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Air to Surface Missiles (ASM):
Any self-respecting air force in the world today would have a large inventory of Air-to-Surface Missiles (ASM) in the armoury ready to take on any enemy. While dumb, laser and satellite guided bombs maybe cheaper to procure, modern generation ASM are smarter, accurate and devastating in their applications.
ASM major advantage over the other weapons available for aircraft and helicopter use in attacking ground targets is the standoff distance they provided.
Experience from the US intervention in Iraq clearly showed that despite massive air superiority, the proliferation of machine-guns, anti-aircraft guns and man-portable infra-red missiles (MANPADS) have made even the most advanced attack aircraft equipped with the latest countermeasures, remained vulnerable to ground fire. It was this vulnerability first exposed in Vietnam, Arab-Israeli wars and confirmed beyond doubt during the first Gulf War led to the current almost necessity for smart, powered weapons against surface targets.
The Rise of the ASM The lessons re-learnt in the first Gulf War proved to be a catalyst for air staff and weapon designers to design new, longer range and more sophisticated ASM to make attacking aircraft less vulnerable to ground fire. The new smart ASM allow pilots to lock and launch their weapons outside the range of air defences around targets but still near enough to the ground to prevent friendly-fire incidents.
To cut development time and risks and with a slew of surface-to-surface missiles (SSM) already in service, in most cases, weapon designers simply adapted these weapons for airborne launching, which in turn increased the range of the missile, not matter what type of propulsion they utilised.
And in some instances, designers simply bolted glide bombs together with a rocket engine and guidance module to create a cruise missile capable of defeating any targets from bunkers to ships. Typically, modern ASM used rocket motors and jet engines as their propulsion system. The propulsion system tends to correspond to the range of the missilesshort and long, respectively.
The advent of modern electronics also helped in the rise of the ASM as the new weapon of choice for air forces. Most of the missiles in service today are guided to targets via laser, infrared, optically via a data-link or via GPS signals coupled to the weapons autopilot and inertial navigation system. With these new capabilities, the latest versions of ASM could be launched in the fire-and-forget mode, in order to take most advantage of the standoff distanceallowing the launch platform to turn away after firing.
And some have the added capability to be guided into a new target via a data link if the original target has been destroyed or to avoid collateral damage. Some missiles also have enough range to be launched over the horizon.
These missiles (typically either cruise or antiship missiles) need to be able to find and home in on the target autonomously, thanks to the constellation of satellites orbiting the earth.
Typically, ASM divided into four sub-categories:
�� air-launched anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM);
�� air-launched cruise missiles (ALCM);
�� air-launched anti-ship/surface missiles
(ASHM); and
�� anti-radiation missiles (ARM).
Anti-Tank Guided Missiles
Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) are probably the most widely fielded ASM currently in service. Almost all air forces equipped with third generation fixed wing aircraft and attack helicopters have these missiles in their inventories. The prodigious usage of these typically short-range missiles (below 10km) is not only because of the maturity of the weapon systemsATGM have been in service since the 1970sbut also due to the less severe export protocols placed by manufacturing countries.
One of the first air-launched ATGM to be fielded is the American-made, the BGM-71 TOW (Tube launched, Optically tracked, Wire command link guided). The TOW was first produced in 1970 and remained the most widely used ATGM in the world. Current production TOWs can penetrate all currently known tank armour.
Initially developed by Hughes Aircraft between 1963 and 1968, the XBGM-71A was designed from the start, for both ground and heli-borne applications. In 1972, the missile was first fielded operationally in South Vietnam in response to the North Vietnamese Armys Easter Offensive, as part of the XM26 Armament Subsystem for the UH-1B helicopter.
The TOW missile has been continually upgraded, with an improved TOW missile appearing in 1978, TOW 2 in 1983, and TOW 2A/B in 1987. Even as recently as 2001, TOW improvement has continued. Raytheon has taken over from Hughes in recent years, and now handles production of all current variants, as well as TOW development.
So great is TOWs reputation as a tank buster, China it is claimed, simply copied the missile, and designated it as the HJ-8. Like its US counterpart, it is tube-launched, optically tracked, and wire-guided.
The latest version of the missile, HJ-8E, entered service in mid-1990s and is believed to outperform some Western missiles of the same category such as the Franco-German MILAN.
Very similar to the US TOW missile in performance, the HJ-8E is dependable and accurate, capable of hitting targets of up to four kilometres away. It is now the standard anti-tank armament of the WZ-10, Mi-17, and Gazelle helicopter gunships of the Peoples Liberation Army.
The Chinese TOW in turn was renamed by Pakistan as the Baktar Shikan, as it is
alsomanufactured under license by the country.
Like the other missiles, Baktar Shikan can also be mounted on Pakistans Cobra attack helicopters and probably attack aircraft. At a distance of 3km, Baktar Shikan ATGM can destroy all currently known tank targets with 90% hit and penetration probability. With its long range, penetration power and a powerful anti-jamming capability, Baktar Shikan forms a potent defence against armoured targets.
