Sea Dart
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Sea Dart | |
---|---|
HE blast-fragmentation | |
Detonation mechanism | Proximity fuze and contact |
Engine | Chow solid-fuel booster motor Bristol Siddeley Odin ramjet cruise motor |
Operational range |
|
Flight ceiling | 18,300 m (60,000 ft)[1][verification needed] |
Maximum speed | Mach 3.0+[2][verification needed] |
Guidance system | Semi-active radar illuminated by radar Type 909 (J-band) |
Steering system | Control surfaces |
Launch platform | Ship |
Sea Dart, or GWS.30[a] was a Royal Navy surface-to-air missile system designed in the 1960s and entering service in 1973. It was fitted to the Type 42 destroyers (United Kingdom and Argentina), Type 82 destroyer and Invincible-class aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy. Originally developed by Hawker Siddeley, the missile was built by British Aerospace after 1977. It was withdrawn from service in 2012.
Britain's first naval surface-to-air missile was GWS1 Seaslug, which entered service in 1963. This used beam riding guidance which offered limited accuracy and was useful only against slower targets. The need for a higher performance system was seen even as it entered service.
The system had nine confirmed successful engagements in combat, including six aircraft, a helicopter and two anti-ship missiles. An additional helicopter was shot down in a 'friendly fire' incident during the Falklands War.
History
From the immediate post-WWII era, the Royal Navy had been looking for a general-purpose weapon to arm small ships. After the experience with German glide bombs during the war, the primary concern was the development of a medium-range surface-to-air missile able to shoot down the carrier bombers before they could approach the ships. The secondary anti-ship role was later reduced in importance.[3]
Early experiments during the 1950s lead to the development of the
In October 1960, the Navy launched the Small Ship Integrated Guided Weapon project to fill this need, SIGS for short. This called for a weapon small enough to be carried on a 3,000 ton frigate and able to attack bombers, anti-shipping missiles, and other ships up to frigate size. Seaslug had taken much longer to develop than expected and was a very costly, ongoing program. There was some concern that development of new system should not commence before Seaslug was in service. A review by the Defence Research Policy Committee agreed with the Navy that the new design represented an entirely new class of weapon and that development should be undertaken.[5]
Two systems were considered for the role,
By this time many foreign navies had chosen the US
Ultimately, the Dutch also chose Tartar for their missile component, leaving the Royal Navy as the Sea Dart's only initial user.
In 1982, Margaret Thatcher was involved in a £100m deal to sell the Sea Dart system to China,[7] but this fell through in 1983, with Chinese minister Chen Muhua explaining that China was "not satisfied with the price, technology or production".[8]
Design
Sea Dart is a two-stage, 4.4-metre (14 ft) long missile weighing 550 kilograms (1,210 lb). It is launched using a drop-off Chow solid-fuel booster that accelerates it to the
It is capable of engaging targets out to at least 30 nautical miles (35 mi; 56 km) over a wide range of altitudes. It has a secondary capability against small surface vessels, tested against a Brave-class patrol boat, although in surface mode the warhead safety arming unit does not arm, and thus damage inflicted is restricted to the physical impact of the half-ton missile body and the unspent proportion of the 46 litres (10 imp gal; 12 US gal) of kerosene fuel.
Guidance is by
Combat service
Falklands War
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Sea Dart was used during the Falklands War (1982) and is credited with seven confirmed kills (plus one British Aérospatiale Gazelle helicopter downed by friendly fire). Kills were made against a high-flying aircraft beyond the missile's stated technical envelope and low-flying attack aircraft.
The net effect of Sea Dart was to deny the higher altitudes to enemy aircraft. This was important because Argentine aircraft such as the
The first Sea Dart engagement was against an
On 25 May 1982 an
The same day a Super Étendard strike fighter sought to attack the British carrier group with Exocet missiles, but instead struck the cargo ship MV Atlantic Conveyor. Invincible fired six Sea Darts in less than two minutes, but all missed.
On 30 May 1982, during the last Exocet air attacks against the British fleet,
On 6 June 1982, Cardiff fired a Sea Dart missile at an aircraft believed to be an Argentine C-130 Hercules. The missile destroyed the aircraft, which was in fact a British Army helicopter. All four occupants were killed in this "friendly-fire" incident.
Finally, on 13 June 1982, an English Electric Canberra flying at 12,000 metres (39,000 ft) en route to bomb British troops near Port Harriet House was destroyed by a Sea Dart fired from Cardiff.[9]
In total at least eighteen missiles were launched by Type 42 destroyers, six by Invincible, and two by Bristol. Out of five missiles fired against helicopters or high flying aircraft, four were successful, but only two of nineteen fired at low level aircraft hit: just eleven per cent; however a number of missiles were fired without guidance to deter low level attacks. Exeter's success can be partially attributed to being equipped with the Type 1022 radar, which was designed for the system and provided greater capability than the old Type 965 fitted to the earlier Type 42s.[10][11] The Type 965 was unable to cope with low level targets as it suffered multiple path crossings and targets became lost in radar clutter from the surface of the South Atlantic. This resulted in Sea Dart being unable to lock onto targets at distance obscured by land, or fast-moving low-level targets obscured in ground clutter or sea-returns.
