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62-406: The original Sea Sparrow was an expedient design intended to provide short-range defensive fire in a system that could be deployed as rapidly as possible. The AIM-7 Sparrow was the simplest solution, as its radar guidance allowed it to be fired head-on at targets. The radar signal could be provided by mounting an aircraft radar on a trainable platform on a ship. In the years after its introduction, it

124-463: A 2-cell module of Mk 48 is 660 kg (1,450 lb; including empty canisters), 330 kg (725 lb) for exhaust system, and 360 kg (800 lb) for ship installation interfaces. Each canister of the Mk 48 VLS houses a single RIM-7VL (Vertically Launched) Sea Sparrow cell or two RIM-162 ESSM cells, though, with modification, other missiles can also be launched. There are a total of four models in

186-518: A direct hit on a BQM-74E drone missile launched from the USN amphibious dock landing ship USS Germantown . On 9 October 2016, USS  Mason fired one RIM-162 ESSM and two SM-2s to defend against two incoming Houthi anti-ship cruise missiles, potentially Chinese-built C-802 missiles. It is unknown if the RIM-162 was responsible for intercepting either of the missiles, but the incident marked

248-563: A late-1940s United States Navy program to develop a guided rocket weapon for air-to-air use. In 1947 the Navy contracted Sperry to build a beam-riding version of a standard 5-inch (127 mm) HVAR , the standard unguided aerial rocket, under Project Hotshot . The weapon was initially dubbed KAS-1 , then AAM-2 , and — from 1948 on — AAM-N-2 . The airframe was developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company . The diameter of

310-669: A new and more powerful engine and new control surfaces. These control surfaces were each independent of the others, giving the missile greatly improved maneuverability over the AIM-7E and the English Skyflash that still used dependent control surfaces. The PL-11 and HQ-6 are a family of Chinese missiles developed by the Shanghai Academy of Science and Technology, largely based on the Italian Aspide version of

372-484: A new rear receiver allowing the missile to receive mid-course correction from the launching aircraft. Plans initially called for all M versions to be upgraded, but currently P's are being issued as required to replace M's lost or removed from the inventory. The final version of the missile was to have been the AIM-7R , which added an infrared homing seeker to an otherwise unchanged AIM-7P Block II. A general wind-down of

434-542: A number of navies for air defense. Fired at low altitude and flying directly at its target, though, the range of the missile in this role is greatly reduced because of the higher air density of the lower atmosphere. With the retirement of the Sparrow in the air-to-air role, a new version of the Sea Sparrow was produced to address this concern, producing the larger and more capable RIM-162 ESSM . The Sparrow emerged from

496-589: A one-for-one basis. Instead of building dedicated replacements for each role, the RDN came up with the idea for a single vessel design which could be modified to assume a particular role when needed. Equipment common to all roles would be built into the ship, while mission specific payloads would be built into modules, which could be fitted into standardised slots aboard the ship when needed. This modular payload system came to be known as "Standard Flex", or "StanFlex" for short. Feasibility studies during 1983 and 1984 led to

558-604: A second source for US missiles, Canadair was selected to build the missiles in Quebec . The small size of the missile forebody and the K-band AN/APQ-64-radar limited performance, and it was never able to work in testing. After considerable development and test firings in the U.S. and Canada, Douglas abandoned development in 1956. Canadair continued development until the Arrow was cancelled in 1959. A subvariant of

620-634: A series of live missile firings at the Point Mugu missile launch range off the coast of California that included a total of 11 ESSM missile firings. The tests included firings against target drones such as the Northrop BQM-74E Chukkar III and Teledyne Ryan BQM-34S Firebee I, as well as against missile targets such as the Beech AQM-37C and air-launched Kormoran 1 anti-ship missiles. Further live firings were performed by

682-571: A short period of time, allowing the ship to switch between roles when needed. The success of the modular payload system led the Royal Danish Navy to design all new warships with StanFlex slots, and to install slots on older vessels during major refits. By 2012, nine ship classes capable of carrying StanFlex payloads were in service. During the early 1980s, the Royal Danish Navy (RDN) required replacements for three classes of minor war vessel, but could not afford to replace all 22 ships on

