when the development of vertical and slant launch systems will be completed.

He added that the missile range will exceed 500 kilometers, allowing Seoul to hit most of the major military facilities in North Korea and preempt any attacks.

Earlier, anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks revealed a U.S. diplomatic cable that gave a glimpse into the development of the missile.

According to the WikiLeaks, Korea carried out about 10 tests of the Haeseong II between September 2007 and November 2009 in Anheung Proving Ground in the western coastal city of Taean, South Chungcheong Province.

The empty weight of the Haeseong II is about 1,000 kilograms and it can carry about 270 kilograms of fuel, according to a document classified as secret and written on Aug. 31, 2007 by the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.

According to another embassy cable from March 13, 2009, “Production is planned to commence in 2010,” but the MOFAT official refuted this, saying further tests are scheduled.

He also noted that the U.S. Embassy classified Haeseong as UAV as it has a sophisticated, built-in control and guidance system, but it should be regarded as a cruise missile as it is not reusable once launched.

“The Haeseong II is not an UAV since it not capable of carrying out multiple missions and is not designed for reconnaissance. Its prime objective is destroying enemy targets,” the official said.

buglerbilly

18-10-11, 02:25 PM

Handover of the First RBS15 Mk3 Series Missiles at the German Naval Base of Kiel

(Source: German Defense Agency, BWB; issued October 17, 2011)

On 22nd September 2011 Mr. Jürgen Simon, head of the Land Combat Division at Federal Office of Defense Technology and Procurement (BWB), officially received the first RBS15 Mk 3 series missiles from Mr. Claus Günther, board member of Diehl Foundation, and handed them over to the German Navy, represented by Rear Admiral Georg von Maltzan, Chief of Staff of German Navy Fleet Command.

The ceremony was attended by representatives of German MOD, German Navy, Bundeswehr Joint Support Service, BWB, the WIWeB Bundeswehr Research Institute, Bundeswehr Technical Centers (WTDs), industry and Swedish public administration offices. After the official hand-over the guests had the chance to take a look at the missile on board of the K-130 BRAUNSCHWEIG corvette.

The heavy antiship missile RBS15 Mk3 will form the main armament of the new K-130 corvette of the German Navy. The corvettes will thus be capable of precision engagement of surface targets and targets ashore, thus supporting joint operations from the sea.

The long-range, all-weather-capable, fire-and-forget guided missile will track its target at low level ("sea-skimming missile") over distances well beyond 200 km. By means of programmable waypoints flight path and flight altitude can be modified several times. A GPS-based inertial navigation results in enhanced hit accuracy. These capabilities make the RBS15 Mk3 guided missile one of the most modern anti-ship missiles in the world.

The Bundeswehr will procure a total of 30 RBS15 Mk3 missiles for the K-130 corvettes. RBS15 Mk3 is produced jointly by Diehl BGT Defence (Deutschland) as prime contractor and Saab Bofors Dynamics (Sweden) under a cooperation agreement.

The missile is an upgrade development of the RBS15 Mk2 missile introduced in the Swedish and the Finnish Naval Forces.

-ends-

buglerbilly

30-10-11, 10:56 AM

Some Chinese Missile Sales to Iran May Escape U.S. Sanctions Law

October 27, 2011, 4:04 PM EDT

By David Lerman and Tony Capaccio

These are a mix of ground-launched anti-ship and ship-to-ship missiles in some cases using the same missile model..............

Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. sanctions don’t clearly prohibit China from selling to Iran short-range cruise missiles that might threaten Persian Gulf oil supplies, a congressionally created commission concludes in a draft report.

China, Iran’s largest arms supplier, has sold $312 million in weapons to Iran since 2006, mostly short-range anti-ship cruise missiles, according to the document.

“China’s provision of anti-ship cruise missiles to Iran could allow Iran to target, among other things, oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz” on Iran’s south shore, according to the draft annual report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

An extended closure of the strait would remove about a quarter of the world’s oil from the market, it says.

The commission recommends that Congress consider clarifying and expanding sanctions to ensure that shorter-range missile sales are a violation of U.S. law.

The sales don’t violate the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act of 2006, which seeks to prevent the transfer of longer-range missiles, the report said.

Other U.S. sanctions laws, such as the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act of 2010, prohibit sales of “advanced conventional weapons” -- an “ambiguous” term that may or may not include short-range cruise missiles, the commision’s report said.

Closing the Strait

The primary missiles in Iran’s mobile arsenal are the C801 and C802, first imported from China in 1995, according to a 2009 report on Iran’s naval forces by the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence.

Using those missiles, the report said, “Iran can target any point within the Strait of Hormuz and much of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.”

The Lebanese-based Hezbollah movement, which the U.S. considers a terrorist group, used a C802 missile to strike an Israeli navy ship in 2006.

“Iran could use the missile in the same way,” the report said.

Since Russia began curbing its arms sales to Iran in 2008, China has become Iran’s largest arms supplier, the U.S.-China commission said.

The commission also singled out China as “one of the few countries still willing to sell Iran refined petroleum products,” citing a Congressional Research Service report that China was providing about half of Iran’s gasoline imports as of 2010.

