Posted on 02/04/2004 6:49:25 PM PST by serurier
The Arrow 2 theatre ballistic missile defence system has been developed by the MLM Division of Israel Aircraft Industries and is in operation with the Israeli Defence Forces. The system, carrying the codename Homa or Fence, is to be deployed in three batteries including one battery near Tel Aviv and one to the south of Haifa. The first battery became operational in 2000.
The demonstrator phase of the program began in 1988 when the US Department of Defense Strategic Defence Initiative placed a contract on the Electronics Division of Israel Aircraft Industries to build and test the Chetz-1 (Hebrew name for Arrow 1) Anti Tactical Ballistic Missile (ATBM) system. Following the successful completion of the demonstrator tests, the system entered full-scale development and pre-production. In 2004, it is planned to test the system against Scud C and D missiles at the US Navy’s Point Mugu test range.
The weight of the Arrow 1 was 2,000kg. A new missile was developed, Arrow 2, with a launch weight of 1,300kg, which was first tested in 1995. Arrow 2 has successfully acquired, tracked and destroyed TM-91 Arrow missile targets from ranges of 60km and 100km. Further Arrow Weapon System developments have been planned and will be funded by Israel and the USA.
In February 2003, IAI signed an agreement with Boeing to establish the production infrastructure to manufacture components of the Arrow missile in the US. Boeing will be responsible for the production of approximately 50% of the missile components in the US. Boeing will produce various missile components and co-ordinate the production of existing Arrow missile components already being manufactured by more than 150 American companies. IAI will be responsible for integration and final assembly of the missile in Israel.
An Arrow Weapon System battery is equipped with typically four or eight launch trailers, each with six launch tubes and ready-to-fire missiles, a truck mounted Hazelnut Tree Launch Control Centre, a truck mounted communications centre, a trailer mounted Citron Tree fire control centre and the units of a mobile Green Pine radar system.
ARROW 2 MISSILE LAUNCH PLATOON The missile launch platoon consists of the Hazelnut Tree truck-mounted Launch Control Centre (LCC) with four or eight missile launch trailers. The entire launch platoon is mobile and able to relocate to a new site. After firing the launchers can be reloaded in an hour.
There are microwave and radio data and voice communications links between the launch centre and the radar command and control centre. The launch system can be located up to 300km from the site selected for the radar command and control centre.
ARROW 2 ATBM MISSILE The two-stage missile is equipped with solid propellant booster and sustainer rocket motors. The missile uses an initial burn to carry out a vertical hot launch from the container and a secondary burn to sustain the missile's trajectory towards the target at a maximum speed of Mach 9, or 2.5km/s. Thrust vector control is used in the boost and sustainer phases of flight. At the ignition of the second stage sustainer motor, the first stage assembly separates.
The Arrow missile is launched before the threat missile's trajectory and intercept point are accurately known. As more trajectory data becomes available, the optimum intercept point is more precisely defined and the missile is guided towards the optimum intercept point.
The kill vehicle section of the missile, containing the warhead, fusing and the terminal seeker, is equipped with four aerodynamically controlled moving fins to give low altitude interception capability. The warhead is a high explosive directed blast fragmentation warhead developed by Rafael, which is capable of destroying a target within a 50m radius. The dual mode missile seeker has a passive infrared seeker for the acquisition and tracking of tactical ballistic missiles and an active radar seeker used to home on air breathing targets at low altitudes. The infrared seeker is an indium antimonide focal plane array developed by Raytheon (formerly Amber Engineering).
The intercept altitudes are from a minimum of 10km up to a maximum of 50km. The maximum intercept range is approx. 90km.
GREEN PINE EARLY WARNING FIRE CONTROL AND MISSILE GUIDANCE RADAR The Elta Electronic Industries subsidiary of IAI Electronic Group developed the Green Pine early warning and fire control radar for the Arrow system. The radar carries the designation EL/M-2090 and includes the trailer mounted radar and antenna array, the power generator, a cooling system and a radar control centre.
Green Pine is an electronically scanned, solid state, phased array radar operating at L-band in the range 500MHz to 1,000MHz, and was developed from the Elta Music phased array radar. The radar operates in search, detection, tracking and missile guidance modes simultaneously.
The radar can detect targets at ranges up to about 500km and is able to track targets up to speeds over 3,000m/s. The radar illuminates the target and guides the Arrow missile to within 4m of the target.
India has placed an order for the supply of two Elta Green Pine for use with India's air defence system against ballistic missiles. The first was delivered in 2001.
CITRON TREE FIRE CONTROL CENTRE Tadiran Electronics Limited is the prime contractor for the Citron Tree battle management / fire control centre. Citron Tree, which is trailer mounted, downloads the radar data along with data from other sources and uses powerful signal processing tools to manage the threat interceptions fully automatically, including against single and multiple threats. The system has man-in-the-loop intervention capability at every stage.
The fire control and battle management centre has computer workstations for the Sky Situation Co-ordinator, Intelligence Officer, Post Mission Analysis Officer, Resource Officer and Senior Engagement Officer as well as the Commander's station. The workstations display a large electronic map showing the area of battle. Predicted and confirmed launch sites are colour coded to show priority sites.
When a missile launch is detected, the launch site, the missile's position and trajectory and the predicted impact point are displayed on the electronic map. The predicted impact point is displayed as an ellipse on the map. The size of the impact ellipse shrinks as the missile's trajectory stabilises and the trajectory data becomes available. The trajectory image is colour matched to the image of its launch site. The optimum intercept point is also displayed. The centre can control up to 14 intercepts simultaneously.
Link 16, Tadil J, communications is being developed to allow interoperability with Patriot fire control units. Assigned targets can be handed over to the Patriot's N/MPQ fire control radar. Tests carried out by the US and Israel have successfully linked the Arrow and US Patriot and also the Arrow and Israeli Defence Force Patriot version.
ARROW 2 THEATRE BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENCE SYSTEM, ISRAEL The Arrow 2 theatre ballistic missile defence system has been developed by the MLM Division of Israel Aircraft Industries and is in operation with the Israeli Defence Forces. The system, carrying the codename Homa or Fence, is to be deployed in three batteries including one battery near Tel Aviv and one to the south of Haifa. The first battery became operational in 2000.
Thank you for the post Serurier!
Private Mail to be added to or removed from the GNFI (or Pro-Coalition) ping list.
Doesn't say where the third battery would go. The nuclear weapons facility at Dimona?
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