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Russian media is reporting that the long awaited upgrade of the Kashtan (Chestnut) close-in weapon system (CIWS) will begin testing in 2018. Trials will start on a land range before moving to the sea aboard one of Russia's Project 1241 Molniya missile corvettes in the Black Sea. The country's new Project 22800 Karakurt corvettes will be the first vessels to receive the system operationally once testing is complete. Panstir-ME appears to be something of a mix between the potent Pantsir-S1 land-mobile self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery gun system and existing Kashtan CIWS installations found on many Russian-built naval vessels dating back to...

A new sea-based missile system was presented to the world on June 28 during a naval show in St. Petersburg. However, the project hasn’t yet been greenlighted by the Ministry of Defense, so it remains to be seen if it will be adopted by the Russian military. What’s the difference between the sea and land versions? The new “Pantsir-ME” will be able to intercept missiles during rough seas, rain, wind, and even storms. It will also be more compact and covered with an anticorrosive sheath to ensure its longevity. “The biggest difference is that ‘Pantsir-S’ missiles have to intercept targets...

A proposal to introduce a multi-role 35mm gun system into the RAN could broaden capabilities and provide potential commonality with the ground-based air defence requirement being sought under Project Land 19 Phase 7B. Julian Kerr | Sydney This would, however, require a major change to the status quo, and the acceptance by Navy of the benefits to be derived from a sophisticated gun system in a calibre with which it is not familiar in the Australian environment. Current RAN smaller-calibre weaponry is a mixed bag; 30mm cannon on the Huon class minehunters, 25mm cannon on the Canberra class Landing Helicopter...

During IDEX-NAVDEX, held from 19th to 23rd February in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, Chinese company CSSC (China Shipbuilding Trading Co. Ltd.) unveiled the Type 730C dual gun and missile close in weapon system (CIWS). It combines the existing Type 730 seven-barrelled 30 mm Gatling gun system (Chinese Navy designation: H/PJ12) with 6x FL-3000N (Flying Leopard 3000 Naval missile, Chinese Navy designation: AJK-10 or HQ-10). Type 730C dual gun and missile CIWS According to a CSSC video, one set of fire control system uniformly manages missiles and ship borne guns to alternately hit incoming targets. SAM can work...

At Euronaval 2016, the largest naval defense exhibition in the world currently held in France, Thales unveiled the RAPIDSeaGuardian 40mm multi role artillery. It is basically a naval version of the famous landbased RAPIDFire system, using the same 40CTA canon (by Nexter & BAE Systems: CTA International). Thales RAPIDSeaGuardian CIWS Euronaval 2016 news Thales RAPIDSeaGuardian Naval Gun System Thanks to its powerful anti-aircraft gun and optronic fire-control, RAPIDSeaGuardian is optimised to defeat new air threats such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), helicopters, Fighters-Ground Attack (FGA), cruise missiles, Fast Patrol Boats, seaskimming missiles,... Either in an autonomous or integrated mode, RAPIDSeaGuardian...

A SeaRAM launcher at the Raytheon Louisville, Ky. plant. Raytheon Photo LOUISVILLE, KY. – The Navy is considering expanding the number of SeaRAM installations on its ships beyond a quartet of ballistic missile defense ships based in Spain and Littoral Combat Ships, a service official told USNI News on Tuesday. “Internally to the Navy there are trade studies going on to look at where to place SeaRAM on different ship classes,” Capt. Craig Bowden with Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems said. While no decisions have been made, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations assessment arm (OPNAV 81)...

Based on pictures that have been just released by Chinese spotters, it appears that the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN or Chinese Navy) next in-line Type 052D Destroyers (NATO reporting name Luyang III class) will be fitted with the H/PJ-11 close-in weapon system (CIWS) instead of the smaller H/PJ-12 currently fitted on existing vessels of the class. The H/PJ-12 seven-barreled 30mm CIWS (sometimes referred as Type 730 which is the export designation.) is present on the first four destroyers in the series already commissioned (as well as on a few other hulls currently at various stages of completion). It is...

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Navy is going to have an indigenized version of the Phalanx, a close-in weapon system (CIWS) on the military vessels used for defense against anti-ship missiles, a top commander said. Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency, Lieutenant Commander of Iran’s Navy Admiral Gholam Reza Biqam said the country’s Defense Ministry has gotten good results in upgrading the Phalanx firing system. The Navy will receive the weapon system once the final tests are performed, he explained. Back in March 2015, Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari had unveiled plans for the manufacturing of the homegrown version of...