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744-404: Is Mark 29 Guided Missile Launching System Mod. 4 & 5 (Mk 29 GMLS Mod 4 & 5), which is developed from earlier models Mk 29 Mod 1/2/3 for Sea Sparrow. Mk 29 launchers provide on-mount stowage and launching capability for firing up to eight missiles in a self-contained environmentally controlled trainable launcher design. The Mark 41 Vertical Launching System is the primary launch system for

806-527: Is a modular mission payload system used by the Royal Danish Navy . Originally conceived during the 1980s as a way of replacing several classes of minor war vessel with a single class of multi-role ships (the Flyvefisken class ), the StanFlex system consists of weapons and equipment mounted in standardised containers, which can be loaded into slots on the ships. These containers can be swapped out in

868-463: Is mounted on the roof of the module, while the machinery, electronics, and supporting equipment are housed within. Modules are usually installed and replaced by a 15-ton capacity mobile crane . A module can be swapped out and replaced within half an hour, and after system testing completed, the ship is ready to deploy within a few hours. However, refresher training for the ship's crew will take significantly longer. Standardised consoles are fitted in

930-587: Is used on Zumwalt -class destroyers. It is designed to be installed on the ship periphery instead of centralized magazines. It comes in 4-cell launcher modules and provides backwards compatibility with existing missiles, while allowing new missiles with significantly increased propulsion and payloads. The AMRAAM-ER is an Extended Range upgrade to the AIM-120 AMRAAM missile for the NASAMS ground-based air defense system, which combines ESSM rocket motor with

992-545: The AAM-N-6b started production in 1963. The new motor significantly increased the maximum range to 35 kilometres (22 mi) for head-on attacks. This new missile also improved tail-on performance, with the AAM-N-6a being capable of firing on only targets with 300 ft/sec closing velocity, and AAM-N-6b being capable of firing on targets with a 300 knot opening velocity (-300 knot closing velocity or higher). During this year

1054-718: The Azores , the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) frigate HNLMS  De Zeven Provinciën conducted a live fire test of a single ESSM. This firing was the first ever live firing involving a full-size ship-borne active electronically scanned array (i.e. the APAR radar) guiding a missile using the Interrupted Continuous Wave Illumination (ICWI) technique in an operational environment. As related by Jane's Navy International: During

1116-481: The McDonnell F3H-2M Demon and Vought F7U Cutlass fighter aircraft . Compared to the modern versions, the Sparrow I was more streamlined and featured a bullet-shaped airframe with a long pointed nose. Sparrow I was a limited and rather primitive weapon. The limitations of beam-riding guidance (which was slaved to an optical sight on single-seater fighters and to radar on night fighters) restricted

1178-536: The United States Air Force , United States Navy , United States Marine Corps , and various other air forces and navies. Sparrow and its derivatives were the West's principal beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile from the late 1950s until the 1990s. It remains in service, although it is being phased out in aviation applications in favor of the more advanced AIM-120 AMRAAM . The early Sparrow

1240-630: The 2000s the NATO Seasparrow Project Office began planning an upgraded Block 2 version of the ESSM. In 2014 Canada pledged 200M CAD to underwrite their share of the Block 2's development cost. ESSM Block 2 leverages the existing Block 1 rocket motor and features a dual-mode X band seeker, increased maneuverability, and other enhancements. Block 2 features enhanced communications systems that allow mid-course guidance correction, making

1302-513: The 612 AIM-7D/E/E-2 missiles fired, 97 (or 15.8%) hit their targets, resulting in 56 (or 9.2%) kills. Two kills were obtained beyond visual range. In 1969, an improved version, the E-2, was introduced with clipped wings and various changes to the fuzing. Considered a "dogfight Sparrow", the AIM-7E-2 was intended to be used at shorter ranges where the missile was still travelling at high speeds, and in