Even as TOW entered service, the US continues to fund programmes to develop newer ATGMs. One of the best known result of these policy is the Boeing AGM-114 Hellfire, designed from scratch in the 1970s as an airlaunched weapon system, to be primarily used as a tank-buster, launched from helicopters to defeat armoured vehicles.
Around the same period, the US also came out with another ASM, designed for both fixed wing and rotary aircraft, the AGM-65 Maverick.
The longer range and bigger Maverick (15km) is effective against a wide range of tactical targets, including armour, air defences, ships, ground transportation, and fuel storage facilities. The Maverick remained in service to this today with the latest variant be able to be fired in the Fire-and-Forget Mode.
Early variants of the Hellfire were laser guided with recent variants being radar guided. The Hellfire has matured into a comprehensive weapon system capable of being deployed from rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft, naval assets and land-based systems against a variety of targets. The missile has also been adapted to be fired from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).
Hellfire II, developed in the early 1990s is a modular missile system with four variants for maximum battlefield flexibility. Another variant, the AGM-114L, or Longbow Hellfire, is a fire -and-forget weapon: equipped with a millimeter wave (MMW) radar seeker, it requires no further guidance after launch and can hit its target without the launcher being in line of sight of the target. It also provides capability in adverse weather and battlefield obscurants.
The Hellfire is expected to remain in service for years to come.
Like the TOW, the Hellfire has also produced another foreign variant, although this time, it is a licensed version, the Brimstone, designed to meet the UK Royal Air Forces requirement for a long range anti-armour weapon, allowing strike aircraft to attack tanks and armoured vehicles at stand-off range, replacing the BL755 cluster bomb.
Brimstone is a fire and forget missile, which is given targeting data by the Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) prior to launch. Technically, it is programmable to adapt to a particular mission. This capability includes essentially the ability to find targets within a certain area (such as those near friendly forces).
Each launch system incorporates three rails, and one system carries three missiles. This allows a single aircraft to carry large numbers of missiles, for example a Typhoon can carry eight launchers on eight pylons, which gives a payload of 24 missilesin addition to a useful air-air payload.
Franco-German Trigat
Keen to field a more modern ATGM to replace the HOT missile, German and France since the last decade have been developing a new, longer range and sophisticated missile for their new attack helicopter, the Eurocopter Tigre.
The missile known publicly as the Trigat-LR (Third Generation Anti-Tank, Long Range) is also known as PARS 3 LR in German and AC 3G in French service, remained in development as a fire-and-forget air-to-ground missile.
The United Kingdom was originally involved in the project but chose to develop the Brimstone instead when teething problems delayed Trigats entry service. Trigat LR is intended for long range applications, and designed to defeat tanks, helicopters and other individual targets while minimising the exposure of the launch vehicle to enemy fire. It is to be the main weapon system of the Eurocopter Tiger UHT and HAD helicopters. Trigat missiles will be able to be fired in salvos of up to four in eight seconds. The missile can be applied in direct attack or terminal dive modes. In 2006, Germany ordered 680 PARS 3 LR missiles for EUR380 million.
Other Contenders
India rise as a nuclear power also provide the impetus to develop its own indigenous ASM programme. The South Asian country entry in the ATGM field is the Nag (Sanskrit for cobra). It is an all weather, fire-and-forget top attack missile with a range of 4 to 7km. The missile uses an 8kg tandem HEAT warhead capable of defeating modern armour including ERA (Explosive Reactive Armour) and composite armour. Nag uses Imaging Infra-Red (IIR) guidance with day and night capability.
Mode of launch for the IIR seeker is LOBL (Lock-On Before Launch). Nag can be mounted on an infantry vehicle; a helicopter-launched version will also be available with integration work being carried out with the HAL Dhruv.
The Indian Army is reportedly set to field the missile after a long but successful test firings.
Further versions of the missile may make use of an all-weather millimetre wave (MMW) seeker as an additional option. This seeker has reportedly been developed and efforts are on to integrate it into the missile.
Since its inception, Israel has remained in conflict with its neighbouring countries and this experience has translated into one of the worlds most advanced weapon development programme. The Nimrod is an exceptionally long-range anti-tank guided missile developed by Israel Aerospace Industries. It provides standoff strike capability against a variety of point targets such as tanks, APCs, ships,
bunkers and personnel concentrations. Nimrod has a semi-active laser guidance system, capable of day and night operation. Its flight trajectory can be set below obscuring cloud layer, while a forward scouting team uses a laser designator to direct it from up to 26km behind. Nimrod may be installed on a variety of towed launchers, light combat vehicle launchers, helicopters, and fixed-wing aircraft. The launching vehicle or aircraft may fire up to four Nimrods at once from a single pack.
Another ATGM available for export by Israel is the Spike-ER. The variant is the extended range or extra long-range version of the weapon. It was also known as the NT-Dandy or NT-D. It has a range of 8,000 metres. It is used by infantry, light combat vehicles andhelicopters.
