Sea Wolf (rocket)
| Sea Wolf (rocket) | |
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| General Information | |
| Type | Anti-aircraft guided missile |
| Local name | GWS 25, GWS 26 |
| NATO designation | Sea Wolf, VL Sea Wolf |
| Country of origin |
 United Kingdom
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| Manufacturer | British Aircraft Corporation (now MBDA ) |
| development | 1967 |
| Commissioning | 1979 |
| Working time | in service |
| Technical specifications | |
| length |
Sea Wolf : 1.96 m VL Sea Wolf : 2.54 m |
| diameter | 183 mm |
| Combat weight |
Sea Wolf : 82 kg VL Sea Wolf : 140 kg |
| span | 550 mm |
| drive | Solid rocket |
| speed | over mach 2 |
| Range |
Sea Wolf : 6.4 km VL Sea Wolf : over 7.5 km |
| Service ceiling |
Sea Wolf : 3.05 km VL Sea Wolf : 4.5 km |
| Furnishing | |
| steering | INS |
| Target location | ACLOS via radar |
| Warhead | 14.09 kg fragmentation warhead |
| Detonator | Impact and proximity detonators |
| Weapon platforms | Ships |
| Lists on the subject | |
Sea Wolf is a ship-based short-range anti- aircraft missile from the United Kingdom .
development
The development of the Sea Wolf at BAC Guided Weapons Division (later British Aircraft Corporation ) began in 1967. Sea Wolf was designed as the successor to the Seacat . The new system was developed under the name PX.430 on behalf of the Royal Navy . The shooting attempts were carried out between 1970 and 1976 in Aberporth and Woomera . In addition to various flight targets, 114 mm and 127 mm artillery shells were successfully fired during these tests . For the subsequent sea trials in 1976 a complete Sea Wolf system was HMS Penelope , a frigate of the Leander class installed. From 1979 the GWS 25 Sea Wolf system was installed in series on the frigates of the Broadsword class (Type 22). Likewise, the outdated Seacat systems were later replaced by Sea Wolf on five frigates of the Leander class.
Development of the vertically launched VL Sea Wolf began in the mid-1970s. The first test shot took place in 1982. In 1984 the Royal Navy awarded the development contract. VL Sea Wolf was to be used on the planned Duke-class frigates . The guided shooting attempts were made from a floating platform in Cardigan Bay in 1986 . In 1988 the first system was installed on HMS Norfolk , a Duke-class frigate. From 1989 the GWS 26 VL Sea Wolf system was installed in series on the frigates of this class.
technology
Sea Wolf is designed to fight aircraft, helicopters and anti-ship missiles . The system consists roughly of the ship's own search radar , a fire control radar , a Ferranti FM1600B fire control computer with operating consoles and a 360 ° rotatable six-way starter for the guided weapons. The type 965 , type 967 or type 996 are used as search radar . The type 910 or type 911 are used as fire control radar . The flight destination is recorded by the L-band search radar and forwarded to the fire control computer. From this point on, the control process can be fully automatic or manual. The fire control computer analyzes the threat, determines the values required for launching the missile and carries out friend-foe recognition . This process takes at least 5 seconds. Then the six-speed starter and the fire control radar are aimed at the target. The fire control radar now follows the target and triggers the missile launch at the optimal time. The fire control radar works in the I / J band and simultaneously tracks the target and the guided weapon. The guided weapon is guided to the target with a radar beacon. Course corrections are calculated in the fire control computer and sent to the missile using microwaves by the fire control radar. A fire control radar can simultaneously steer two guided weapons against a target. Alternatively, the guided weapons can also be guided to the target with an optical aiming device using SACLOS . If the target comes within the proximity fuse's response radius , the fragmentation warhead is detonated. In the event of a direct hit, the warhead is triggered by the impact fuse.
The Sea Wolf guided missiles are housed in rectangular launch containers. When all six missiles are fired, the starting containers must be reloaded manually from a magazine. The Sea Wolf guided missiles are powered by a blackcap solid rocket engine. This has a burn time of two seconds and accelerates the missile to over Mach 2. Sea Wolf can fight targets at an altitude of 10 to 3,050 m and at a distance of 1 to 6.4 km. If the missile misses the target, it becomes out of focus after a certain flight time and falls to the ground.
