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88-531: Refinement of the initial concept of Aegis system in the 1960s continued through the 1960s and 1970s, and the Mk 41 was conceived in 1976. Originally, the system was only intended to fire the RIM-66 Standard missile, but the height of the Mk 41 was increased to accommodate the larger Tomahawk missile. The prototype for the launcher was tested and evaluated on board USS  Norton Sound . The first operational launcher

176-525: A ground-to-air missile ( GTAM ) or surface-to-air guided weapon ( SAGW ), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft system ; in modern armed forces, missiles have replaced most other forms of dedicated anti-aircraft weapons, with anti-aircraft guns pushed into specialized roles. The first attempt at SAM development took place during World War II , but no operational systems were introduced. Further development in

264-510: A solid rocket booster stage. The Standard missile program was started in 1963 to produce a family of missiles to replace existing guided missiles used by the Terrier, Talos, and Tartar guided missile systems. The intention was to produce a new generation of guided missiles that could be retrofit to existing guided missile systems. The RIM-66A is the medium ranged version of the Standard missile and

352-587: A "flak rocket" concept, which led Walter Dornberger to ask Wernher von Braun to prepare a study on a guided missile able to reach between 15,000 and 18,000 m (49,000 and 59,000 ft) altitude. Von Braun became convinced a better solution was a manned rocket interceptor, and said as much to the director of the T-Amt , Roluf Lucht , in July. The directors of the Luftwaffe flak arm were not interested in manned aircraft, and

440-708: A 300 to 600 pounds (140 to 270 kg) warhead for a 30 to 60 percent kill probability. This weapon did not emerge for 16 years, when it entered operation as the RIM-8 Talos . Heavy shipping losses to kamikaze attacks during the Liberation of the Philippines and the Battle of Okinawa provided additional incentive for guided missile development. This led to the British Fairey Stooge and Brakemine efforts, and

528-521: A SAM system in earnest with the opening of the Cold War . Joseph Stalin was worried that Moscow would be subjected to American and British air raids , like those against Berlin , and, in 1951, he demanded that a missile system to counter a 900 bomber raid be built as quickly as possible. This led to the S-25 Berkut system ( NATO reporting name : SA-1 "Guild"), which was designed, developed and deployed in

616-629: A SM-1MR Block VIA RIM-66E-05 supposedly against an UAV operated in support of the Libyan National Army . The missile missed and landed near al-Ajaylat , just southwest of Sabratha . On 19 October 2023, the USS Carney fired SM-2s to shoot down three land-attack cruise missiles and eight drones launched from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen. The interceptions occurred over the Red Sea ; although

704-407: A conventional war. Once a major group unto itself, medium-range designs have seen less development since the 1990s, as the focus has changed to unconventional warfare. Developments have also been made in onboard maneuverability. Israel's David's Sling Stunner missile is designed to intercept the newest generation of tactical ballistic missiles at low altitude. The multi-stage interceptor consists of

792-666: A degree, leading to the introduction of the FIM-43 Redeye , SA-7 Grail and Blowpipe . Rapid improvement in the 1980s led to second generation designs, like the FIM-92 Stinger , 9K34 Strela-3 (SA-14), Igla-1 and Starstreak , with dramatically improved performance. By the 1990s to the 2010s, the Chinese had developed designs drawing influence from these, notably the FN-6 and the QW series . Through

880-594: A dual semi-active/infrared seeker for terminal homing. The dual seeker is intended for use in high- ECM environments, against targets over the horizon or with a small radar cross section. The seeker was originally developed for the canceled AIM-7R Sparrow air-to-air missile . All USN Block III and IIIA missiles are to be upgraded to Block IIIB. Block IIIA missiles are operated by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force on its Kongō -class and Atago -class Aegis destroyers. Aegis equipped vessels in

968-461: A head-on approach at low speeds comparable to manned aircraft. These designs included the Feuerlilie, Schmetterling and Enzian. The second group were high-speed missiles, typically supersonic, that flew directly towards their targets from below. These included Wasserfall and Rheintochter. Both types used radio control for guidance, either by eye, or by comparing the returns of the missile and target on

