Posted on 10/29/2014 8:12:52 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
The US Navy’s SeaRAM is far from the only ship-based missile defence turret sailing the high seas. French weapons manufacturer MBDA, in fact, has just begun testing a remotely controlled missile launcher of its own. One that finally moves the turret’s operator out of the line of fire.
The original MBDA SIMBAD twin-missile launcher was originally developed in the 1990s as a stabilised, deck-mounted launcher for the company’s Mistral short-range, anti-air missiles. It performed the same basic role as the SeaRAM, a last line of defence against incoming air threats, but it was operated directly by a sailor using an optical sight. Somebody had to stand on deck — in the middle of an attack — to aim and fire.
The new SIMBAD-RC, however, makes the operator’s job much less harrowing as it is remotely controlled. Rather than standing directly behind what the attackers are shooting at, the new system places its operator safely below deck behind a command console. Each operator can control a pair of launchers from a single console.
What’s more, the platform fires MBDA’s new Mistral 2 missiles. These are fully autonomous “fire and forget” projectiles measuring 1.8m in length and carrying a 3kg HE warhead packed with tungsten ball projectiles at mach 2.5. Its passive IR seeker boasts a 93 per cent kill rate in training against everything from fixed-wing aircraft to multi-rotor UAVs. You might say this turret is SIMBAD-ass.
The RC’s improvements over its manual predecessor have made it a popular first line of defence of the French Navy’s fleet of Fast Patrol Boats, which are used largely in littoral waters, as well as an augment to existing anti-aircraft systems aboard the navy’s warships. MBDA has even begun exporting the launcher, albeit to an undisclosed foreign power.
Only 2 missiles though.
As impressive as this espresso-machine styling is, doesn’t some brave matelot have to leave his brioche below decks to go topside and reload it?
That’s the trade-off, but its far lighter than any other close-in missile system so you can use it on much lighter vessels.
I assume these are mounted on the Vladivostok? The Mistral Class ship the French were to deliver to Russia?
Gotta go outside to reload.
But, what do you prefer? A fancy auto-reloading system you can’t afford to build, weighs too much to install without flipping the small boat over, or going outside to reload?
Too damn many of our new weapons systems are too damn complex. Cost too much. Take too long to design, test and manufactor ... so they’re too expensive, so they don’t get installed.
WWII? The 40 mm twin Orelikin AA guns needed a crew of 20 to load and handle ammo racks and load and train by hand! But they got built and installed and used by the tens of thousands.
Yeah, my thought too. Reloading?
Looks like the missile and launcher tube are a unit. Fire two, snap off tube (or it self-ejects a a few seconds after launch. . .), snap in two new ones.
But as this is a short-range, last-ditch weapon system, I suspect the need for a combat reload is low amongst the design considerations. . .
OK, then! Now what about all that exposed plumbing and wiring? Surely that's not going to be useful on a deck exposed to weather, or heaven forbid, enemy fire of some sort.
OK Froggies, let's see Mark II.
Looking it up, it’s an IR missile. So you need three electronic feeds, plus video and turret control.
Feed 1 blows/retracts the cover and powers it up.
Feed 2 is Tone from the IR tracker.
Feed 3 fires.
Snap-in or strap mountings, and a screw-lock connector.
Hydraulic and electric lines in armored cable.
Seems straightforward enough as an engineering problem . . .
Vive la France!
Gotcha! What I particularly like about this system is that it looks small, suitable for patrol boats.
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