Defense Technology International - December 2007 - (Page 36)

MISSILE DEFENSE MARITIME Eagle anti-missile, high-power microwave weapon and Active Denial, another high-power millimeter-wave weapon. It will be at least another decade, though, before lasers or other directed-energy weapons become the default self-defense system on ships. Surface combatants will continue to rely on missile and gun systems set up for layered defense. In such a conﬁguration the outer layer includes longrange area-defense missiles such as Raytheon’s SM-2 or MBDA’s Aster 30, which engage incoming threats, typically to 80 naut. mi. But these can only be carried by large ships with powerful radar and fire-control systems. Local-area missile systems such as Raytheon’s Evolved SeaSparrow Missile or MBDA’s Aster 15 are for ships with less-powerful radars and ﬁre-control equipment. They cover a radius of 30 naut. mi. and defend nearby assets. An inner defense layer comprises missile and gun systems. Typical missiles are the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) from Raytheon and MBDA’s Ramsys joint venture, Denel’s vertically launched Umkhonto, MBDA’s vertically launched Seawolf, the Crotale-NG from Thales and the Barak 1 from Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Systems, the primary defensive weapon on board the Hanit. The most widely used gun system for this layer is Oto Melara’s 76-mm. Super Rapid weapon. BAE Systems’ 57-mm. Mk 3 should become widespread, due to its selection by the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. Very-short-range missiles and automatic close-in weapon systems comprise the innermost defense layer. Missiles include the MBDA Mistral, Raytheon Stinger or Russian Igla, ﬁred from remote-controlled or manned-pedestal launchers. OTO MELARA CONCEPT DART munition from Oto Melara has a programmable fuze and is effective against sea-skimming missiles. became the ﬁrst to adopt this weapon, ordering two mounts each for its two Absalon-class support ships. While all of these systems primarily defend against sea-skimming or high-diving anti-ship missiles, some can be used against surface targets. SeaRAM, for example, reportedly protects a ship against any threat traveling at any speed, from supersonic missiles to high-speed surface craft. Moreover, with asymmetric surface threats in mind, ships are increasingly equipped with medium-caliber guns borrowed from aircraft or light armored vehicles, typically on stabilized mounts, remotely controlled and ﬁtted with electro-optic sensors and laser rangeﬁnders. Examples are BAE Systems’ 25-mm. Mk 38 Mod 2 developed with Rafael; MSI Defense Systems’ 25-mm. DS25 and 30-mm. DS30; Nexter Systems’ 20-, 25- or 30-mm. Narwhal; Oto Melara’s 25-, 30- and 40-mm. mounts; Rafael’s Typhoon family; and Rheinmetall’s 27-mm. MLG 27. Arguably the most interesting development in gunbased defense systems is in Italy. The Italian navy has teamed with Oto Melara to develop the company’s ubiquitous 76-mm. gun and ammunition technology into a system that meets a wide range of operational requirements. The plan is to upgrade the gun and ammunition for the anti-missile market. The main element involves transforming the 76-mm. rounds into maneuverable guided missiles. The program is known as Davide in the Italian navy version and Strales in the export variant. It is based on the latest version of the 76/62-mm. naval gun, the SR Super Rapido. The JORIS JANSSEN LOK/DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL RHEINMETALL RHEINMETALL Strales gun mount ﬁres DART munitions and guides them with RF beams as its radar tracks target. Rheinmetall’s 35-mm. Ahead shell, loaded with pellets, is electrically programmed by the ﬁre-control system of the Millennium gun (right) to explode in the path of an approaching missile or aircraft. gun ﬁres 130 rounds per minute and has a dual-feeding system that loads 76 rounds, shifting between two types of ammunition almost instantaneously. Davide began 10 years ago, exploiting advances in miniaturization and survivability of electronic components—each round must withstand acceleration of 30,000 G when ﬁred. A prototype was completed this year. In September, the ﬁrst turret was tested, and this month the turret is being installed in Sardinia for trials with a Selex Sistemi Integrati Dardo-F (NA-30) ﬁre-control system. Early next year the turret and ﬁre-control system will go on a Comandanti-class corvette for ﬁring trials at sea. Full-scale development begins in mid-2008. The system consists of the SR gun, a radar-based guidance www.aviationweek.com/dti Close-in weapon systems include Phalanx, Russia’s AK 630 and CADS-N-1 Kashtan systems, and Goalkeeper, which utilizes the same General Dynamics GAU-8 30-mm. Gatling gun as the U.S. Air Force’s A-10A Thunderbolt. Several updated versions of Phalanx have been introduced with enhanced capability to engage surface targets and a version, known as SeaRAM, features a RAM launcher instead of the 20-mm. Gatling gun. One notable development is Rheinmetall’s Millennium revolver gun, installed in a remote-controlled turret, ﬁring the company’s 35-mm. Ahead ammunition. Ahead shells are electronically programmed through the ﬁre-control system as they leave the barrel to project a cloud of cylindrical pellets in the ﬂight path of the approaching target. Denmark’s navy 36 DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL DECEMBER 2007 http://www.aviationweek.com/dti

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Defense Technology International - December 2007

Defense Technology International - December 2007 Contents Around the World Science Watch Tech Watch BrahMos: Ramjet Ship Killer r-e-s-p-e-c-t Deja Vu Trump Card Dubai Demos Agile Helos Joint Force Online Charge UGVs Creep, Crawl to Victory Sweet Ride Fast, Lethal Ship Defense Networking Stealth: Why Raptors Can't Talk The Net Cutting Edge First Person In Review Insight

Defense Technology International - December 2007

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