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1056-522: A layered defence. This evolution of design increasingly pushed gun-based systems into the shortest-range roles. The American Nike Ajax was the first operational SAM system, and the Soviet Union's S-75 Dvina was the most-produced SAM system. Widely used modern examples include the Patriot and S-300 wide-area systems, SM-6 and MBDA Aster Missile naval missiles, and short-range man-portable systems like

1144-402: A new autopilot giving it inertial guidance in all phases of flight except for the terminal intercept where semi-active radar homing is still used. This version is no longer in service; remaining missiles have either been remanufactured into later models or have been put in storage. The Block II missile was introduced in 1983 with a new rocket motor for longer range and a new warhead. The RIM-66G

1232-439: A part of their multi-layered air defence. SAM systems generally fall into two broad groups based on their guidance systems, those using radar and those using some other means. Longer range missiles generally use radar for early detection and guidance. Early SAM systems generally used tracking radars and fed guidance information to the missile using radio control concepts, referred to in the field as command guidance . Through

1320-488: A rush program. Early units entered operational service on 7 May 1955, and the entire system ringing Moscow was completely activated by June 1956. The system failed, however, to detect, track, and intercept the only overflight of the Soviet capital Moscow by a U-2 reconnaissance plane on July 5, 1956. The S-25 was a static system, but efforts were also put into a smaller design that would be much more mobile. This emerged in 1957 as

1408-458: A separate tracking radar for attack. Short range systems are more likely to be entirely visual for detection. Hybrid systems are also common. The MIM-72 Chaparral was fired optically, but normally operated with a short range early warning radar that displayed targets to the operator. This radar, the FAAR , was taken into the field with a Gama Goat and set up behind the lines. Information was passed to

1496-518: A single radar screen. Development of all these systems was carried out at the same time, and the war ended before any of them was ready for combat use. The infighting between various groups in the military also delayed development. Some extreme fighter designs, like the Komet and Natter , also overlapped with SAMs in their intended uses. Albert Speer was especially supportive of missile development. In his opinion, had they been consistently developed from

1584-584: A solid-fuel, rocket motor booster, followed by an asymmetrical kill vehicle with advanced steering for super-maneuverability during the kill-stage. A three-pulse motor provides additional acceleration and maneuverability during the terminal phase. MANPAD systems first developed in the 1960s and proved themselves in battle during the 1970s. MANPADS normally have ranges on the order of 3 km (1.9 mi) and are effective against attack helicopters and aircraft making ground attacks. Against fixed wing aircraft, they can be very effective, forcing them to fly outside

1672-508: A variation of the SARH technique, but based on laser illumination instead of radar. These have the advantage of being small and very fast acting, as well as highly accurate. A few older designs use purely optical tracking and command guidance, perhaps the best known example of this is the British Rapier system, which was initially an all-optical system with high accuracy. All SAM systems from

1760-416: Is 26,800 pounds (12.2 t) for the self-defense version, 29,800 pounds (13.5 t) for the tactical version, and 32,000 pounds (15 t) for the strike version. Ticonderoga cruisers and Arleigh Burke destroyers up to DDG-78 have a Strikedown module fore and aft, which consists of five cells and a collapsible crane for assisting with replenishment at sea . As replenishment of large missiles at sea

1848-649: Is a medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM), with a secondary role as an anti-ship missile , developed for the United States Navy (USN). A member of the Standard Missile family of weapons, the SM-1 was developed as a replacement for the RIM-2 Terrier and RIM-24 Tartar that were deployed in the 1950s on a variety of USN ships. The RIM-67 Standard (SM-1ER/SM-2ER) is an extended range version of this missile with

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1936-420: Is a modular design concept with different versions that vary in size and weight. There are three lengths for this VLS: 209 in (530 cm) for the self-defense version, 266 in (680 cm) for the tactical version, and 303 in (770 cm) for the strike version. The empty weight for an 8-cell module is 26,800 lb (12,200 kg) for the self-defense version, 29,800 lb (13,500 kg) for

2024-421: Is an evolution of the smaller unarmored Mk 56 VLS. The Mk 57 PVLS are designed to be installed on the ship periphery with armor on the inboard boundary, instead of in centralized magazines used in the Mk 41. Developed by Raytheon , Mk 57 provides backward compatibility with existing missiles while allowing new missiles with significantly increased propulsion and payloads. While allowing for larger missiles than