The Mokopa is a South African air-to-ground missile, designed primarily for use as an antitank weapon. It is being integrated onto the South African Air Forces Rooivalk attack helicopters. The missile is produced by Denel Aerospace Systems, formerly Kentron. The current version utilises Semi-Active Laser (SAL) guidance, requiring the target to be illuminated by a laser designator either on the launch platform or elsewhere; though there are alternative guidance packages available including a MMW seeker and a two-colour imaging infrared (IIR) seeker. All variants of the Mokopa feature two launch modes, Lock-On Before Launch (LOBL) and Lock-On After Launch (LOAL). LOBL is the older, more conventional mode of missile launching, where the target has to be illuminated by the launch platform before launch. LOAL, on the other hand, allows the launch platform to launch the missile even though it may not be in sight of the target.
From Russia, a variety of ATGMs are also available for export. The AT-9 Spiral-2 is the NATO reporting name for the 9M120 Ataka-V SACLOS radio guided anti-tank missile system of the former Soviet Union. It is the next major generation in the 9K114 Shturm (AT-6 Spiral) family. The missile is reported to be considerably faster than the AT-6 Spiral, with slightly longer ranger than the original version. It still uses radio command guidance, but the system has been improved when compared to the earlier 9K114 Shturm.
There are three main missiles, which are all compatible with the launch system. The first is a two-stage anti-armour weapon. Second is a missile termed 9M120F, which has a thermo baric warhead for use against infantry positions. Finally, there is a version with proximity fused expanding rod warhead the 9A220O. This provides the system with a limited air-to-air capability. The system is carried by the Mi-28 and some Mil Mi-24 prototypes. It is also offered in vehicle and ship-launched versions.
9A1472 Vikhr (Whirlwind) is a Russian laser-guided anti-tank missile system. The missile is air-launched from the Ka-50, Ka-52 helicopters and Su-25 aircraft. It is believed to have entered service around 1990, having been first shown publicly at the 1992 Farnborough Air Show. The missile is designed to engage vital ground targets, including armoured targets fitted out with built in and add-on explosive reactive armour, at a range of up to 8km when fired from a helicopter and 10km when fired from a fixed wing aircraft in daytime and up to 5km at night, as well as air targets in conditions of air defence assets activity.
Cruise Missiles
Current military logic dictates that the most common mission for cruise missiles is to attack relatively high value targets such as ships, command bunkers, bridges and dams as modern guidance system permit precise attacks. It is convenient to categorise them by size, speed (subsonic or supersonic), and range. Often, the same missile is adopted for different launch platforms (land, sea, or air).
Sometimes, the air- and submarine-launched versions are a bit lighter and smaller than their land- and ship-launched cousins.
Guidance systems can vary across missiles, but often the same missile comes in several variants, each with a different navigation system (Inertial navigation, TERCOM, or satellite navigation). Larger cruise missiles can carry either a conventional or a nuclear warhead, while smaller ones carry only conventional warheads.
The US Air Force (USAF) deploys an air -launched cruise missile, the AGM-86C, which can be launched from bombers like the B-52 Stratofortress. The weapons also known as the Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missile (CALCM) was developed to increase the effectiveness of B-52H bombers, dilute an enemys forces, and complicate the defence of enemy territory.
CALCM is the only air-launched, conventionally armed, long-range standoff missile deployed in the USAF inventory. It is produced by modifying surplus nuclear-armed AGM-86Bs (ALCMs). It features a highexplosive blast-fragmentation warhead and a GPS receiver for accurate GPS-aided inertial navigation. Launched from B-52H aircraft, CALCM provides the USAF with an economical, rapid response, worldwide conventional strike capability; this makes it a cost-effective choice for additional system upgrades and new mission applications.
Boeing is making the conversions at its Weapons Programmes centre in St Charles, Missouri. The small, winged CALCM is powered by a turbofan jet engine that propels it at sustained subsonic speeds. After launch, the missiles folded wings, tail surfaces and engine inlet deploy. It then is able to fly complicated routes to a target through the use of an onboard GPS coupled with its INS. This allows the missile to guide itself to the target with pinpoint accuracy. The B-52H is capable of carrying six CALCMs on each of two externally mounted pylons and eight internally on a rotary launcher, giving each Buff, a maximum capacity of 20 CALCMs per aircraft.
As the US was preparing to invade Iraq in 2003, a new cruise missile was added to its armed forces inventory, designated as the AGM-158 JASSM, which is a conventionally armed, low observable cruise missile designed to destroy the enemys high-value targets from aircraft that launch from outside the area defences. The missile has automatic target recognition, autonomous guidance, precision accuracy, and a J-1000 warhead optimized for penetration and carrying a new high-yield explosive. These characteristics give JASSM capabilities against heavily defended hard targets such as aircraft shelters and underground command posts as well as soft targets such as rail yards.
