 |
Posted on 07/31/2003 11:48:58 AM PDT by yonif
Israel is one step closer to producing the most advanced air-to-air missile in history, according to Rafael, the government-owned Israel Armament Development Authority. Its Python-5 has recently passed "significant milestones" in testing and will be ready for operation by 2005.
Together with the American manufacturer Lockheed Martin, Rafael currently produces the Python-4, a 1990s-era heat-seeking missile that effectively gives the attacking pilot a lethal gaze: anything he sees from his cockpit, he can shoot down. But the Python-5 promises, in addition to sharper target recognition electronics, a "full attack envelope" - meaning the pilot can destroy aircraft on his tail without needing to turn his jet around.
"An enemy fighter jet has a very slim chance of surviving the launch of a Python-5," said Col. (res.) Naftali Maimon, who is airborne systems marketing director at the authority.
It is a bold claim. Others are more cautious.
"You have to take claims about experimental weapons with a grain of salt," said Dan Goure, a defense analyst for the Lexington Institute, a Virginia-based think-tank.
It is one thing for a missile to pass a test under ideal conditions. It is quite another for it to do well when the pilot is performing extreme maneuvers in an airspace cluttered with both friend and foe.
But should Rafael's claims be borne out on the battlefield, Goure said that the Python-5 "will be superior to anything out there."
Whatever the case, Rafael has come a long way since its clunky Shafrir-1 missile was introduced into military service back in 1964. The missile division, in particular, has proven itself to be the most profitable part of Rafael, netting $27 million in profits from $760 million in worldwide sales in 2002.
The key to its success: technology.
"I visited the Rafael missile-firing simulator a few years back," said Douglas Richardson, editor of Jane's Missiles and Rockets, "and it was just as advanced as a brand new simulator I visited a few weeks ago in England."
Rafael does not only give the British a run for their money. While the American arms manufacturer Raytheon has sold a number of hi-tech weapons to the IDF, the company's local Tel Aviv distributor does not bother to sell competing systems, such as the Sidewinder AIM-9X air-to-air missile and the anti-tank Javelin, in Israel.
Of course, the sales of a weapon system, or the lack thereof, is not necessarily an indication of its superiority. A missile has to be tailored to a specific enemy, military doctrine, budget, and maintenance ability of the buyer.
"If it were just a matter of inches of penetration per dollar," noted John Pike, a defense analyst for GlobalSecurity.org, "military sales would not be so be protracted."
The Python-5 was designed for aerial dogfights. When launched, the missile goes idle after a millisecond of flight so as not to overshoot its mark, at which point the Python-5 locks on to its target and then matches it move for move.
"It will outmaneuver any plane," said Maimon.
By contrast, the American Sidewinder has a longer reach, but cannot turn on a dime - which is fine by the USAF, which trains for a different kind of air war.
Another hot item offered by Rafael is the Spike, which since 1999 has been in service with the IDF under the name "Gil." Its primary mission is to turn main battle tanks (MBTs) into coffins.
The missile sports a dual, or "tandem" HEAT (high-energy anti-tank) warhead - delivering a lethal one-two punch against the most sophisticated of armor. Due to its arching trajectory, the Spike can also attack the top of the tank, where it is most vulnerable.
"I would not want to be a tank crewman in any future war," said Yosef Berger, a marketing manager in Rafael's Anti-Armor Directorate.
Like horse breeds, the Spike comes in a number of compatible versions: from a light-weight missile (SR) useful for leveling concrete bunkers at 800 meters to a vehicle-borne extended range (ER) projectile, which can destroy a tank eight kilometers away. The armed forces of Holland, Romania, and Finland have already bought the missile system, and Rafael is currently negotiating with Poland for purchase of the Spike. According to an Associated Press report, the deal is worth $250 million and involves thousands of missiles.
The medium-range version of the missile, the Spike-MR, ranks right up there with other "fire-and-forget systems," like the US Javelin and Indian Nag, still under development. But it is the long-range Spike-LR - what Rafael dubs "a lethal observation system" - which takes tank-killing technology to a whole new level.
Upon launch, an optical fiber resembling a fishing line spools out the back of the Spike-LR. This allows the gunner - hiding from behind cover - to peer out from the cyclopean eye of the missile, and if necessary, change the course of its flight.
This added capability is vital on the ever-changing battlefield.
Imagine this scenario: Crouching in the heavy brush, a Spike gunner spots what he thinks is a Russian-built T-72 tank out in the open plains some four kilometers away. He takes aim and fires, but as the missile zeroes in on the target, the gunner suddenly realizes that the vehicle is a dummy.