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1364-891: The AIM-7E2 technology in the 1970s, producing the Skyflash missile. Skyflash used a Marconi XJ521 monopulse seeker together with improvements to the electronics. It was powered by the Aerojet Mk52 mod 2 rocket engine (later by the Rocketdyne Mk38 mod 4). Skyflash entered service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) on their Phantom FG.1/FGR.2 in 1978, and later on the Tornado F3 . Skyflash was also exported to Sweden for use on their Viggen fighters. An upgraded version with active radar seeker, called Active Sky Flash ,

1426-764: The AMRAAM two-stage seeker head. US operational evaluation was conducted in July 2002 aboard USS  Shoup . Initial operational capability did not occur until later. In October 2003, at the USN Pacific Missile Range Facility near Hawaii, Australian frigate HMAS  Warramunga conducted a successful firing of an ESSM. The firing was also the first operational use of the CEA Technologies CWI for guidance. In November 2003, approximately 200 nautical miles (370 km) from

1488-689: The Air Force and Navy agreed on standardized naming conventions for their missiles. The Sparrows became the AIM-7 series. The original Sparrow I and aborted Sparrow II became the AIM-7A and AIM-7B , despite both being out of service. The -6, -6a, and -6b became the AIM-7C , AIM-7D , and AIM-7E respectively. 25,000 AIM-7Es were produced and saw extensive use during the Vietnam War , where its performance

1550-640: The Arrow. The Italian company Finmeccanica (now Leonardo S.p.A. ), Alenia Difesa licensed the AIM-7E Sparrow technology from the US, and produced its own version. Later in the 1980s, Alenia started to produce an improved version of the AIM-7 called the Aspide. Compared to the AIM-7E, it received an improved new monopulse guidance system that allowed for a better hit ratio and easier targeting of enemies at low altitude with ground-clutter confusion. It also received

1612-539: The ESSM intercepted a high-diving supersonic test target, demonstrating the ability to hit high-G maneuvering, low-velocity air threats, as well as surface targets. No software changes were needed to prove the ESSM's enhanced capability. On 30 August 2015, during the annual 'Co-operation Afloat Readiness and Training' ('CARAT') exercise , the ESSM was fired from the Royal Thai Navy Naresuan -class guided-missile frigate HTMS Naresuan and achieved

1674-632: The Evolved SeaSparrow Missile. The Mk 41 is deployed aboard destroyers and frigates, primarily of the United States and allied nations. The ESSM is quadpacked within a Mk 41 cell allowing a significantly increased missile load over SM-2 . In addition to the Mk 29 GMLS and Mk 41 VLS, the other primary launcher is Mk 48 VLS . The 2-cell module of Mk 48 makes the system very versatile and enables it to be installed on board in spaces that otherwise cannot be utilized. The weight of

1736-522: The HVAR proved to be inadequate for the electronics, leading Douglas to expand the missile's airframe to 8-inch (203 mm) diameter. The prototype weapon began unpowered flight tests in 1947, and made its first aerial interception in 1952. After a protracted development cycle the initial AAM-N-2 Sparrow entered limited operational service in 1954 with specially modified Douglas F3D Skyknight all-weather carrier night fighters. In 1956, they were joined by

1798-625: The Italian firm Alenia to develop advanced versions of Sparrow with better performance and improved electronics as the BAe Skyflash and Alenia Aspide , respectively. The most common version of the Sparrow today, the AIM-7M , entered service in 1982 and featured a new inverse monopulse seeker (matching the capabilities of Skyflash), active radar proximity fuse , digital controls, improved ECM resistance, and better low-altitude performance. It

1860-555: The M model (for monopulse) and some of these were later updated as the P model, the last to be produced in the US. Aspides sold to China resulted in the locally produced PL-11 . The Japan Self-Defense Forces also employ the Sparrow missile, though it is being phased out and replaced by the Mitsubishi AAM-4 . The Sparrow was also used as the basis for a surface-to-air missile , the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow , used by

1922-515: The Mk 48 VLS is the Mark 56 Guided Missile Vertical Launching System (Mk 56 GMVLS) or simply Mk 56. In comparison to its predecessor, the Mk 56 utilizes a greater percentage of composite material, reducing the weight by more than 20%. The Mexican Navy will be one of the customers of the Mk 56, using an 8-cell launcher on their Sigma-class design frigates. Specifications: The Mk 57 Peripheral Vertical Launching System (PVLS), an evolution of Mk 41 VLS,