The Air Force/Navy JASSM programme was established in the fiscal year 1996 budget, following cancellation of the Tri-Service Stand-off Attack Missile (TSSAM), to develop a replacement for that system at the earliest possible date. JASSM is a precision cruise missile designed for launch from outside area defences to kill hard, medium-hardened, soft, and area type targets. The threshold integration aircraft are the F-16, B-52, and F/A-18E/F, and the airframe design is compatible with all JASSM launch platforms the B-52H, F-16C/D, F/A-18E/F, F-15E, F-117, B-1B, B-2, P-3C and S-3B.
The 100-km range weapon is required to attack both fixed and relocatable targets at ranges beyond enemy air defences. After launch, it will be able to fly autonomously over a low-level, circuitous route to the area of a target, where an autonomous terminal guidance system will guide the missile in for a direct hit. JASSMs midcourse guidance is provided by a Global Positioning System (GPS)-aided inertial navigation system (INS) protected by a new high, anti-jam GPS null steering antenna system.
In the terminal phase, JASSM is guided by an imaging infrared seeker and a general pattern match-autonomous target recognition system that provides aim-point detection, tracking and strike. It also offers growth potential for different warheads and seekers, and for extended range.
India and Russia have jointly developed the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos. There are three versions of the BrahMos: ship/landlaunched, air-launched and sub-launched. The ship/land-launched version is operational whereas the air-launched and sub-launched versions are under development. The airlaunched version is expected to be fielded by next year. The BrahMos has the capability to attack targets on land.
Russia also continues to operate several other cruise missiles, like the SS-N-12 Sandbox, SS-N-19 Shipwreck, SS-N-22 Sunburn and SS-N-25 Switchblade.
The UK and France operate the Storm Shadow, Germany and Spain the Taurus missile while
Pakistan has developed its own cruise missile somewhat similar to Tomahawk cruise missile, named the Babur.
Pakistan is reportedly developing air-launched version of the Babur to be adapted to its ever increasing F-16 Fighting Falcon fleet and Chinese/Pakistan-made JF-17 fighters.
Both the Peoples Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan) have also designed several cruise missile variants, such as the well-known C-802, some of which are capable of carrying biological, chemical, nuclear, and conventional warheads.
Anti-Ship Missiles
Like the multi-purpose ATGM, anti-ship missiles (ASHM) are probably the most fielded ASM in service today. New generation of ASHM has also been modified with the latest navigational systemsINS, GPS and Tercomadding landattack capability.
The latest innovation had led to many armed forces and analysts to classify ASHM with land attack capability as cruise missiles instead. Air-launched ASHM typically differs from ship-based versions, as most they do not come with boosters needed for surface launching.
Most ASHM in service are typically of the sea-skimming type, and use a combination of inertial guidance and radar homing. These missiles can be launched from a variety of platforms with the most important being ships, aircraft (including helicopters) and submarines.
One of the most prolific ASHM in contemporary service is the US-made Harpoon. Since it was first fielded in 1977, some 7,000 Harpoons have been delivered to US forces and its allies in both the surface and air-launched versions. The missile system has also been further developed into a coastal strike version, the Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM).
The Harpoon uses active radar homing and low-level, sea-skimming cruise trajectory to improve survivability and effectiveness.
Harpoons main western competitor is the French (now European) Exocet. Initially designed to be fired from ships, the first Exocet combat kill came from an air-launched version, designated AM39, fired by the Argentine Air Force in the 1982 Falklands War.
The air-launched Exocet was developed in 1974 and entered service with the French Navy five years later. It is guided inertially in mid-flight, and turns on active radar late in its flight to find and hit its target. Its solid propellant engine gives the Exocet a maximum range of 70km.
The newest variant ExocetMM40 Block 3has an improved range of 180km, through the use of a turbojet engine. Among the latest European ASHM include the Swedish RBS15 and the Norwegian Naval Strike Missile (NSM).
The latest RB15Mark III and Mark IVhas an increase range of some 200km; improved accuracy (integrated GPS) and selectable priority targeting, which improved the weapon systems flexibility. Both Germany and Sweden have fielded the Mark III version of the missile both sea and air-launched versions.
The NSM weighs slightly more than 400kg and have a range of at least 160km. The missile is designed for littoral waters (brown water) as well as for open sea (green and blue water) scenarios. Like its Penguin predecessor, NSM is able to fly over and around landmasses, travel in sea skim mode, and then make random manoeuvres in the terminal phase, making it harder to stop by enemy countermeasures.
The target selection technology provides NSM with a capacity for independent detection, recognition, and discrimination of targets at sea or on the coast. This is possible by the combination of an imaging IR seeker and an onboard target database. NSM is able to navigate by GPS, inertial and terrain reference systems. NSM initial serial production contract was signed in June 2007. It has been chosen by the Royal Norwegian Navy for its new Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates and Skjold-class patrol boats.
Russia has plenty of ASHM available for exportin both ship and air-launched versions with the Zvezda Kh-35 (NATO reporting nameSS-N-25 Switchblade) as the most prolific, both in numbers and variants. The SS-N-25 is commonly referred to as the Harpoonski due to its similarity to the US missile. The missile is universal in terms of its carries and can be included in shipboard, coastal and airborne systems.