Now, through the lens of the flying Spike-LR, he sees a real tank nearby, hidden under camouflage netting. Thanks to the fiber optics line, he can redirect the missile to the real target.
"It's like having the brains of a Kamikaze pilot built inside the missile - except you don't have to sacrifice a person for the mission," said Berger.
The company also spares the backs of infantrymen. Both the Spike-MR and -LR systems - the missile, launcher, and tripod - weigh only 26 kilograms (57 pounds), which can be carried comfortably by two soldiers. Want to increase the firepower of the tank-hunting team? Just take two missiles along. Each only weighs 13 kilograms, as opposed to the 15.9-kilogram Javelin.
"Our missile may weigh more than the Spike," countered Mike Conti, who is a manager of Raytheon's Javelin joint project with Lockheed Martin, "but our total system - which does not use a tripod - weighs less."
Conti also noted that, even under unfavorable cold and humid weather conditions, the Javelin gives off only the smallest plume of smoke, helping the gunner to remain undetected. In fact, it can even be fired from inside a bunker no bigger than the average-sized bedroom.
"I won't name names," he said, "but someone seeing the Spike tested in Canada said it looked like the launch of the space shuttle."
The Spike is as simple to master as an arcade video game. Berger recalls how, in 1999, a general came to visit a test firing of the missile on the Golan Heights. The anti-tank operator at the army range gave him a brief introduction on the missile before the launch.
"Then, to everyone's surprise," said Berger, "the officer decided to fire the missile himself - and he hit the target, which was two and a half kilometers away, on the first try."
Of course, Rafael admits that there is still one aspect of performance on which it can improve.
"It's just a matter of software," said Lavi Segal, who is the missile division's general marketing manager.
As for the Javelin, Conti said, "We are confident of the performance of our missile under all battlefield conditions."
Earlier this month, the IAF admitted for the first time that it employs an air-to-surface precision guided munition (PGM) called the Spice.
Though technically a bomb, the Spice functions as a poor man's cruise missile and has catapulted Israel into an exclusive club of countries - including the US, France, Germany, and England - with the technological ability to place an automated, flying explosive through the window of a building 60 kilometers away.
"The Spice is a revolution in air-to-ground warfare," said Alon Amitay, the business development manager of the project.
Launched from the wing of a fighter aircraft, the Spice will plow into a pre-programmed target - be it a bridge, radar station, or military headquarters - at speeds reaching up to Mach 9. And one need not worry, as with laser-guided bombs, about rain and heavy cloud cover fouling up its mission.
Amitay claimed that, in terms of reliability, the Spice even surpasses the GPS-guided bombs that starred in the recent war in Iraq. Since it is not dependent on coordinates fed to it by a satellite, the Israeli-made PGM cannot be jammed. Nor can it be "spoofed," that is, given false coordinates by the enemy who then sends a very expensive bomb into a strategically valueless meadow.
Rafael does admit that the Spice is more expensive than other PGMs. But then again, an American-made Tomahawk cruise missile costs $1 million.
Goure said the Americans are on the cusp of unveiling their smaller "tactical Tomahawk" that could reach hundreds of kilometers. Still, this pocket cruise missile would cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and would be too big to be fired from a fighter-jet.
As it did with the Python project, Rafael is now looking for a foreign partner to expedite sales of the Spice.
"People are excited," said Amitay, "but there is always the issue of politics."
Thus aptly differentiating the world-views of the region.
Hashish.
Ok now you must fix me up with a date with Ann Coulter - get on it.
Modern terrorism.
Sigh.
Makes me wonder about the rest of the article- for one thing, some suspect we have vastly underestimated the efficacy of somee CCCP AAMs- what w/vectoring thrust, off-boresight launch, etc..
A small sampling from the archives:
Israel-China arms deals
Israel-China AWACS Deal Worries U.S.
China deploys drones from Israel
Israel offers China satellites to compensate...
Israel helping China build new fighter jet
Israel suspected of transferring U.S. laser weapon data to China
US Furious At Israel For Big Hi-Tech Arms Sale to China
Report: China using Israeli 'Harpys'
U.S. Confirms Israeli Missiles Used By China
China supplying Israeli Drones to Pakistan: Israeli expert
What the Cox Report Does and Does Not Say About Israeli Technology Transfer to China
'HE' stands for 'high-explosive'. In addition, several countries have developed fiber-optic guided ATGMs. Hughes Aircraft developed one in the late 80's as a replacement for the Dragon ATGM and the French developed one as well. The Spanish were developing their own version in the early '90s. This technology is not new, but does provide some advantages over operator guided and fire and forget missiles.
|
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.