2112-556: Is due to improved rocket fuels and ever-smaller electronics in the guidance systems. Some very long-range systems remain, notably the Russian S-400 , which has a range of 400 km (250 mi). Medium-range designs, like the Rapier and 2K12 Kub , are specifically designed to be highly mobile with very fast, or zero, setup times. Many of these designs were mounted on armoured vehicles, allowing them to keep pace with mobile operations in

2200-609: Is expected that they would be more widely used against sea skimming missiles rather than aircraft . Virtually all surface warships can be armed with SAMs, and naval SAMs are a necessity for all front-line surface warships. Some warship types specialize in anti-air warfare e.g. Ticonderoga -class cruisers equipped with the Aegis combat system or Kirov -class cruisers with the S-300F Fort missile system. Modern Warships may carry all three types (from long-range to short-range) of SAMs as

2288-603: Is for the Aegis combat system and the Mk26 missile launcher. The RIM-66H is for Aegis and the Mk41 vertical launcher. The RIM-66J is the version for the New Threat Upgrade. Block II missiles are no longer manufactured, and have been withdrawn from service. The remainder have either been put in storage, scrapped for spare parts, or remanufactured into later models. The RIM-66M is the version of

2376-507: Is inefficient at shooting down drones, causing concerns about expending them against such cheap targets and depleting a ship's limited VLS capacity. In February 2024 in a friendly fire incident in the Red Sea , two SM-2s were launched by German frigate Hessen at a US MQ-9 Reaper drone. Both SM-2s crashed into the sea because of "a technical defect". The Standard missile is designated by blocks depending upon their technological package. The First Standard missiles entered service in

2464-477: Is loaded in a quad-pack with 4 missiles in one Mk 25 canister, older types of 8 cell modules are not able to use ESSM . Lockheed Martin has developed the Host Extensible Launching System (ExLS), an adapter for Mark 41 and Mark 57 vertical launching systems that was designed to allow for easier integration of new or existing weapon systems such as Nulka , RAM Block 2 , CAMM and CAMM-ER , and

2552-503: Is programmed to fly the most efficient path to the target and can receive course corrections from the ground. Target illumination for semi-active homing is needed only for a few seconds in the terminal phase of the interception. This capability enables the Aegis combat system and New Threat Upgrade equipped vessels to time share illumination radars, greatly increasing the number of targets that can be engaged in quick succession. The SM-1 and SM-2 were continuously upgraded through Blocks. In

2640-400: Is the elimination of the water deluge system, which is used to cool the missile canister in the event that the missile restraint bolts do not release after rocket motor ignition. Elimination of the water deluge system significantly reduces maintenance and personnel requirements, and protects against accidental missile wet-down. RIM-66 Standard The RIM-66 Standard MR (SM-1MR/SM-2MR)

2728-511: The Boeing B-17 , which operated just within the range of the numerous German eighty-eights , an average of 2,805 rounds had to be fired per bomber destroyed. Bombers flying at higher altitudes require larger guns and shells to reach them. This greatly increases the cost of the system, and (generally) slows the rate of fire. Faster aircraft fly out of range more quickly, reducing the number of rounds fired against them. Against late-war designs like

Mark 41 vertical launching system - Misplaced Pages Continue

2816-560: The Boeing B-29 Superfortress or jet-powered designs like the Arado Ar 234 , flak would be essentially useless. This potential was already obvious by 1942, when Walther von Axthelm outlined the growing problems with flak defences that he predicted would soon be dealing with "aircraft speeds and flight altitudes [that] will gradually reach 1,000 km/h (620 mph) and between 10,000–15,000 m (33,000–49,000 ft)." This

2904-478: The Joint Air to Ground Missile (JAGM) in a quad-packed configuration. Some munitions under development such as CAMM-MR are planned to be dual-packed (likely with ExLS) with two missiles sharing a single canister enabling larger and longer range munitions to be carried in greater quantity. Launcher cells are fitted to ships in 8 cell modules (2 rows of 4) that share a common uptake hatch (exhaust system) sited between

2992-611: The Nike Hercules , the first nuclear-armed SAM. The U.S. Army Air Forces had also considered collision-course weapons (like the German radio-controlled concepts) and launched Project Thumper in 1946. This was merged with another project, Wizard, and emerged as the CIM-10 Bomarc in 1959. The Bomarc had a range of over 500 km, but it was quite expensive and somewhat unreliable. Development of Oerlikon 's RSD 58 started in 1947, and

