A demonstration of the new missile-defence technology. Source: Supplied
Posted on 02/16/2014 9:33:29 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
LAST year, during a naval exercise off California, a dummy missile fired at an American warship roared through the cruiser’s defences and slammed into its superstructure, starting a fire and injuring two sailors.
The dummy missile, with no warhead fitted, punched a hole half a metre wide in the port side of the guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorville, which returned to port for repairs.
When a similar American missile was fired at the Australian frigate HMAS Perth in an exercise off Hawaii, the Australian crew shot it down using technology developed in the suburbs of Canberra and Adelaide.
The Australian warship - dubbed “Robo-Frigate” by the navy after its exploit - is now considered the most advanced vessel of its class in the world.
Building on the spectacular success of the frigate’s homegrown missile-defence system, Defence Minister David Johnston has invited allied ambassadors for a briefing on it later this month.
Senator Johnston told The Weekend Australian the new technology had proved more effective and less expensive than the best in the world.
Those involved in developing the system say the Americans and several other navies have already shown a keen interest in buying the system, opening up export possibilities for Australian defence technology that could be worth billions.
HMAS Perth was the first of the navy’s eight ANZAC-class frigates to be fitted with the phased array radar and combat-management system, which proved able to defend it even against supersonic, sea-skimming missiles.
HMAS Perth’s commanding officer, Captain Lee Goddard, said the exercise was so realistic that, while the frigate’s crew knew missiles were going to be fired at them, they had no idea when that would happen or what direction the missiles would come
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.com.au ...
A demonstration of the new missile-defence technology. Source: Supplied
Source: Supplied
LAST year, during a naval exercise off California, a dummy missile fired at an American warship roared through the cruiser’s defences and slammed into its superstructure, starting a fire and injuring two sailors.The dummy missile, with no warhead fitted, punched a hole half a metre wide in the port side of the guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorville, which returned to port for repairs.
A little disconcerting, to say the least. Anyone have a link to more about this incident? Were all the usual defenses in place? Isn't it a bit unusual to fire a missile, dummy or not, at a operational warship?
One would think so
The CEAFAR/CEAMOUNT system is an outstanding bit of kit. Basically you’re looking at near SPY/1D capability in a 3000t frigate plus over a dozen CWI illumination channels.
We and the USN are working together on the next gen of phased array radars.
It will put up a good defense against the new Russian, German and Chinese mach 3 plus missiles.
We've been working together for a while. Background info.
The USS Chancellorville is a Ticonderoga-class Guided-missile (CG) cruiser, the first Class to sport the Aegis system.
Some may recall all the problems they had early on. I couldn’t find a link to the early ones, but this here
http://www.hawaii.edu/uhmfs/uarc/Attach_001.Pierce.pdf
outlines problems as recent as 2006.
At one time our defense industry was top-tier in software; now the US can’t make a website work or integrate new systems for various agencies; the paper at the link above goes a bit into the “military laboratory community” competing with “civilian industry”.
Is anyone surprised they test defense systems? Or that it FAILED? Not this military-tech-geek...I’m more surprised someone in the Navy had the BRASS to pull that stunt, if that’s what happened (bet he’s parked in a pasture by now). Reports I’ve found are that the drone was supposed to turn away from the ship more than a mile away...
“Malfunction of target drone”.
Yeah, right. They’re lucky the ‘malfunctioning drone’ wasn’t a GQM-163A...(or an SS-N-27, for that matter).
Did $30 million in damage.
But the good folks at the Navy screw up from time to time, don’t we all?
Here’s my favorite story about Naval screw-ups. The destroyer William D. Porter fired a live torpedo at the Iowa, which was carrying FDR and Sec of State Hull across the Atlantic to attend the Tehran conference.
http://bernews.com/2012/02/torpedo-shot-which-almost-changed-history/
Thanks sukhoi-30mki.
Henceforth, Porter was always greeted with the most famous naval signal since Trafalger: "Don't shoot, we're Republicans."
It has been known for some time that gun-type CIWS like the Phalanx and Goalkeeper are obsolete against modern cruise missile designs. Another dirty secret is their efficacy against saturation attacks from modern supersonic cruise missiles (by modern I mean the Oniks/Yakhont not the Moskit/Sunburn) coming at different altitude vectors. Let’s just say that a military confrontation between major/regional players would be quite different from an Iraq/Bosnian/Afghanistan campaign. Many lives would be lost from what some on FR call useless equipment.
I was referring to the actual efficacy of the main anti-missile defence systems, that is, the Standard Missile plus ESSM mix. The gun-type R2D2 systems have been known to be ineffective for some time, but there are concerns about the efficacy of mid and short range missile systems against a saturation attack of high speed maneuvering missiles. It was always the case even back in the days of the Sunburn but modern missiles like the Yakhont and the Klub make it greater. Defensive missiles like the modern variants of the Standard have also become much more effective, and of course the ESSM and rolling airframe missile make the short game much better, but a swarm of incoming Yakhonts would almost guarantee a mission kill at least. Only one needs to get through, and the kinetic speed alone would be sufficient to accomplish a mission kill - even if the warhead did not detonate. This is why active phased array radars - in essence AESAs - and far faster and more agile anti-missile missiles, are imperative.
This is why active phased array radars - in essence AESAs - and far faster and more agile anti-missile missiles, are imperative.
Exactly, and the Yakhont type will only get more numerous and refined in the future, as well as numerous other non American, non Commonwealth weapons.
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