Weapons Engineering - Gunnery and Missile Systems

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Pelican
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Re: Weapons Engineering - Gunnery and Missile Systems

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This article may be of interest to some members?

From Sea Dart to Sea Viper – area air defence for the Royal Navy
In this article, we consider the highly regarded Sea Viper missile carried by the Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyers and its predecessor, the Sea Dart missile system.

2G SAM
The Sea Dart GWS-30 surface to air missile system began development in 1960s and first went to sea with HMS Bristol in 1973. This was the RN’s second-generation area air defence missile and replaced the cumbersome Sea Slug carried by the County class destroyers which was virtually obsolete even before it entered service. The Sea Dart was originally designed to counter medium and high altitude Soviet aircraft and was initially ineffective against sea-skimming targets due to limitation on sensor and guidance technology carrier by the ship. During the 1982 Falklands War its performance was mixed, 26 Sea Darts were launched in anger, achieving 8 confirmed kills. To date, Sea Dart retains a unique place in history as the only missile to take out another missile in action. During the first Gulf War in February 1991, HMS Gloucester destroyed a land-launched Iraqi Silkworm missile heading for USS Missouri.

The Sea Dart was a two-stage ramjet missile manufactured by British Aerospace from 1970. On launch, the solid fuel booster burned for 2.5 seconds propelling the missile up to about Mach 2.5 before falling away. A kerosene-powered Rolls Royce Odin ramjet motor would take speed up to about Mach 3.5 and burn for the entire flight, providing good manoeuvrability at extreme range. The later version of the missile had a theoretical range of about 150km, although very much subject to the limitations of the ship’s radar. The target was initially acquired by the Type 1022 long-range air search radar. Once launched, it was guided by its semi-active homing system which relied on the ship illuminating the target with one of its two dedicated Type 909 fire-control radars. Four antennae on the nose of the missile picked up the reflected signals using an analogue interferometer to calculate the homing trajectory. This method of guidance was susceptible to jamming, although resistance improved with the later versions.

Continues at - https://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/from-s ... RRf94UOelc
HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Little h
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Re: Weapons Engineering - Gunnery and Missile Systems

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ODIN Optical Dazzling Interdictor Navy


Chris Cavas
‏Verified account @CavasShips

The US #Navy's newly-installed #ODIN Optical Dazzling Interdictor Navy #laser system seen on #destroyer #DEWEY DDG105 at San Diego 14 Feb. The weapon, mounted on the fwd #CIWS supporting structure, is intended to counter #UAV #UAS unmanned aerial systems https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=112136
ERjpAsqWsAMP1BN.jpg
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Little h
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Pelican
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Re: Weapons Engineering - Gunnery and Missile Systems

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Last ditch defence – the Phalanx close-in weapon system in focus

The ubiquitous Phalanx close-in weapon system (CIWS) provides warships a last line of defence against missiles, aircraft and small boats. Upgraded over time, it has been in service for 38 years with the Royal Navy. Here we look at the history, design and capabilities of this system.

History
Development of the Vulcan Phalanx began in the 1960s as the US Navy woke up to the threat of the sea-skimmers after the destruction of Israeli destroyer Eilat by Russian-made Styx missiles in 1967. The M61 Vulcan Gatling gun had been in service since 1959 and was initially developed for use in air-air combat. Using a Gatling gun combined with radar in the close air defence role to create a ‘wall of steel’ offered a relatively simple solution. In parallel, the US Army pursued a similar idea, producing the tracked vehicle M163 Vulcan Air Defense System (VADS).

The first Phalanx prototype was installed on destroyer, USS King, in 1973. Substantial development and trials were needed before the Mk-15 Phalanx went into full production in 1978 with USS Coral Sea taking the first operational Block 0 mounts to sea in 1980. In the late 1970s, the RN was also aware of the threat from sea skimmers and the GWS-25 Sea Wolf Point Defence Missile System was seen as the answer. Unfortunately, Sea Wolf was expensive, had a large equipment footprint and had only been fitted to a handful of frigates when the Falklands war unexpectedly erupted in April 1982. HMS Sheffield and MV Atlantic Conveyor were lost and HMS Glamorgan badly damaged by Exocet missiles. Other ships were hit during low-level bomb attack and the lack of close-in defensive capability was badly exposed. The loss of HMS Coventry in particular also demonstrated the fallibility of missile systems, even if a PDMS is present a more potent CIWS could provide a last-ditch backup.