3080-572: The Sea Slug . The Vietnam War was the first modern war in which guided antiaircraft missiles seriously challenged highly advanced supersonic jet aircraft. It would also be the first and only time that the latest and most modern air defense technologies of the Soviet Union and the most modern jet fighter planes and bombers of the United States confronted each other in combat (if one does not count

3168-728: The Spanish and South Korean navies use it as well. The Dutch and German Navies have added it to the Anti-Air Warfare system, which uses the Thales Group Active Phased Array Radar S-1850M and Smart-L radar. South Korean KDX-II destroyers use the block IIIA with a New Threat Upgrade compatible guided missile fire control system. Block III variants for Aegis and arm launchers are designated RIM-66L. Block III missiles for New Threat Upgrade systems are designated RIM-66K. Block IIIB missiles were not produced for

3256-448: The Stinger and 9K38 Igla . The first known idea for a guided surface-to-air missile was in 1925, when a beam riding system was proposed whereby a rocket would follow a searchlight beam onto a target. A selenium cell was mounted on the tip of each of the rocket's four tail fins, with the cells facing backwards. When one selenium cell was no longer in the light beam, it would be steered in

3344-452: The U.S. Navy 's SAM-N-2 Lark . The Lark ran into considerable difficulty and it never entered operational use. The end of the war led to the British efforts being used strictly for research and development throughout their lifetime. In the immediate post-war era, SAM developments were under way around the world, with several of these entering service in the early- and mid-1950s. Coming to

3432-524: The US Navy , RIM-66 Standard was deployed on ships of the following classes, replacing RIM-24 Tartar in some cases: RIM-66 has also been widely exported and is in service in other navies worldwide. Table sources, reference material: The RGM-165 LASM, also given the designation SM-4, was intended as means to give long-range precision fires in support of the US Marine Corps . Intended as an adaptation of

3520-399: The 1940s and 1950s led to operational systems being introduced by most major forces during the second half of the 1950s. Smaller systems, suitable for close-range work, evolved through the 1960s and 1970s, to modern systems that are man-portable. Shipborne systems followed the evolution of land-based models, starting with long-range weapons and steadily evolving toward smaller designs to provide

3608-489: The 1960s, the semi-active radar homing (SARH) concept became much more common. In SARH, the reflections of the tracking radar's broadcasts are picked up by a receiver in the missile, which homes in on this signal. SARH has the advantage of leaving most of the equipment on the ground, while also eliminating the need for the ground station to communicate with the missile after launch. Smaller missiles, especially MANPADS, generally use infrared homing guidance systems. These have

Mark 41 vertical launching system - Misplaced Pages Continue

3696-713: The Hughes Missile Systems Company. Hughes formed a joint venture with Raytheon called Standard Missile Company (SMCo). Hughes Missile Systems was eventually sold to Raytheon making it the sole contractor. Due to the end of the US Navy's support of the SM-1 missile system, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology has taken over support for the system in Taiwanese service including production of replacement rocket motors. The same approach

3784-667: The Iranian Kaman -class missile boat Joshan was disabled by RIM-66s. On 9 October 2016, the Arleigh Burke -class destroyer USS  Mason fired two SM-2s, as well as one Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile , at two incoming Houthi anti-ship missiles off the coast of Yemen, one of which struck the water on its own. It is unknown if the SM-2s were responsible for intercepting the second cruise missile. On 12 October, Mason again came under attack by an anti-ship missile, and an SM-2 she fired

3872-454: The Mk 41, the primary improvement of Mk 57 is its exhaust gas management system which can accommodate new missile designs having up to 45 percent greater rocket motor mass flow rate than that of Mk 41. The unique symmetric geometry of the U-shaped gas management system facilitates the egress of gases, while minimizing flow into adjacent cells and reversed flow into the active cell. Another advantage

3960-529: The Netherlands, Japan, Australia, and South Korea. Production had stopped in 2013 from lack of international orders. New deliveries of SM-2 Block IIIA and IIIB missiles were scheduled to begin in 2020. The United States Navy is committed to keeping the Standard Missile 2 medium-range viable until 2035. Standard missiles were constructed by General Dynamics Pomona Division until 1992, when it became part of

