Defense Technology International - December 2007 - (Page 38)

MISSILE DEFENSE U.S. NAVY AUSTRALIAN DEFENSE DEPT. MARITIME Raytheon’s Rolling Airframe Missile launches off port side of aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. system and a smart munition called DART (Driven Ammunition, Reduced Time of ﬂight). In the Davide conﬁguration, for which any SR mount can be retroﬁtted, the turret has a command-to-line-of-sight (CLOS) radio-frequency (RF) transmitter. This transmits four lowpower RF beams. Each round’s electronics are programmed to stay within the center of the beams for guidance. The stabilized RF transmitter is controlled by the ﬁre-control system, which includes radar that tracks the target with a continuouswave Ka-band beam. DART is a sub-caliber projectile with a 42-mm.-wide body ﬁtted with sabots to match the 76-mm. barrel. It is 67 cm. (26 in.) long, more than a standard round, but weighs just 3.4 kg. (7.5 lb.) without sabots. The 2.5-kg. warhead features a pre-fragmented steel body and tungsten pellets designed to cripple hardened anti-ship missiles. The lethal radius is more than 10 meters (32 ft.). The warhead is activated by a programmable fuze, with four operating modes: impact, delayed impact, proximity and airburst. This is based on Oto Melara’s new 3A-Plus fuze, which has been demonstrated against very-low-altitude sea-skimming missiles (down to 2 meters) and in heavy sea clutter. DART has canards that control pitch-and-roll. The tail section has six ﬁxed ﬁns plus the RF receiver, which senses the guiding beams. DART adjusts course to match evasive maneuvers. Oto Melara claims the round outperforms subsonic and supersonic targets. Energy is provided to the low-drag, lightweight round by an enhanced launch charge that gives the projectile muzzle velocity of more than 1,200 meters/sec. (Mach 3.5)—one-third greater than with conventional rounds. This means it reaches a target at a distance of 5 km. in 5 sec. Though some pointdefense missiles are faster, they need time to accelerate, while just the opposite happens to DART—it gradually slows. At standard engagement ranges of 4-5 km., DART pulls more than 20-25 G and turns at 10 deg./sec. The round has a range of 35 km. and can engage a non-maneuvering missile target out to more than 10 km. The system engages a target far away to obtain a keep-out range of at least 2,000 meters. Oto Melara says no gun-based, close-in system matches this. A shorter keep-out range risks debris damaging a ship. The precision of the CLOS guidance system, coupled with the sensitivity of the fuze and lethality of the warhead, allows a burst of only 3-4 DART rounds to achieve a probability-of-kill rate greater than 95%. The gun can ﬁre longer bursts at more than 2 rounds/sec. for a minute. 38 DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL DECEMBER 2007 Evolved SeaSparrow Missile from Raytheon can also be ﬁred without powerful radars or ﬁrecontrol systems. There is no limit to the number of rounds that can be simultaneously guided by the RF beam. DART can engage fast boats, disabling them with a shower of pellets, as well as UAVs or aircraft. Oto Melara also developed a less sophisticated unguided version called ATE (Anti-Terrorism Engagement) that uses an unguided hypervelocity round and a smart fuse. This is accurate because of its fast and relatively ﬂat trajectory. It comes with a standard high-explosive warhead for use against less-maneuverable airborne and surface targets, or as an inert slug without a warhead, which can disable vessels. A recent development in missile-based systems was the agreement by India and Israel to design an air-defense missile system with a range of 70 km. This is based on the 60km.-range, vertically launched Barak 8 shipborne missile in development for the Israeli navy. The prime contractor is India’s Defense Research & Development Organization. System development will be led by Israel Aerospace Industries’ Missiles and Space Div., with IAI/ Elta and Rafael as subcontractors. Elta Systems will provide radar and Rafael will manufacture the missiles. India will locally produce and support the systems. Barak 8 will be integrated with Elta’s MF-STAR phased-array shipborne radar. The previous Barak 1 missile system was developed in the 1980s and is in use on ships by Israel, India, Chile and Singapore. Barak 8 is much more advanced. Based on an active seeker, the missile is not dependent on the launcher for targeting and guidance, and will perform at longer ranges, o ering protection from manned and unmanned aerial threats as well as guided weapons. Covering low and high altitudes, the missile is for use at sea and on land. India plans to equip up to nine land-based air-defense squadrons with the system. The missile has a two-way data link, supporting midcourse updating and terminal updating and target validation. It uses a ﬂexible dual-pulse motor and canard conﬁguration for high maneuverability throughout the target-interception envelope. I With David Eshel in Tel Aviv, David A. Fulghum in Washington and Andy Nativi in Genoa. To watch a video of the Goalkeeper 30-mm. gun, go to DTI’s homepage: AviationWeek.com/dti and click on ‘Extras for this issue’ under ‘DTI Interactive.’ www.aviationweek.com/dti http://AviationWeek.com/dti 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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