Continues at:
https://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/last-d ... uEwhrJfdz0
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Pelican
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Babcock contract extended for Royal Navy 4.5 inch guns
April 9, 20212
Babcock International and BAE Systems have been awarded a five year contract extension by the Ministry of Defence to continue in-service support to the Royal Navy’s 4.5 Mk8 Medium Calibre Gun (MCG).

Continues at:
https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/babcock ... dsl5Pe36FQ
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Re: Weapons Engineering - Gunnery and Missile Systems

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What should be the United States’ next move on hypersonic tech?

See - https://www.defensenews.com/air/2022/03 ... iRqCmnPFD8

Some sbort extracts:
the future of hypersonic weapons, one of the most hyped, debated and costly weapons initiatives in years. The government [US] is expected to spend $15 billion on the effort between 2015 and 2024.
But while they chewed over the obstacles of supply chains, acquisition and testing facilities, hovering in the background were high-profile Chinese advancements in the cutting-edge weapons, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s boasts of his nation’s progress on hypersonic technology and questions at home about whether the United States is on the right track.
Hypersonic weapons can travel multiple times faster than the speed of sound — greater than Mach 5 — and can maneuver midflight. This makes them capable of penetrating defenses and much harder to track and shoot down than conventional ballistic missiles, which follow a predictable parabolic track. Both China and Russia have invested heavily into hypersonic research; look no further than Russia’s Avangard, a long-range boost glide vehicle.
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Re: Weapons Engineering - Gunnery and Missile Systems

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Navy Lookout

After long delays, trials of Dragonfire have finally begun. UK's Directed Energy Weapon technology demonstrator.

First step is to prove precise pointing / tracking accuracy to keep the laser focused on single point, before a high-powered laser is used.

See - https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... ted-trials
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Re: Weapons Engineering - Gunnery and Missile Systems

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Pelican wrote: Mon Jul 18, 2022 1:23 pm Navy Lookout

After long delays, trials of Dragonfire have finally begun. UK's Directed Energy Weapon technology demonstrator.

First step is to prove precise pointing / tracking accuracy to keep the laser focused on single point, before a high-powered laser is used.

See - https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... ted-trials
British ‘Dragonfire’ laser weapon passes early trials

Dragonfire, the UK’s Laser Directed Energy Programme (LDEW) led by MBDA, has successfully begun a series of trials to prove the accuracy and power of the novel laser weapon.

MBDA say here that the first of these trials recently conducted by the Dragonfire consortium – a joint industry and Ministry of Defence collaboration between MBDA, Leonardo, QinetiQ and Dstl – at low power proved the system “can successfully track air and sea targets with exceptionally high accuracy”.

Continues at - https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/british ... Y3wEdnW9H0
HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Re: Weapons Engineering - Gunnery and Missile Systems

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BELFAST

HMS Belfast's primary armament throughout her life was her 6-inch guns. It took over 200 men working together over 8 decks to keep these guns firing - what made these guns so complicated? Our experts take us from the Gun Direction Platform to the Fire Control Table, then into A-Turret and A-Turret's shell room to see how exactly they worked. We then take a look at her secondary 4-inch guns and where her two Supermarine Walruses used to stand.

[Very informative]

See - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IhMmLYCOnE - Duration 14 minutes.

Link from Tim.
HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Watch Lockheed Martin test its layered laser defense system

The firm has the technology to defend against small rockets, artillery shells and mortars, small unmanned aerial vehicles, small attack boats, and lightweight ground vehicles.
Lockheed Martin's layered laser defense system is meant to protect military forces and infrastructure.
It can be added to military aircraft, ground vehicles and ships.
The technology ”enables precision equivalent to shooting a beach ball off the top of the Empire State Building from the San Francisco Bay Bridge.”
Lockheed Martin is developing laser weapon systems to protect soldiers at sea, in the air, and on the ground, according to the firm’s website. Called the layered laser defense system, this innovation is combined with expert platform integration to defeat a growing range of threats to military forces and infrastructure.
“Our technology today is ready to defend against small rockets, artillery shells and mortars, small unmanned aerial vehicles, small attack boats, and lightweight ground vehicles that are approximately a mile way,” says the firm on its website. “As fiber laser power levels increase, our systems will be able to disable larger threats and do so across greater distances. When operated in conjunction with kinetic energy systems, these systems can serve as a force multiplier.”

See - https://interestingengineering.com/inno ... nse-system

Link from Tim.
HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Looking down on the six 14 inch guns of "A" and "B" turrets mounted on the focsle of HMS Prince of Wales
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