4048-505: The New Threat Upgrade. Blocks IIIA and IIIB are the current production versions. The Thales Nederland STIR 1.8 and 2.4 fire control systems are also supported. The Naval Sea Systems Command has announced its intentions to develop an active terminal homing version of the SM-2 MR missile. This will incorporate the active homing seeker of the SM-6 ERAM into the existing SM-2 airframe. Additionally

4136-503: The RIM-66, it retained the original MK 125 warhead and MK 104 rocket motor, with the radar seeker replaced by GPS/INS guidance. While test fired in 1997 using three modified RIM-66K SM-2MR Block III missiles, with 800 missiles set for replacement and IOC expected for 2003/2004, it was cancelled in 2002 due to limited capabilities against mobile or hardened targets. Surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile ( SAM ), also known as

4224-673: The Standard missile two medium-range (SM-2MR) currently in service with the USN aboard Ticonderoga -class cruisers and Arleigh Burke -class destroyers . The missile is specifically designed for the Aegis Combat System and the Mk41 Vertical launch system . The Block III missiles differ from earlier blocks by the addition of the MK 45 MOD 9 target detecting device, for improved performance against low altitude targets. The Block IIIB missile additionally has

4312-423: The USN in 1967. Blocks I, II, and III were preliminary versions. Block IV was the production version. This missile was a replacement for the earlier RIM-24C Tartar missile. The RIM-66B introduced changes that resulted in higher reliability. A new faster reacting autopilot, a more powerful dual thrust rocket motor, and a new warhead were added. Many RIM-66A missiles were re-manufactured into RIM-66B. The RIM-66E

4400-663: The Yom Kippur War wherein IAF was challenged by Syrian SA-3s). The USAF responded to this threat with increasingly effective means. Early efforts to directly attack the missiles sites as part of Operation Spring High and Operation Iron Hand were generally unsuccessful, but the introduction of Wild Weasel aircraft carrying Shrike missiles and the Standard ARM missile changed the situation dramatically. Feint and counterfeint followed as each side introduced new tactics to try to gain

4488-525: The advantage of being "fire-and-forget", once launched they will home on the target on their own with no external signals needed. In comparison, SARH systems require the tracking radar to illuminate the target, which may require them to be exposed through the attack. Systems combining an infrared seeker as a terminal guidance system on a missile using SARH are also known, like the MIM-46 Mauler , but these are generally rare. Some newer short-range systems use

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4576-461: The bomber remaining outside the range of the ship's antiaircraft guns , and the missiles themselves were too small and fast to be attacked effectively. To combat this threat, the U.S. Navy launched Operation Bumblebee to develop a ramjet-powered missile to destroy the launching aircraft at long range. The initial performance goal was to target an intercept at a horizontal range of 10 miles (16 km) and 30,000 feet (9,100 m) altitude, with

4664-520: The effectiveness of North Vietnamese anti-aircraft artillery, which used data from S-75 radar stations However, the U.S states only 205 of those aircraft were lost to North Vietnamese surface-to-air missiles. All of these early systems were "heavyweight" designs with limited mobility and requiring considerable set-up time. However, they were also increasingly effective. By the early 1960s, the deployment of SAMs had rendered high-speed high-altitude flight in combat practically suicidal. The way to avoid this

4752-847: The evolution of SAMs, improvements were also being made to anti-aircraft artillery , but the missiles pushed them into ever shorter-range roles. By the 1980s, the only remaining widespread use was point-defense of airfields and ships, especially against cruise missiles . By the 1990s, even these roles were being encroached on by new MANPADS and similar short-range weapons, like the RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile . Surface-to-air missiles are classified by their guidance , mobility, altitude and range . Missiles able to fly longer distances are generally heavier, and therefore less mobile. This leads to three "natural" classes of SAM systems; heavy long-range systems that are fixed or semi-mobile, medium-range vehicle-mounted systems that can fire on

4840-424: The famous S-75 Dvina (SA-2 "Guideline"), a portable system, with very high performance, that remained in operation into the 2000s. The Soviet Union remained at the forefront of SAM development throughout its history; and Russia has followed suit. The early British developments with Stooge and Brakemine were successful, but further development was curtailed in the post-war era. These efforts picked up again with