The
Persian Gulf War (1991)
In February 1991 during the
Variants
The Sea Dart was upgraded over the years - notably its electronics - as technology advanced. The following modification standards have been fielded:
- Mod 0
- Basic 1960s version, used in the Falklands. valve technology. Range circa 40 nmi (46 mi; 74 km).
- Mod 1
- Improved Sea Dart. Upgraded version 1983–1986. Updated guidance systems possibly allowing some capability against sea-skimming targets and much greater reliability.
- Mod 2
- 1989–1991. Upgrade included ADIMP (Air Defence IMProvement) which saw the replacement of six old circuit cards in the guidance system with one, allowing the spare volume to be used for an autopilot. Used alongside a command datalink (sited on the Type 909 pedestal) it allows several missiles to be 'in the air' at once, re-targeted during flight etc. and allows an initial ballistic trajectory, doubling range to 80 nmi (92 mi; 150 km) with the upgraded 909(I) radar for terminal illumination only.[citation needed]
- Mod 3
- Latest version with new infrared fuze. Delayed eight years from 1994 to 2002.
The Sea Dart Mark 2, GWS 31, (also known as Sea Dart II - not to be confused with Mod 2, above) development was cancelled in 1981. This was intended to allow 'off the rail' manoeuvres with additional controls added to the booster. The Mark 2 was reduced to Advanced Sea Dart, then Enhanced Sea Dart and finally Improved Sea Dart.
Lightweight Sea Dart was a version with minimal changes to the missile itself, but based in a new sealed box-launcher. A four-box trainable launcher was developed that allowed it to be mounted to ships as small as 300 tons displacement. The same box and launcher could also support the Sea Eagle SL, the proposed ship-launched version of Sea Eagle. Guardian was a proposed land-based system of radars, control stations and the Lightweight Sea Dart proposed in the 1980s for use as a land-based air defence system for the Falkland Islands. Neither system was put into production.[14]
Withdrawal
The Sea Dart-equipped Type 42s reached the end of their service lives, with all vessels already retired. They were replaced by the larger Type 45 which are armed with the Sea Viper missile system which is much more capable in the anti-air role. The first-of-class began sea trials in July 2007 and Daring entered service in 2009.[15]
On 13 April 2012 HMS Edinburgh fired the last operational Sea Dart missiles after a thirty-year career. The last two remaining Type 42s, York and Edinburgh completed their careers without the system being operational.[16]
A launcher with drill missiles has been preserved and is on display at
Operators
Former operators
- Argentina
- Argentine Navy: Purchased 60 missiles for their two Type 42 destroyers but retired them in 1987 due to lack of spares.
- United Kingdom
Notes
- ^ GWS stands for Guided Weapon System. Seaslug was GWS.1.
References
Citations
- ^ In Combat, page 229, 1991
- ^ In Combat, page 229, 1991
- ^ Friedman 2012, p. 255.
- ^ Friedman 2012, p. 256.
- ^ a b Friedman 2012, p. 258.
- ^ Friedman 2012, p. 257.
- ^ "Defence: Managing Director of British Aerospace letter to MT (sale of Sea Dart weapon system to China) ["Thank you for your involvement in our success... This will help to secure jobs"] [declassified Jan 2014]". Margaret Thatcher Foundation. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
- ^ Mirsky, Jonathan (1983-04-03). "Why China cancelled £100m Sea Dart order". The Observer.
- ^ "Canberras of the Grupo 2 de Bombardeo: The Falklands Conflict". Retrieved 2010-02-01.[dead link]
- ^ "Type 42 Sheffield Class Guided Missile Destroyer". Globalsecurity.org.
- ^ "The British Aerospace Sea Dart missile". Wingweb. Archived from the original on 2008-10-04.
- ^ Lewis Page (27 November 2007). "New BAE destroyer launches today on the Clyde". The Register. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
- Bernard Rostker (19 September 2000). "TAB H -- Friendly-fire Incidents". United States Department of Defense. Archived from the originalon 2013-06-01. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ^ "Sea Dart loses weight". Flight International. 26 February 1983.
- ^ "HMS Daring sets sail for trials". BBC. 2007-07-18. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
- ^ "HMS Edinburgh Fires Final Sea Dart Missiles". Archived from the original on 2012-05-14. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
Bibliography
- Friedman, Norman (2012). British Destroyers & Frigates: The Second World War & After. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 9781848320154.
- Britain's Modern Royal Navy, Paul Beaver, Patrick Stephens Limited, 1996 ISBN 1-85260-442-5
- Naval Armament, Doug Richardson, Jane's Publishing, 1981, ISBN 0-531-03738-X
- War Machines enciclopedy, Limited publishing, 1984 page 866 (Italian version printed by De Agostini) and page 1260-1268
- Enciclopedy War Machines, 1265–70 and 864-65 (Italian edition)