The VL Sea Wolf guided missiles are housed in round VLS cells . A starting unit has 32 VLS cells. The guided missile is started with a solid fuel booster . After the missile has left the launch tube, it is aligned with the preprogrammed flight course by means of thrust vector control and the control surfaces. After the missile has reached normal flight position, the solid fuel booster is disconnected and the missile's engine ignites. VL Sea Wolf can fight targets at an altitude of 10 to 4,500 m and at a distance of 1.2 to 7.5 km.
variants
- GWS 25 Mod 0 Sea Wolf: Standard version introduced in 1979. With type 910 fire control radar.
- GWS 25 Mod 1 Sea Wolf: Version with Ferranti FM1600C fire control computer and Type 910 or Type 911 fire control radar. Improved performance when fighting low-flying targets.
- GWS 25 Mod 2 Sea Wolf: Version with Ferranti FM1600D fire control computer and type 911 fire control radar.
- GWS 25 Mod 3 Sea Wolf: Version with Ferranti FM1600E fire control computer and Type 911 fire control radar.
- GWS 26 Mod 1 VL Sea Wolf: Standard version with vertically launched guided missile, introduced in 1989. With new F2420 fire control computer and type 911 fire control radar.
- Sea Wolf Block 2: Introduced in 2005. Guided missiles with new electronics (including the ASRAAM multichip module ). Can be used with GWS 25 mod 3 and GWS 26 Mod 1.
- Sea Wolf SWMLU: S ea W olf M id- L ife U pgrade introduced 2008. retrofit program with updated electronics and new software as well as Sea Wolf Block 2 missile.
- GWS 26 Mod 2 Lightweight Sea Wolf: Introduced in 1986. Retrofit program for the Sea Cat system. With compact ST1802SW fire control radar and quadruple guided missile launcher . Development stopped.
- GWS 27 Sea Wolf: Fire-and-Forget version with active radar seeker head and increased range. Development stopped in 1987.
- Landwolf: Prototype of a vehicle-bound version, presented in 1985. Development stopped.
commitment
The Sea Wolf's baptism of fire took place in 1982 during the Falklands War . Sea Wolf was used on the two frigates HMS Brilliant (F90) and HMS Broadsword (F88) of the Royal Navy. On May 12, 1982 four Argentine Douglas A-4 Skyhawk of the V Brigada Aérea attacked the destroyer HMS Glasgow (D88) and the frigate HMS Brilliant. The planes were approaching the formation at high speed at wave height. Two aircraft were shot down with Sea Wolf guided missiles from HMS Brilliant. A third A-4 Skyhawk crashed while trying to outmaneuver another Sea Wolf. A total of eight Sea Wolf guided missiles were fired during the conflict and two confirmed and four probable kills were attributed to the weapon system.
During the conflict, however, there were also defects in the Sea Wolf. The guided missile launchers were mechanically not very reliable and heavy seas repeatedly interrupted and interrupted target tracking. The combined use of Sea Dart and Sea Wolf also produced interference , which severely restricted the performance of the fire control radars. So it came to a failure of the Sea Dart on May 25, 1982, in which the destroyer HMS Coventry (D118) was sunk by a bomb attack .
status
By the end of 2010, 2,543 Sea Wolf and 437 VL Sea Wolf guided missiles were produced. Sea Wolf is expected to remain in service until 2025. The successor system CAMM ( C ommon A nti-Air M odular M issile) will be introduced from 2018 to 2020 in the Royal Navy. Sea Wolf has been installed on the following classes of Royal Navy ships:
- Leander class (batch 3A) : With a type 910 radar, a six-way launcher and a total of 24 guided missiles.
- Broadsword class (batch 1) : With two Type 910 radars, two six-way launchers and a total of 48 guided missiles.
- Broadsword class (batch 2): With two Type 910 radars, two six-way launchers with a total of 60 guided missiles
- Broadsword class (batch 3): With two type 911 radars, two six-way launchers with a total of 60 guided missiles
- Duke class : With two 911 type radars and a total of 32 VLS cells .
distribution
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g Jane’s Naval Weapon Systems. ER Hooton, T. Hooton, Jane's Information Group 2003, ISBN 0710608934
- ↑ a b c d Seawolf / Landwolf - The Market for Surface-to-Air Missiles 2011-2020 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. forecastinternational.com, accessed August 26, 2013
- ^ A b Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1947-1995 , US Naval Institute Press, ISBN 1-55750-132-7
- ↑ a b Зенитно-ракетный комплекс Sea wolf new-factoria.ru, accessed on August 26, 2013
- ↑ 20 years of aerial warfare for Falkland's airpower.at, accessed on August 26, 2013
- ^ A b The Battle for the Falklands. Max Hastings, Simon Jenkins: London 1983, ISBN 0-7181-2228-3
- ^ Trade Register on sipri.org , accessed August 26, 2013