The Kh-35 missile is a subsonic vehicle featuring a normal aerodynamic configuration with cruciform wings and fins and a semi submerged air duct intake. The propulsion unit is a turbofan engine. The missile is guided to its target at the final leg of the trajectory by commands fed from the active radar homing head and the radio altimeter.
Russia is currently promoting two versions of the Kh-35 for export, the Kh-35E and Kh-35U. The Kh-35E can be equipped on ships, coastal systems, and aircraft. The Kh-35U is air-launched only, and can be equipped on MiG-21, MiG-29SMT, Su-30, Su-35, Ka-27, and Ka-28,
The standard Kh-35U & Kh-35E has range up to 130km and speed of Mach 0.8. The missile weights 520kg, with 145kg warhead, is 3.85 metres in length, 0.42 metres in diameter, and 1.33 metres empennage span. The helicopter version for Ka-27 and Ka-28 is heavier at 610kg, and longer at 4.4 metres in length.
Apart from Kh-35, Russia has several versions of supersonic ASMs namely the P-800 Yakhont and the P-270 Moskit for both land attack and anti-ship roles. Both of these ASMs are formidable weapons due to their terminal velocity although it is hard to determine whether any had been exported to other countries.
Chinas Yingji-82 or YJ-82 (export name C-802) was first unveiled in 1989 by the China Haiying Electro-Mechanical Technology Academy. Due to the Yingji-82 missiles small radar reflectivity, low attack flight path (only five to seven metres above the sea surface) and strong anti-jamming capability of its guidance equipment, target ships have a very small chance of intercepting the missile. The Yingji-82 can be launched from airplanes, surface ships, submarines and land-based vehicles, and has been consideredalong with the US Harpoon missileas among the best anti-ship missiles of its generation.
Apart from the Harpoon and JSSM, the US has several powered bombs in its inventory.
These missiles are modified glide bombs, by adding a rocket motor and guidance units. One of these modified bombs is the US/Israeli-made AGM-142 Raptor. The Raptor is designed for high- and low-altitude strikes at standoff ranges against a variety of targets.
The AGM-130 is integrated on the F-15E which is capable of carrying two missiles, one on each inboard store station. The Raptor provides the air force with a retargetable, precision guided standoff weapon using inertial navigation aided by GPS. The AGM-130 is designed to attack high value fixed, relocatable or slow moving targets from 30 to 70km range.
The missile is a powered version of the GBU-15 bomb and provides a significantly increased standoff range beyond that of the GBU-15. The missile allows the aircraft to remain at a distance from the target and uses man-in-the-loop guidance with either a television or infrared seeker and a 450kg general purpose warhead.
Another flying bomb in the inventory is the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW), which is manufactured by Raytheon for the USAF and the Navy. The AGM-154A (Formerly Advanced Interdiction Weapon System) is intended to provide a low cost, highly lethal glide weapon with a standoff capability. JSOW family of kinetically efficient, air-to-surface glide weapons, in the 250kg class, provides standoff capabilities from 30km (low altitude launch) to 70km (high altitude launch).
The JSOW is designed against a variety of land and sea targets and will operate from ranges outside enemy point defences. The JSOW is a launch and leave weapon that employs a tightly coupled GPS/INS, and is capable of day/night and adverse weather operations. The JSOW uses inertial and global positioning system for midcourse navigation and imaging infrared and data-link for terminal homing.
Anti Radiation Missiles (ARM)
Anti-Radiation Missiles as the name implies is designed to target and home in to an enemy radio transmission, typically radar emissions although jammers and even radio communications can be targeted. Almost all current ARM have been fielded against ground based radars. For US forces, specialist attack aircraft, known as Suppression of Enemy Air Defence (SEAD) are primarily use for this role in order to increase the chance of success.
These aircraft are also tasked to attack unexpected air defence sites during raids and finished off these targets once the ARM had destroyed the radar.
First generations ARMs were not that smart, once the targeted radar is turning off, the missile simply went ballistic. This led to the development of more advanced ARMs like the AGM-78 Standard ARM and AGM-88 HARM missiles, which have inertial guidance systems (INS) built-in. This allows them to remember the radars location if it is turned off and continue to home into it. HARM high speed and smokeless motors, mean that it will probably close the distance significantly before anyone even realises one has been fired.
This gives the missile a much higher probability of destroying the radar even in this circumstance. In any case, even a temporary shut down of the enemys missile guidance radar can be of a great advantage to friendly aircraft during battle. The British ALARM has the ability to loiter: a parachute allows it to slow its descent until the radar reactivates. Once the radar is activates the rocket motor kicks in and the missile will fly at high speed to the target.��
article was written in 2007 but still has good information.
Any self-respecting air force in the world today would have a large inventory of Air-to-Surface Missiles (ASM) in the armoury ready to take on any enemy. While dumb, laser and satellite guided bombs maybe cheaper to procure, modern generation ASM are smarter, accurate and devastating in their applications.
ASM major advantage over the other weapons available for aircraft and helicopter use in attacking ground targets is the standoff distance they provided.