US Navy / YouTube In response to a range of new threats to its ships, whether it be air- and surface-launched missiles or drone aircraft, the U.S. Navy is improving and expanding its ship-defense capabilities. In early March, a test on the USS Porter—a guided-missile destroyer stationed in Rota, Spain—paired Raytheon's new Block 2 Rolling Airframe Missile with a launch and tracking system called SeaRAM to demonstrate a new way to protect ships. Raytheon's Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) is a lightweight supersonic weapon designed to destroy anti-ship missiles and other airborne threats to a ship at close range, typically less...

The Navy successfully launched the Raytheon SeaRAM Anti-Ship Missile Defense System from an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer for the first time ever on March 4, a final step in rapidly fielding a self-defense capability on the Mediterranean-based USS Porter (DDG-78) through an unconventional acquisition process. Porter last week went through structural test firings to ensure a shield would properly protect the ship from the SeaRAM blast, followed by tracking exercises to verify the accuracy of the detect-to-engage sequence. Finally, on Friday the Navy had its first-ever live fire test of a SeaRAM from a DDG, which took place on...

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Navy commander unveiled plans for the manufacturing of a homegrown version of the Phalanx, a close-in weapon system (CIWS) on board military vessels for defense against anti-ship missiles. “The research work has now started on the Phalanx system to build its Iranian model,” Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told the Tasnim News Agency. “The Western type of the Phalanx system is the most advanced one, and the Islamic Republic of Iran will also move to produce that system definitely,” the commander noted. Consisting of a radar-guided Gatling gun mounted on a swiveling base, the Phalanx has been...

Russian media has reported that China's latest indigenous Type 1130 close-in weapon system can fire 10,000 rounds per minute and destroy 90% of hypersonic missiles traveling at a speed four times the speed of sound, reports our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily. The system, which is the third-generation of the close-in weapon system developed by China, was recently spotted being installed on a PLA Type 054A frigate. Compared to its seven-barreled Type 730 predecessor, the Type 1130's Gatling-type gun has the same 30 mm caliber but the number of barrels increased to 11. While the Type 730 has only one...

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...

RAFAEL unveils at Euronaval the C-DOME - close-in weapon system that provides a defensive shield for naval surface vessels, against multiple simultaneous ripple attacks. C-DOME suite comprises a 10-missile stack, packed in a vertical launch unit installed below deck. The system utilizes combat-proven Tamir interceptor missiles, and command and control, integrated with the ship’s surveillance and air defense radar. Photos: RAFAEL RAFAEL is extending the Iron Dome Counter-Rocket, Artillery and Mortar defense system to the maritime domain, to protect surface vessels from a wide range of threats, including ballistic trajectory and direct attack weapons. The navalized system dubbed ‘C-Dome’ is...

The naval version of the Pantsir anti-aircraft missile and gun system is expected to become operational in 2016. The Russian Navy will receive the new Pantsir anti-aircraft missile and gun system in 2016. It is lighter, more compact, and efficient than its Kortik predecessor, although it may require the modernization of Russian warships. The export prospects of the new anti-aircraft missile and gun system (AAMG) are also still vague, experts say. Service testing of the Pantzir AAMG, which was designed for use by naval forces, has been completed. After 2 years, the sailors will have a promising anti-aircraft gun mounted...

We recently reported that German defense company Rheinmetall received an order for two Oerlikon Millennium automatic cannons from a European navy. According to Russian sources, the unnamed custromer could be Ukraine. Indeed Ukrainian Navy has an ongoing corvette program (Project 58250) with several western equipment onboard including two of the Rheinmetall Close In Weapon System (CIWS). The latest Project 58250 corvette design as shown by Ukrspecexport during International exhibition "Arms and Security-2013". Note the two 35mm guns by the helicopter hangar. The first ship of Project 58250 "Vladimir Veliky" is currently under construction at the Black Sea Shipyard in Nikolaev....

Russian Navy to receive new air defense system The Russian Navy will soon receive a new ship-based gun/missile air defense system, KBP Instrument Design Bureau, the developer of the system, said on Monday. The system, dubbed Pantsyr-M, has been developed on the basis of the land-based Pantsyr-S1 (SA-22 Greyhound). "Pantsyr-M will replace the Kortik air defense systems and will be installed on all new classes of Russian combat ships, from corvettes to cruisers," said Alexander Zhukov, a senior KBP official. Zhukov cited specifications for an export version of Pantsyr-M as the data on the system for the Russian Navy is...

Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), with support from Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Dahlgren, for the second time successfully tracked, engaged, and destroyed a threat representative Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) while in flight, May 24, at San Nicholas Island, Calif. This marks the first Detect-Thru-Engage laser shoot-down of a threat representative target in an over-the-water, combat representative scenario. A total of two UAV targets were engaged and destroyed in a maritime environment during the testing, the second series of successes for the U.S. Navy's Laser Weapon System (LaWS) Program. Members of NAVSEA's Directed Energy and Electric Weapon Systems (DE&EWS) Program...