RIM-162 ESSM - Misplaced Pages Continue

1984-514: The Mk 48 family, with Mod 0 & 1 housing either 2 RIM-7VL or 4 RIM-162 cells, Mod 2 housing either 16 RIM-7VL or 32 RIM-162 cells. Mod 0/1/2 are usually grouped into either a 16-cell module for RIM-7VL or a 32-cell module for RIM-162. Mod 3 fits into the StanFlex modules on Royal Danish Navy ships and can house either 6 RIM-7VL or 12 RIM-162 cells; the Danes now use the latter. The successor of

2046-701: The RNLN frigate HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën in March 2005, again in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 180 nautical miles (330 km) west of the Azores. The tests involved three live-firing events (two of which involved the ESSM) including firing a single SM-2 Block IIIA at an Iris target drone at long range, a single ESSM at an Iris target drone, and a two-salvo launch (with one salvo comprising two SM-2 Block IIIAs and

2108-547: The Sparrow I armed with the same nuclear warhead as the MB-1 Genie was proposed in 1958 but was cancelled shortly thereafter. Concurrently with the development of the Sparrow I, in 1951 Raytheon began work on a semi-active radar-homing version, the AAM-N-6 Sparrow III . The first of these weapons entered United States Navy service in 1958. The AAM-N-6a was similar to the -6, and included changes to

2170-461: The Sparrow II (AAM-N-3/AIM-7B). After Douglas dropped out of this program, Canadair continued on with it until the termination of the Arrow project. The AAM-N-3 Sparrow II was unique in that it had a fully active radar guidance system. This combined both a radar transmitter and receiver in the missile, making it unnecessary for the pilot to keep the aircraft aimed at the target after firing

2232-572: The Sparrow II a "fire and forget" weapon, allowing several to be fired at separate targets at the same time. By 1955, Douglas proposed going ahead with development, intending it to be the primary weapon for the F5D Skylancer interceptor . It was later selected, with some controversy, to be the primary weapon for the Canadian Avro Arrow supersonic interceptor, along with the new Astra fire-control system. For Canadian use and as

2294-634: The Sparrow missile. The Soviet Union acquired an AIM-7 in 1968 and a Vympel team started copying it as the K-25 . The missile did not enter production as the R-23 was thought to have better versatility, range, signal processing logic, and immunity to interference. K-25 work ended in 1971, but analysis of the Sparrow was later used to inform the design of the Vympel R-27 , particularly the servomechanisms and movable wings. British Aerospace (BAe) licensed

2356-486: The Sparrow use semi-active radar homing . To accommodate the active radar guidance system, the AAM-N-3 Sparrow II had a much greater volume than its predecessor. Its size would subsequently set the precedent for all future Sparrow variants. In 1959, Canadair had completed five missiles based on airframes from Douglas, and built two models from scratch, when the program was cancelled with the cancellation of

2418-463: The air-to-air Sparrow ended in the 1990s. Only the Sea Sparrow, therefore, remained using the basic platform — with no need to be suitable for aircraft. Rather than using the existing P and R models, it was decided to dramatically upgrade the weapon. The Evolved SeaSparrow (ESSM) emerged as a completely new weapon, sharing only the name with the original. All of the same support equipment was used, though, allowing it to be fitted to ships already mounting

2480-483: The budget led to it being cancelled in 1997. The U.S. Navy planned to operate the missile through 2018. The Sparrow is now being phased out with the availability of the active-radar AIM-120 AMRAAM , but is likely to remain in service for several years. As part of the Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow program, Canadair (now Bombardier ) partnered with Douglas Aircraft Company in the development of

2542-648: The design of the Standard Flex 300 vessel (later named the Flyvefisken class ); 16 of which could replace the 22 previous vessels. These were 54-metre (177 ft 2 in) long, 320-ton patrol vessels , fitted with one Standard Flex slot forward and three aft. The modules themselves were designed by the Naval Materiel Command and Promecon A/S. Construction commenced in July 1985, with 14 vessels (2 having been cancelled in 1993) commissioned by mid-1996. As other warship types were replaced,

