Jane's Defence Weekly [Content preview Subscribe to IHS Jane s Defence Weekly for full article] ARMing up While the days of dedicated 'Wild Weasel' suppression-of-enemy-air-defences aircraft are largely over, continuing operational experience with anti-radiation missiles suggests the genre still has a place in the air-to-ground munitions armoury. Martin Streetly reports Since their first deployment during the 1960s, anti-radiation missiles (ARMs) have become an intrinsic part of air-to-ground warfare. Using passive seeker technology to hone in on and disable radars associated with surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems, they have gone a long way towards redressing the threat to strike formations posed by first- and second-generation radar-guided SAM batteries. Although perhaps less effective with the passage of time, ARM technology continues to evolve and is currently being produced by four nations: Brazil, China, Russia, and the United States. From a historical perspective the first ARM, the US AGM-45 Shrike, entered combat during the late 1960s when the US Air Force (USAF) teamed it with a specialised 'Wild Weasel' aircraft that carried a dedicated operator and was both capable of detecting hostile emitters and launching a 'hard kill' response against them. Subsequently, the USAF fielded second- and third-generation 'Wild Weasels' before arriving at its current position, with an ARM capability inherent within its F-16CM multirole strike fighter fleet. The service, together with the US Navy (USN) and the US Marine Corps (USMC), has gone on to utilise succeeding generations of ARMs in every conflict it has fought where strike aircraft were confronted with radar-guided SAMs in the prosecution of their duty. AGM-88 HARM Designed to disable ground-based and shipboard radars, Raytheon Missile Systems' AGM-88 HARM comprises guidance (incorporating an antenna, a radar seeker, and a digital processor) and control (housing a digital autopilot, an inertial navigation system - INS - and control surface actuators) sections, a solid-fuel rocket motor, an active laser fuze, and a blast/fragmentation warhead. HARM has been fielded in four major variants: the AGM-88A/B/C/F (of which the AGM-88C and F are the latest iterations). Article 1 Page 1 of 10
A schematic showing the major components that make-up the AGM-88 HARM. (Raytheon) 0055147 Entering production in 1993 and achieving its initial operating capability (IOC) with the US military in 1994, AGM-88C introduced a new guidance section understood to be able to handle frequency-agile emitters and fitted with an instantaneous frequency-measuring receiver and an improved processor; a 6dB increase in frequency sensitivity in one of the weapon's operating bands; new intermediate frequency bandwidths to improve performance in dense environments; a 5% increase in memory size; a WAU-27/B warhead and upgraded software. The missile has a length and body diameter of 4.17 m and 254 mm respectively, a launch weight of 367 kg (including a 66.2 kg warhead) and a maximum range of between 45 and 91 km. Article 1 Page 2 of 10
The F-16s operated by six nations around the world make use of the AGM-88 HARM ARM. (USAF) 0104007 AGM-88E AARGM ATK's Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) is derived from the existing AGM-88 HARM. In its AGM-88E Block 0 configuration it makes use of: the AGM-88B/C's rocket motor, airframe, and warhead; a modified AGM-88B/C common control section; and a new multimode guidance section. The modified control section incorporates a GPS/INS navigation capability and a weapon impact assessment (WIA) transmitter. The weapon's guidance section is made up of a digital homing receiver and a millimetre wave (mmw) terminal guidance transceiver. Article 1 Page 3 of 10
An in-flight view of an AGM-88E AARGM ARM at the moment of launch from an F/A-18D aircraft of USN test squadron VX-31. (ATK) 1299053 System capabilities are understood to include counter-emitter shutdown (using active mmw guidance), expanded (when compared with the AGM-88C) threat coverage, geo-specificity (a GPS point-to-point capability and impact/impact avoidance zoning), real-time network connectivity, and WIA (with a location report being transmitted prior to warhead detonation). ALARM Although withdrawn from UK service, the MBDA Air-Launched Anti-Radiation Missile (ALARM) is believed to remain in service with the Royal Saudi Air Force and has re-qualified for use aboard Tornado strike aircraft as part of that country's Tornado sustainment programme (TSP). ALARM specifications include a length and body diameter of 4.3 m and 224 mm respectively, a launch weight of 265 kg, and a maximum range of 45 km. Most recently, MBDA's ALARM ARM is understood to have continued to be a munitions option for Saudi Tornado strike aircraft. (MBDA) 0069287 Article 1 Page 4 of 10
Kh-25MP Russian manufacturer Tactical Missile Corporation's (TMC) ARM portfolio includes the Kh-25MP (AS-12 'Kegler'): a solid-fuel-powered weapon equipped with either a PRGS-1VP or PRGS-2VP seeker head. PRGS- 1VP can detect/track targets over ±30 in azimuth (pre-launch) and has a maximum angular tracking rate (ATR) of 6 /s, while PRGS-2VP is billed as being able to detect/track targets over ±30 in azimuth and -40 to +20 in elevation (pre-launch). A general view of the Kh-25MP ARM. (Christopher F Foss) 0504357 The device's ATR rate is 8 /s and both seeker types are reported to offer an accuracy of 3 to 5 m circular error probable (CEP). Functionally, Kh-25MP uses a two-stage guidance regime in the vertical plane with, in the first instance, the weapon's control system maintaining flight along a logarithmic trajectory. As soon as the departure angle reaches 27, the missile goes into a dive and the weapon's seeker is activated to provide terminal guidance. Kh-25MP works in conjunction with the pod-mounted V'yuga (Snowstorm) target detection/identification/designation system. It has a length and body diameter of 4.3 m (PRGS-1VP)/4.4 m (PRGS-2VP) and 0.28 m respectively, a launch weight of 315 kg (±8 kg) and a maximum range of 40 km (from a launch altitude of 10,000 m/32,808 ft). Kh-31P/-31PD/-31PK Another member of the current TMC ARM range, Kh-31P (AS-17 'Krypton'), makes use of three interchangeable seeker units (designated L-111, L-112, and L-113) capable of targeting a range of emitters, including the shipboard AN/SPY-1 sensor and the AN/MPQ-53 radar used in the Patriot SAM system. The weapon is understood to have undergone acceptance trials in 1988-90, entering Russian service (aboard the Su-24M) in 1991. Article 1 Page 5 of 10