4928-495: The first example was a Royal Navy system known as the Holman Projector , used as a last-ditch weapon on smaller ships. The Germans also produced a similar short-range weapon known as Fliegerfaust , but it entered operation only on a very limited scale. The performance gap between this weapon and jet fighters of the post-war era was so great that such designs would not be effective. By the 1960s, technology had closed this gap to

5016-458: The first large-scale raids by the Allied air forces started. As the urgency of the problem grew, new designs were added, including Enzian and Rheintochter , as well as the unguided Taifun which was designed to be launched in waves. In general, these designs could be split into two groups. One set of designs would be boosted to altitude in front of the bombers and then flown towards them on

5104-592: The loss of three B-52s and several others damaged in a single mission. Dramatic changes followed, and by the end of the series, missions were carried out with additional chaff, ECM, Iron Hand, and other changes that dramatically changed the score. By the conclusion of the Linebacker II campaign, the shootdown rate of the S-75 against the B-52s was 7.52% (15 B-52s were shot down, 5 B-52s were heavily damaged for 266 missiles) During

5192-443: The mid-1960s, almost all modern armed forces had short-range missiles mounted on trucks or light armour that could move with the armed forces they protected. Examples include the 2K12 Kub (SA-6) and 9K33 Osa (SA-8), MIM-23 Hawk , Rapier , Roland and Crotale . The introduction of sea-skimming missiles in the late 1960s and 1970s led to additional mid- and short-range designs for defence against these targets. The UK's Sea Cat

5280-460: The middle 1980s, the SM-2MR was deployed via Mark 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) aboard USS  Bunker Hill , the first U.S. Navy ship to deploy a vertical launcher. VLS has, since 2003, been the only launcher used for the Standard missile in the U.S. Navy aboard Ticonderoga -class cruisers and Arleigh Burke -class destroyers . They are now most commonly launched from the Mk 41 VLS, which

5368-498: The missile airframe will incorporate an improved dorsal fin design and a thrust vectoring jet tab assembly. The Raytheon Company will be awarded contracts for the STANDARD Missile-2 Block IIIC EMD and LRIP requirements on a sole source basis. The SM-2 Block IIIC is now in production and deployed aboard Navy Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. Missile is still in development in 2023 In

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5456-450: The missile's envelope and thereby greatly reducing their effectiveness in ground-attack roles. MANPAD systems are sometimes used with vehicle mounts to improve maneuverability, like the Avenger system. These systems have encroached on the performance niche formerly filled by dedicated mid-range systems. Ship-based anti-aircraft missiles are also considered to be SAMs, although in practice it

5544-595: The move, and short-range man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS). Modern long-range weapons include the MIM-104 Patriot and S-300 systems, which have effective ranges on the order of 150 km (93 mi) and offer relatively good mobility and short unlimbering times. These compare with older systems with similar or less range, like the MIM-14 Nike Hercules or S-75 Dvina , which required fixed sites of considerable size. Much of this performance increase

5632-658: The opening of the Cold War, following the "Stage Plan" of improving UK air defences with new radars, fighters and missiles. Two competing designs were proposed for "Stage 1", based on common radar and control units, and these emerged as the RAF's Bristol Bloodhound in 1958, and the Army's English Electric Thunderbird in 1959. A third design followed the American Bumblebee efforts in terms of role and timeline, and entered service in 1961 as

5720-400: The opposite direction back into the beam. The first historical mention of a concept and design of a surface-to-air missile in which a drawing was presented, was by inventor Gustav Rasmus in 1931, who proposed a design that would home in on the sound of an aircraft's engines. During World War II , efforts were started to develop surface-to-air missiles as it was generally considered that flak

5808-730: The resulting disagreements between the teams delayed serious consideration of a SAM for two years. Von Axthelm published his concerns in 1942, and the subject saw serious consideration for the first time; initial development programs for liquid- and solid-fuel rockets became part of the Flak Development Program of 1942. By this point serious studies by the Peenemünde team had been prepared, and several rocket designs had been proposed, including 1940's Feuerlilie , and 1941's Wasserfall and Henschel Hs 117 Schmetterling . None of these projects saw any real development until 1943, when

5896-421: The same conclusions as the Germans regarding flak, the U.S. Army started its Project Nike developments in 1944. Led by Bell Labs , the Nike Ajax was tested in production form in 1952, becoming the first operational SAM system when it was activated in March 1954. Concerns about Ajax's ability to deal with formations of aircraft led to greatly updated version of the same basic design entering service in 1958 as