Experience from the US intervention in Iraq clearly showed that despite massive air superiority, the proliferation of machine-guns, anti-aircraft guns and man-portable infra-red missiles (MANPADS) have made even the most advanced attack aircraft equipped with the latest countermeasures, remained vulnerable to ground fire. It was this vulnerability first exposed in Vietnam, Arab-Israeli wars and confirmed beyond doubt during the first Gulf War led to the current almost necessity for smart, powered weapons against surface targets.
The Rise of the ASM The lessons re-learnt in the first Gulf War proved to be a catalyst for air staff and weapon designers to design new, longer range and more sophisticated ASM to make attacking aircraft less vulnerable to ground fire. The new smart ASM allow pilots to lock and launch their weapons outside the range of air defences around targets but still near enough to the ground to prevent friendly-fire incidents.
To cut development time and risks and with a slew of surface-to-surface missiles (SSM) already in service, in most cases, weapon designers simply adapted these weapons for airborne launching, which in turn increased the range of the missile, not matter what type of propulsion they utilised.
And in some instances, designers simply bolted glide bombs together with a rocket engine and guidance module to create a cruise missile capable of defeating any targets from bunkers to ships. Typically, modern ASM used rocket motors and jet engines as their propulsion system. The propulsion system tends to correspond to the range of the missilesshort and long, respectively.
The advent of modern electronics also helped in the rise of the ASM as the new weapon of choice for air forces. Most of the missiles in service today are guided to targets via laser, infrared, optically via a data-link or via GPS signals coupled to the weapons autopilot and inertial navigation system. With these new capabilities, the latest versions of ASM could be launched in the fire-and-forget mode, in order to take most advantage of the standoff distanceallowing the launch platform to turn away after firing.
And some have the added capability to be guided into a new target via a data link if the original target has been destroyed or to avoid collateral damage. Some missiles also have enough range to be launched over the horizon.
These missiles (typically either cruise or antiship missiles) need to be able to find and home in on the target autonomously, thanks to the constellation of satellites orbiting the earth.
Typically, ASM divided into four sub-categories:
�� air-launched anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM);
�� air-launched cruise missiles (ALCM);
�� air-launched anti-ship/surface missiles
(ASHM); and
�� anti-radiation missiles (ARM).
Anti-Tank Guided Missiles
Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) are probably the most widely fielded ASM currently in service. Almost all air forces equipped with third generation fixed wing aircraft and attack helicopters have these missiles in their inventories. The prodigious usage of these typically short-range missiles (below 10km) is not only because of the maturity of the weapon systemsATGM have been in service since the 1970sbut also due to the less severe export protocols placed by manufacturing countries.
One of the first air-launched ATGM to be fielded is the American-made, the BGM-71 TOW (Tube launched, Optically tracked, Wire command link guided). The TOW was first produced in 1970 and remained the most widely used ATGM in the world. Current production TOWs can penetrate all currently known tank armour.
Initially developed by Hughes Aircraft between 1963 and 1968, the XBGM-71A was designed from the start, for both ground and heli-borne applications. In 1972, the missile was first fielded operationally in South Vietnam in response to the North Vietnamese Armys Easter Offensive, as part of the XM26 Armament Subsystem for the UH-1B helicopter.
The TOW missile has been continually upgraded, with an improved TOW missile appearing in 1978, TOW 2 in 1983, and TOW 2A/B in 1987. Even as recently as 2001, TOW improvement has continued. Raytheon has taken over from Hughes in recent years, and now handles production of all current variants, as well as TOW development.
So great is TOWs reputation as a tank buster, China it is claimed, simply copied the missile, and designated it as the HJ-8. Like its US counterpart, it is tube-launched, optically tracked, and wire-guided.
The latest version of the missile, HJ-8E, entered service in mid-1990s and is believed to outperform some Western missiles of the same category such as the Franco-German MILAN.
Very similar to the US TOW missile in performance, the HJ-8E is dependable and accurate, capable of hitting targets of up to four kilometres away. It is now the standard anti-tank armament of the WZ-10, Mi-17, and Gazelle helicopter gunships of the Peoples Liberation Army.
The Chinese TOW in turn was renamed by Pakistan as the Baktar Shikan, as it is
alsomanufactured under license by the country.
Like the other missiles, Baktar Shikan can also be mounted on Pakistans Cobra attack helicopters and probably attack aircraft. At a distance of 3km, Baktar Shikan ATGM can destroy all currently known tank targets with 90% hit and penetration probability. With its long range, penetration power and a powerful anti-jamming capability, Baktar Shikan forms a potent defence against armoured targets.
Even as TOW entered service, the US continues to fund programmes to develop newer ATGMs. One of the best known result of these policy is the Boeing AGM-114 Hellfire, designed from scratch in the 1970s as an airlaunched weapon system, to be primarily used as a tank-buster, launched from helicopters to defeat armoured vehicles.
Around the same period, the US also came out with another ASM, designed for both fixed wing and rotary aircraft, the AGM-65 Maverick.