An artist's impression of the Kh-31P ARM. (TMC) 1147396 Here, the Kh-31P is carried on the AKU-58 launcher and is used in conjunction with the pod-mounted L-080 Fantasmagoria-A/L-081 Fantasmagoria-B emitter location systems (ELS). Other aircraft cleared to carry the weapon include (or have included) the MiG-29SMT/UBT, the Su-27SM/SKM, the Su-30KI/-30KM (up to four missiles)/mki/skm, the Su-32 (up to six missiles), the Su-39, and the Yak-141. Kh-31P has a length and body diameter of 4.7 m and 0.36 m respectively, a launch weight of 600 kg (including an 87 kg warhead), and a range of 15 km when launched from an altitude of 100 m/328 ft. Article 1 Page 6 of 10
Kh-58E/Kh-58UShKE Bearing the NATO reporting name 'AS-11 Kilter', the Kh-58 was originally designed to engage radars such as the AN/TPS-43, the AN/TPS-44, and the AN/MPQ-53, attacked from a terminal dive. It was compatible with five interchangeable seeker heads that operated within the 1 to 12.5 GHz frequency range, offered ±30 coverage in azimuth and -10 to +45 in elevation (with a 5 field-of-view), and were pre-programmed with target data and able to be re-targeted in flight. The currently promoted model, the Kh-58E, is an export weapon based on the Kh-58U configuration (which incorporated an improved seeker, an increase in range, and a post-launch lock-on mode when compared with the baseline Kh-58 round) and features the latter's seeker system mated to the baseline Kh-58's performance envelope. The Kh-58E has a length and body diameter of 4.8 m and 0.38 m respectively, a launch weight of 650 kg (including a 149 kg warhead), a maximum range of 245 km, and is compatible with Su-24M4/-24MK and Su-25TK launch aircraft that are equipped with an appropriate target designation system. LD-10 Developed by China's Luoyang Opto-Electro Technology Development Centre (LOEC), the Lei Dian (LD - Thunderbolt) 10 ARM is related to LOEC's SD-10/PL-12 beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missile, with the two weapons sharing a common dog tooth rear fin design. To fit it for the ARM role, LD-10 differs from its parent by virtue of redesigned mid-body fins and increases in both its fuselage length and weight. LD-10 is rail-launched and equipped with a solid-fuel rocket motor, fragmentation warhead, and laser proximity and impact fuzes. Target emitter location/cuing/targeting is by means of the host platform's radar warning receiver (RWR) and the missile is said to both utilise a strapdown inertial navigation system (capable of defeating emitter shutdown) and a passive radar seeker that covers a wide range of frequencies. The LD-10 has a length and body diameter of 4.06 m and 203 mm respectively, a launch weight of 234 kg, and a range of between 10 and 20 km. MAR-1 Developed jointly by the Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB - Brazilian Air Force) and national contractor Mectron Engenharia Industria e Comércio Ltda (most recently a part of the Odebrecht Defense and Technology group), the MAR-1 takes the form of a blunt-nosed missile equipped with cruciform arrangements of fixed strakes, cropped delta flight surfaces, and actuated tail fins at its nose, mid-section, and tail. Article 1 Page 7 of 10
A general view of an early iteration of the MAR-1 ARM. (Mectron) 0583950 Other system features include: a homing section (incorporating a wideband radar seeker and a high-speed digital signal processor); a two-stage, solid-fuel, boost/sustain rocket motor (low smoke and utilising composite propellants); a strap-down, GPS-aided, mid-course inertial navigation system; a 90 kg blast/fragmentation warhead; an Opto Eletrõnica laser proximity fuze; an electro-mechanical control section; pre-programmed, missile-as-sensor, and self-defence operating modes; and an optional standalone fire-control display unit (FCDU) for non-databus-equipped aircraft. The MAR-1 pre-programmed mode is used for attacks on emitters of known types and/or in known locations, while the missile-as-sensor function uses the missile's seeker to detect targets-of-opportunity, identify them, and to display the acquired data to the host platform's crew. In self-defence mode, the weapon is cued by the host's RWR or electronic support system, while the MAR- 1's FCDU displays the missile's operating mode; seeker frequency range/bandwidth; detected emissions (emitter parameters, classification, and direction-of-arrival); target data (parametrics, classification, range, and bearing) and weapon status. Copyright IHS Global Limited, 2015 For the full version and more content: IHS Jane's Defence Industry and Markets Intelligence Centre This analysis is taken from IHS Jane s Defence Industry & Markets Intelligence Centre, which provides world-leading analysis of commercial, industrial and technological defence developments, budget and programme forecasts, and insight into new and emerging defence markets around the world. IHS defence industry and markets news and analysis is also available within IHS Jane s Defence Weekly. To learn more and to subscribe to IHS Jane s Defence Weekly online, offline or print visit http://magazines.ihs.com/. Article 1 Page 8 of 10
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