5984-407: The second missile at a distance of about 8 miles (13 km), marking the first time in history a warship destroyed an inbound anti-ship missile with a SAM in actual self-defense and the first time the Mk41 VLS did so. The Mk 41 is capable of firing the following missiles: The missiles are pre-loaded into "canisters", which are then loaded into the individual "cells" of the launcher. The ESSM

6072-426: The ship wasn't threatened, the missiles were headed north towards Israel following the start of the 2023 Israel-Hamas War . From October 2023 to January 2024, several U.S. Navy destroyers downed dozens of missiles and attack drones launched by the Houthis against ships transiting the Red Sea, primarily using SM-2s. Although the SM-2 effectively intercepted the threats, at a cost of roughly $ 2.4 million per missile, it

6160-418: The smallest to the largest generally include identified as friend or foe (IFF) systems to help identify the target before being engaged. While IFF is not as important with MANPADs, as the target is almost always visually identified prior to launch, most modern MANPADs do include it. Long-range systems generally use radar systems for target detection, and depending on the generation of system, may "hand off" to

6248-501: The start, the large scale bomber raids of 1944 would have been impossible. The British developed unguided antiaircraft rockets (operated under the name Z Battery ) close to the start of World War II , but the air superiority usually held by the Allies meant that the demand for similar weapons was not as acute. When several Allied ships were sunk in 1943 by Henschel Hs 293 and Fritz X glide bombs , Allied interest changed. These weapons were released from stand-off distances, with

6336-487: The tactical version, and 32,000 lb (15,000 kg) for the strike version. The Standard can also be used against ships, either at line-of-sight range using its semi-active homing mode, or over the horizon using inertial guidance and terminal infrared homing. The SM-2 has conducted more than 2,700 successful live firings. In June 2017, Raytheon announced it was restarting the SM-2 production line to fulfill purchases made by

6424-444: The two rows. The Mk 41 VLS adopts modular design concept, which result in different versions that vary in size and weight due to different "canisters" in various modules. The height (determining missile length) of the launcher comes in three sizes: 209 inches (5.3 m) for the self-defense version, 266 in (6.8 m) for the tactical version, and 303 inches (7.7 m) for the strike version. The empty weight for an 8-cell module

6512-455: The upper hand. By the time of Operation Linebacker II in 1972, the Americans had gained critical information about the performance and operations of the S-75 (via Arab S-75 systems captured by Israel), and used these missions as a way to demonstrate the capability of strategic bombers to operate in a SAM saturated environment. Their first missions appeared to demonstrate the exact opposite, with

6600-536: The war, The Soviet Union supplied 7,658 SAMs to North Vietnam, and their defense forces conducted about 5,800 launches, usually in multiples of three. By the war's end, the U.S lost a total of 3,374 aircraft in combat operations. According to the North Vietnamese, 31% were shot down by S-75 missiles (1,046 aircraft, or 5.6 missiles per one kill); 60% were shot down by anti-aircraft guns; and 9% were shot down by MiG fighters. The S-75 missile system significantly improved

6688-477: Was a closely held secret until 1955. Early versions of the missile were available for purchase as early as 1952, but never entered operational service. The RSD 58 used beam riding guidance, which has limited performance against high-speed aircraft, as the missile is unable to "lead" the target to a collision point. Examples were purchased by several nations for testing and training purposes, but no operational sales were made. The Soviet Union began development of

6776-655: Was an early example that was designed specifically to replace the Bofors 40 mm gun on its mount, and became the first operational point-defense SAM. The American RIM-7 Sea Sparrow quickly proliferated into a wide variety of designs fielded by most navies. Many of these are adapted from earlier mobile designs, but the special needs of the naval role has resulted in the continued existence of many custom missiles. As aircraft moved ever lower, and missile performance continued to improve, eventually it became possible to build an effective man-portable anti-aircraft missile. Known as MANPADS ,

6864-415: Was confirmed to have intercepted it at a range of 8 miles. This marked the first time in history a warship successfully defended itself with SAMs launched from vertical launch cells against an anti-ship missile. The ship experienced yet a third attack on 15 October, this time with 5 AShMs. She fired SM-2s, destroying four of the missiles. On 1 April 2020, a Turkish Navy G-class frigate fired at least