RIM-162 ESSM - Misplaced Pages Continue

2604-590: The early 1970s, the RAF developed the Skyflash version with an inverse monopulse seeker and improved motor, while the Italian Air Force introduced the similar Aspide . Both could be fired at targets below the launching fighter (" look-down, shoot-down "), were more resistant to countermeasures, and were much more accurate in the terminal phase. This basic concept then became part of the US Sparrows in

2666-415: The enemy fighter would often approach within the range of shorter-range infrared homing missiles while the launching aircraft had to continue flying towards its target. Additionally, early models were only effective against targets at roughly the same or higher altitudes, below which reflections from the ground became a problem. A number of upgraded Sparrow designs were developed to address these issues. In

2728-542: The first time the ESSM was used in a combat situation. In 2018, the ESSM Block 2 passed its first live fire test, successfully intercepting a BQM-74E target drone using its active guidance seeker-head. Source: US Navy—Fact File: Evolved Seasparrow Missile ESSM Consortium Members: Foreign Military Sales (FMS): AIM-7 Sparrow The AIM-7 Sparrow (Air Intercept Missile ) is an American medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile operated by

2790-553: The fuzing, and the E-4 featured a modified seeker for use with the F-14 Tomcat . Improved versions of the AIM-7 were developed in the 1970s in an attempt to address the weapon's limitations. The AIM-7F , which entered service in 1976, had a dual-stage rocket motor for longer range, solid-state electronics for greatly improved reliability, and a larger warhead. Even this version had room for improvement, leading British Aerospace and

2852-578: The guidance electronics to make it effective at higher closing speeds. It was originally designed to take the Thiokol LR44-RM-2 liquid-fuel rocket motor, but the decision was made to retain the solid fuel rocket motor. The -6a was also selected to arm the Air Force's F-110A Spectre ( F-4 Phantom ) fighters in 1962, known to them as the AIM-101 . It entered production in 1959, with 7500 being built. With an improved Rocketdyne solid-fuel motor,

2914-462: The head-on aspect, making it much more useful in the visual limitations imposed on the engagements. Even so, its kill rate was only 13% in combat, leading to a practice of ripple-firing all four at once in hopes of increasing kill probability. Its worst tendency was to detonate prematurely about 1,000 feet ahead of the launching aircraft, but it also had many motor failures, erratic flights, and fuzing problems. An E-3 version included additional changes to

2976-419: The internal components of newer missiles represent major improvements, with vastly increased capabilities. The warhead is of the continuous-rod type. As with other semi-active radar guided missiles, the missile does not generate radar signals, but instead homes in on reflected continuous-wave signals from the launch platform's radar. The receiver also senses the guidance radar to enable comparisons that enhance

3038-433: The missile to attacks against targets flying a straight course and made it essentially useless against a maneuvering target. Only about 2,000 rounds were produced to this standard. As early as 1950, Douglas examined equipping the Sparrow with an active radar seeker, initially known as XAAM-N-2a Sparrow II , the original retroactively becoming Sparrow I . In 1952, it was given the new code AAM-N-3 . The active radar made

3100-427: The missile's resistance to passive jamming. The launching aircraft illuminates the target with its radar. In 1950s radars, these were single-target tracking devices using a nutating horn as part of the antenna, thereby sweeping the beam in a small cone. Signal processing is applied to determine the direction of maximum illumination, thereby developing a signal to steer the antenna toward the target. The missile detects

3162-508: The missile, unlike Semi-active radar homing (SARH) missiles which require continuous radar-assisted guidance throughout flight. This allowed the aircraft that fired the AAM-N-3 to turn away, prosecute other targets, and/or escape from potential retaliatory missiles fired by the enemy aircraft during the time it took for the Sparrow to reach its target. Despite the significant advantages of this design over SARH guidance, all subsequent models of

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3224-478: The missiles easy to network into the Navy's emerging Cooperative Engagement Capability . Unlike Block 1, Block 2's active radar homing seeker supports terminal engagement without the launch ship's target illumination radars. The upgraded blast-fragmentation warhead was designed, developed and is being produced by Roketsan . The improved ESSM Block II will be fielded by the US Navy from 2020. The original launcher