The longer range and bigger Maverick (15km) is effective against a wide range of tactical targets, including armour, air defences, ships, ground transportation, and fuel storage facilities. The Maverick remained in service to this today with the latest variant be able to be fired in the Fire-and-Forget Mode.
Early variants of the Hellfire were laser guided with recent variants being radar guided. The Hellfire has matured into a comprehensive weapon system capable of being deployed from rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft, naval assets and land-based systems against a variety of targets. The missile has also been adapted to be fired from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).
Hellfire II, developed in the early 1990s is a modular missile system with four variants for maximum battlefield flexibility. Another variant, the AGM-114L, or Longbow Hellfire, is a fire -and-forget weapon: equipped with a millimeter wave (MMW) radar seeker, it requires no further guidance after launch and can hit its target without the launcher being in line of sight of the target. It also provides capability in adverse weather and battlefield obscurants.
The Hellfire is expected to remain in service for years to come.
Like the TOW, the Hellfire has also produced another foreign variant, although this time, it is a licensed version, the Brimstone, designed to meet the UK Royal Air Forces requirement for a long range anti-armour weapon, allowing strike aircraft to attack tanks and armoured vehicles at stand-off range, replacing the BL755 cluster bomb.
Brimstone is a fire and forget missile, which is given targeting data by the Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) prior to launch. Technically, it is programmable to adapt to a particular mission. This capability includes essentially the ability to find targets within a certain area (such as those near friendly forces).
Each launch system incorporates three rails, and one system carries three missiles. This allows a single aircraft to carry large numbers of missiles, for example a Typhoon can carry eight launchers on eight pylons, which gives a payload of 24 missilesin addition to a useful air-air payload.
Franco-German Trigat
Keen to field a more modern ATGM to replace the HOT missile, German and France since the last decade have been developing a new, longer range and sophisticated missile for their new attack helicopter, the Eurocopter Tigre.
The missile known publicly as the Trigat-LR (Third Generation Anti-Tank, Long Range) is also known as PARS 3 LR in German and AC 3G in French service, remained in development as a fire-and-forget air-to-ground missile.
The United Kingdom was originally involved in the project but chose to develop the Brimstone instead when teething problems delayed Trigats entry service. Trigat LR is intended for long range applications, and designed to defeat tanks, helicopters and other individual targets while minimising the exposure of the launch vehicle to enemy fire. It is to be the main weapon system of the Eurocopter Tiger UHT and HAD helicopters. Trigat missiles will be able to be fired in salvos of up to four in eight seconds. The missile can be applied in direct attack or terminal dive modes. In 2006, Germany ordered 680 PARS 3 LR missiles for EUR380 million.
Other Contenders
India rise as a nuclear power also provide the impetus to develop its own indigenous ASM programme. The South Asian country entry in the ATGM field is the Nag (Sanskrit for cobra). It is an all weather, fire-and-forget top attack missile with a range of 4 to 7km. The missile uses an 8kg tandem HEAT warhead capable of defeating modern armour including ERA (Explosive Reactive Armour) and composite armour. Nag uses Imaging Infra-Red (IIR) guidance with day and night capability.
Mode of launch for the IIR seeker is LOBL (Lock-On Before Launch). Nag can be mounted on an infantry vehicle; a helicopter-launched version will also be available with integration work being carried out with the HAL Dhruv.
The Indian Army is reportedly set to field the missile after a long but successful test firings.
Further versions of the missile may make use of an all-weather millimetre wave (MMW) seeker as an additional option. This seeker has reportedly been developed and efforts are on to integrate it into the missile.
Since its inception, Israel has remained in conflict with its neighbouring countries and this experience has translated into one of the worlds most advanced weapon development programme. The Nimrod is an exceptionally long-range anti-tank guided missile developed by Israel Aerospace Industries. It provides standoff strike capability against a variety of point targets such as tanks, APCs, ships,
bunkers and personnel concentrations. Nimrod has a semi-active laser guidance system, capable of day and night operation. Its flight trajectory can be set below obscuring cloud layer, while a forward scouting team uses a laser designator to direct it from up to 26km behind. Nimrod may be installed on a variety of towed launchers, light combat vehicle launchers, helicopters, and fixed-wing aircraft. The launching vehicle or aircraft may fire up to four Nimrods at once from a single pack.
Another ATGM available for export by Israel is the Spike-ER. The variant is the extended range or extra long-range version of the weapon. It was also known as the NT-Dandy or NT-D. It has a range of 8,000 metres. It is used by infantry, light combat vehicles andhelicopters.
The Mokopa is a South African air-to-ground missile, designed primarily for use as an antitank weapon. It is being integrated onto the South African Air Forces Rooivalk attack helicopters. The missile is produced by Denel Aerospace Systems, formerly Kentron. The current version utilises Semi-Active Laser (SAL) guidance, requiring the target to be illuminated by a laser designator either on the launch platform or elsewhere; though there are alternative guidance packages available including a MMW seeker and a two-colour imaging infrared (IIR) seeker. All variants of the Mokopa feature two launch modes, Lock-On Before Launch (LOBL) and Lock-On After Launch (LOAL). LOBL is the older, more conventional mode of missile launching, where the target has to be illuminated by the launch platform before launch. LOAL, on the other hand, allows the launch platform to launch the missile even though it may not be in sight of the target.