6952-575: Was initially developed as a replacement for the earlier RIM-24C as part of the Mk74 "Tartar" Guided Missile Fire Control System . It used the same fuselage as the earlier Tartar missile, for easier use with existing launchers and magazines for that system. The RIM-66A/B while looking like the earlier RIM-24C on the exterior is a different missile internally with redesigned electronics and a more reliable homing system and fuze that make it more capable than its predecessor. The RIM-66A/B Standard MR, (SM-1MR Block I to V)

7040-558: Was installed aboard USS  Bunker Hill . On 12 October 2016, USS  Mason  (DDG-87) was targeted by missiles fired from Yemeni territory while operating in the Bab-el-Mandeb strait. Mason was not hit by the two missiles, which were fired from near the city of Al Hudaydah . While the Navy is not certain whether the first incoming missile was intercepted or it just fell into the sea, officials claim Mason successfully intercepted

7128-528: Was later seen as impractical and dangerous, Strikedown modules fell out of use on newer ships. The Mk 56 VLS is an evolution of the tactical length Mk 41 VLS which is a smaller version of the strike length Mk 41 used on Arleigh Burke -class destroyers . The Mk 57 Peripheral Vertical Launch System (PVLS) used on the Zumwalt -class destroyers is composed of much larger VLS cells capable of venting much larger volume and mass of exhaust gasses (mass flow rate), but

7216-415: Was of little use against bombers of ever-increasing performance. The lethal radius of a flak shell is fairly small, and the chance of delivering a "hit" is essentially a fixed percentage per round. In order to attack a target, guns fire continually while the aircraft are in range in order to launch as many shells as possible, increasing the chance that one of these will end up within the lethal range. Against

7304-487: Was retired from USN service in 2003; however there are a large number of this model in service abroad and it is expected to remain viable until 2020. The RIM-66C was the first version of the Standard missile two. The missile became operational in 1978 with the Aegis combat system fitted to the Ticonderoga -class cruiser . The RIM-66D was the SM-2 medium-range block I version for the New Threat Upgrade. The SM-2 incorporates

7392-630: Was seen generally; in November 1943 the Director of Gunnery Division of the Royal Navy concluded that guns would be useless against jets, stating "No projectile of which control is lost when it leaves the ship can be of any use to us in this matter." The first serious consideration of a SAM development project was a series of conversations that took place in Germany during 1941. In February, Friederich Halder proposed

7480-814: Was taken for the SM-1's Mark 13 missile launcher. The Standard Missile One became operational in 1968. The missile was utilized by ships equipped with the Tartar Guided Missile Fire Control System . The missile saw its first combat use in the early 1970s in the Vietnam war. The Standard Missile Two became operational in the late 1970s and was deployed operationally with the Aegis Combat System in 1983. Both Standard One and Two were used against both surface and air targets during Operation Praying Mantis . On July 3, 1988, USS  Vincennes mistakenly shot down Iran Air Flight 655 , an Airbus A300B2 , using two SM-2MRs from her forward launcher. In 1988

7568-521: Was the last version of the standard missile one medium-range. This version entered service in 1983 with the United States Navy and export customers. The RIM-66E was used by all remaining Tartar vessels that were not modified to use the New Threat Upgrade and Oliver Hazard Perry -class frigates which controlled it with the Mk92 fire control system. Production of this missile ended in 1987. The missile

7656-520: Was to fly lower, below the line-of-sight of missile's radar systems. This demanded very different aircraft, like the F-111 , TSR-2 , and Panavia Tornado . Consequently, SAMs evolved rapidly in the 1960s. As their targets were now being forced to fly lower due to the presence of the larger missiles, engagements would necessarily be at short ranges, and occur quickly. Shorter ranges meant the missiles could be much smaller, which aided them in terms of mobility. By

7744-625: Was used during the Vietnam War . The only remaining version of the Standard missile 1 in service is the RIM-66E (SM-1MR Block VI). While no longer in service with the USN, the RIM-66E is still in service with many navies globally and was expected to remain in service until 2020. The RIM-66C/D Standard MR (SM-2MR Block I) was developed in the 1970s and was a key part of the Aegis combat system and New Threat Upgrade (NTU). The SM-2MR introduced inertial and command mid-course guidance. The missile's autopilot

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