3286-461: The new vessels were designed to carry StanFlex modules. Stanflex modules are constructed by Monberg & Thorsen . Each module is housed in a stainless steel container measuring 3 metres (9.8 ft) in length, 3.5 metres (11 ft) in width, and 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) in height. Precision-machined flanges ensure that the module accurately mates up with connections for power, ventilation, communications, water, and data. The weapon or system

3348-489: The older models. Compared to the Sea Sparrow, ESSM has a larger, more powerful rocket motor — developed by Orbital ATK in cooperation with Nammo Raufoss — for increased range and agility, as well as upgraded aerodynamics using strakes and skid-to-turn . In addition, ESSM takes advantage of the latest missile guidance technology, with different versions for Aegis / AN/SPY-1 , Sewaco/ Active Phased Array Radar (APAR), and traditional target illumination all-the-way. In

3410-470: The other comprising two ESSMs) against two incoming Iris target drones. All ESSM launches from De Zeven Provinciën and Sachsen -class frigates involved ESSMs quad-packed in a Mark 41 Vertical Launching System . The first "kill" by the RIM-162D from a United States Navy carrier's Mk 29 launcher was achieved during a training exercise by USS  John C. Stennis on 7 October 2008. On 14 May 2013,

3472-527: The reflected signal from the target with a high-gain antenna in a similar fashion and steers the entire missile toward closure with the target. The missile guidance also samples a portion of the illuminating signal via rearward-pointing waveguides . The comparison of these two signals enabled logic circuits to determine the true target reflection signal, even if the target were to eject radar-reflecting chaff . Related development StanFlex StanFlex (also known as STANFLEX or Standard Flex )

3534-481: The tracking and missile-firing tests, target profiles were provided by Greek-built EADS/3Sigma Iris PVK medium-range subsonic target drones. [...] According to the RNLN, ... " APAR immediately acquired the missile and maintained track until destruction". [...] These ground-breaking tests represented the world's first live verification of the ICWI technique. In August 2004, a German Navy Sachsen -class frigate completed

3596-422: Was considered disappointing. The mixed results were a combination of reliability problems (exacerbated by the tropical climate), limited pilot training in fighter-to-fighter combat, and restrictive rules of engagement that generally prohibited BVR (beyond visual range) engagements. The P k (kill probability) of the AIM-7E was less than 10%; US fighter pilots shot down 59 aircraft out of the 612 Sparrows fired. Of

3658-425: Was intended primarily for use against larger targets, especially bombers, and had numerous operational limitations in other uses. Against smaller targets, the need to receive a strong reflected radar signal made it difficult to achieve lock-on at the missile's effective range. As the launching aircraft's own radar needed to be pointed at the target throughout the engagement, this meant that in fighter-vs-fighter combat

3720-551: Was proposed by BAe and Thomson-CSF , but did not receive funding because the RAF opted for other missiles. The Sparrow has four major sections: guidance section, warhead , control, and rocket motor (currently the Hercules MK-58 solid-propellant rocket motor). It has a cylindrical body with four wings at mid-body and four tail fins. Although the external dimensions of the Sparrow remained relatively unchanged from model to model,

3782-540: Was upgraded to follow improvements being made in the air-to-air Sparrow models used by the US Navy and US Air Force . The ultimate version in this line was the R model, which introduced a new dual-seeker homing system and many other upgrades. In the air-to-air role, however, this was passed over in favor of the AIM-120 AMRAAM , which offered much higher performance from a smaller and lighter missile. Development of

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3844-463: Was used to good advantage in the 1991 Gulf War , where it scored many USAF air-to-air kills. Of 44 missiles fired, 30 (68.2%) hit their intended targets resulting in 24/26 (54.5%/59.1%) kills. 19 kills were obtained beyond visual range. The AIM-7P is similar in most ways to the M versions, and was primarily an upgrade for existing M-series missiles. Changes were mainly to the software, improving low-level performance. A follow-on Block II upgrade added

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