China ‘Opportunity’

“While the fear of U.S. sanctions has caused many businesses to limit or cease operations in Iran, Chinese firms have seen these sanctions as an opportunity for expansion,” the commission’s draft report says.

It said the U.S. government has failed to sanction any Chinese state-owned oil companies for selling gasoline to Iran, and called on Congress to investigate whether sanctions should be imposed.

While nearly 40 Chinese entities were sanctioned 74 times between 2002 and 2009, none were major Chinese oil companies, according to testimony provided to the commission by John Garver, professor of international relations at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.

When asked about those figures at a commission hearing in April, Daniel Kritenbrink, then acting deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said, “If we find instances of where Chinese firms have violated those obligations, I can assure you we’re going to look at that very carefully and engage with the Chinese very seriously.”

Five state-owned Chinese companies shipped gasoline to Iran in 2010, the commission said. ChinaOil, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp., shipped 600,000 barrels of gasoline to Iran that are valued at $55 million, the report said.

--Editors: Steven Komarow, Terry Atlas

To contact the reporter on this story: David Lerman in Washington at dlerman1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Silva at msilva34@bloomberg.net -0- Oct/27/2011 15:03 GMT

buglerbilly

14-11-11, 07:34 AM

13 Nov, 2011, 03.33PM IST, PTI

India to test fire sub-sonic cruise missile Nirbhay next year

NEW DELHI: Looking to add more lethal firepower to its arsenal, India is planning to test fire its latest 1000-km range sub-sonic land attack cruise missile 'Nirbhay' early next year.

Nirbhay will be a terrain hugging, stealthy missile capable of delivering multiple warheads as per mission requirements.

"We are looking to test-fire the new sub-sonic cruise missile in the first quarter of 2012. The Nirbhay will be a new state-of-the-art missile," DRDO officials told PTI here.

With its range of 1,000 Km, the missile has longer reach than Pakistan's Hatf-7 Babur missile, which claims to have a range of 700 km.

The missile is being developed by the Advanced Systems Laboratory under the DRDO.

Sources said the missile will be sleeker than other similar weapon systems that are operational with different countries.

The Nirbhay will be India's second cruise missile after the 300 km range BrahMos, which is a supersonic system. The missile can be launched from multiple launchers and will be inducted into all the three services.

buglerbilly

17-11-11, 02:08 PM

Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 06:04 PM

Tawazun Precision Industries signs an agreement with MBDA to manufacture Marte family missile.

Dubai, 16 November 2011- Tawazun Precision Industries (TPI), a Tawazun Holding subsidiary specialised in the manufacture of metallic components for Aerospace/ Aviation, Defence, and Oil & Gas industries, has entered into an agreement with MBDA for the manufacture of various components related to the Marte family of missiles.

The contract between MBDA and TPI having been launched with the support of the Italian Programme team working on the running contract will set the framework for business collaboration between both parties.

The first step will grant TPI access to MBDA’s global supply chain through the manufacture of complex machined parts for the Marte Missile Programme with the objective to deliver the first components by mid-2012. This initial cooperation will pave the way for further business opportunities on both domestic and export markets.

“This move is a further confirmation of TPI’s competitiveness and high level of skill achieved in the Defence business, and yet another testimony from a leading player that we are becoming a major player on the global defence market. We are very delighted to enter into a partnership with a prominent company such as MBDA and look forward to many more joint successes to come” said Muaatasem Awda, CEO of Tawazun Precision Industries.

Also commenting on this new development, Antoine Bouvier, CEO of MBDA group said: “We are very happy and confident that the high level of skills TPI has reached today will help our commitment to serve the Abu Dhabi Vision 2030 and to establish a strong industrial base in the country while supporting our global strategy”.

buglerbilly

19-12-11, 03:57 PM

Successful Test Firing of a RAM Block 2 Missile Against a UAV

(Source: BWB; issued December 16, 2011)

The first guided test firing of the RAM Block 2 missile under development was carried out successfully on 6th December 2011. With the direct hit achieved in this test it was demonstrated that the new system is able to detect, track and destroy a flying target to be engaged.

The RAM Block 2 development is necessary to ensure a capability to counter current threats with increased risk potential. To this end, a modern passive radar seeker head with enhanced sensitivity and improved target discrimination, a larger rocket motor and an upgraded flight control system with four control surfaces (so far two) for higher agility and an improved range are being developed.

The test firing took place at 13.01 hours local time on San Nicolas Island, California. The telemetrized RAM Block 2 missile was fired against a BQM-34S unmanned aerial vehicle fitted with infrared and radar emitters that simulated an attacking antiship guided missile. A first quick analysis performed on site confirmed that all test objectives have been achieved. Further evaluations will be done in the days ahead by Raytheon Missile Systems, LFK-Lenkflugkörpersysteme and Diehl BGT Defense (DBD). The guided test-firing of another two missiles in the course of the development process is scheduled for 2012.

The RAM guided missile (Rolling Airframe Missile) is designed for ship-based short-range air defense. The RAM program has been pursued bilaterally for more than 30 years with the USA on the basis of 50:50 shares and joint rights. The industrial partners are Raytheon Missile Systems (USA) and RAMSYS (Germany), who also have 50 percent shares.

Upon completion of the development phase the new missile is planned to be procured starting in 2013.

-ends-