From Russia, a variety of ATGMs are also available for export. The AT-9 Spiral-2 is the NATO reporting name for the 9M120 Ataka-V SACLOS radio guided anti-tank missile system of the former Soviet Union. It is the next major generation in the 9K114 Shturm (AT-6 Spiral) family. The missile is reported to be considerably faster than the AT-6 Spiral, with slightly longer ranger than the original version. It still uses radio command guidance, but the system has been improved when compared to the earlier 9K114 Shturm.
There are three main missiles, which are all compatible with the launch system. The first is a two-stage anti-armour weapon. Second is a missile termed 9M120F, which has a thermo baric warhead for use against infantry positions. Finally, there is a version with proximity fused expanding rod warhead the 9A220O. This provides the system with a limited air-to-air capability. The system is carried by the Mi-28 and some Mil Mi-24 prototypes. It is also offered in vehicle and ship-launched versions.
9A1472 Vikhr (Whirlwind) is a Russian laser-guided anti-tank missile system. The missile is air-launched from the Ka-50, Ka-52 helicopters and Su-25 aircraft. It is believed to have entered service around 1990, having been first shown publicly at the 1992 Farnborough Air Show. The missile is designed to engage vital ground targets, including armoured targets fitted out with built in and add-on explosive reactive armour, at a range of up to 8km when fired from a helicopter and 10km when fired from a fixed wing aircraft in daytime and up to 5km at night, as well as air targets in conditions of air defence assets activity.
Cruise Missiles
Current military logic dictates that the most common mission for cruise missiles is to attack relatively high value targets such as ships, command bunkers, bridges and dams as modern guidance system permit precise attacks. It is convenient to categorise them by size, speed (subsonic or supersonic), and range. Often, the same missile is adopted for different launch platforms (land, sea, or air).
Sometimes, the air- and submarine-launched versions are a bit lighter and smaller than their land- and ship-launched cousins.
Guidance systems can vary across missiles, but often the same missile comes in several variants, each with a different navigation system (Inertial navigation, TERCOM, or satellite navigation). Larger cruise missiles can carry either a conventional or a nuclear warhead, while smaller ones carry only conventional warheads.
The US Air Force (USAF) deploys an air -launched cruise missile, the AGM-86C, which can be launched from bombers like the B-52 Stratofortress. The weapons also known as the Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missile (CALCM) was developed to increase the effectiveness of B-52H bombers, dilute an enemys forces, and complicate the defence of enemy territory.
CALCM is the only air-launched, conventionally armed, long-range standoff missile deployed in the USAF inventory. It is produced by modifying surplus nuclear-armed AGM-86Bs (ALCMs). It features a highexplosive blast-fragmentation warhead and a GPS receiver for accurate GPS-aided inertial navigation. Launched from B-52H aircraft, CALCM provides the USAF with an economical, rapid response, worldwide conventional strike capability; this makes it a cost-effective choice for additional system upgrades and new mission applications.
Boeing is making the conversions at its Weapons Programmes centre in St Charles, Missouri. The small, winged CALCM is powered by a turbofan jet engine that propels it at sustained subsonic speeds. After launch, the missiles folded wings, tail surfaces and engine inlet deploy. It then is able to fly complicated routes to a target through the use of an onboard GPS coupled with its INS. This allows the missile to guide itself to the target with pinpoint accuracy. The B-52H is capable of carrying six CALCMs on each of two externally mounted pylons and eight internally on a rotary launcher, giving each Buff, a maximum capacity of 20 CALCMs per aircraft.
As the US was preparing to invade Iraq in 2003, a new cruise missile was added to its armed forces inventory, designated as the AGM-158 JASSM, which is a conventionally armed, low observable cruise missile designed to destroy the enemys high-value targets from aircraft that launch from outside the area defences. The missile has automatic target recognition, autonomous guidance, precision accuracy, and a J-1000 warhead optimized for penetration and carrying a new high-yield explosive. These characteristics give JASSM capabilities against heavily defended hard targets such as aircraft shelters and underground command posts as well as soft targets such as rail yards.
The Air Force/Navy JASSM programme was established in the fiscal year 1996 budget, following cancellation of the Tri-Service Stand-off Attack Missile (TSSAM), to develop a replacement for that system at the earliest possible date. JASSM is a precision cruise missile designed for launch from outside area defences to kill hard, medium-hardened, soft, and area type targets. The threshold integration aircraft are the F-16, B-52, and F/A-18E/F, and the airframe design is compatible with all JASSM launch platforms the B-52H, F-16C/D, F/A-18E/F, F-15E, F-117, B-1B, B-2, P-3C and S-3B.
The 100-km range weapon is required to attack both fixed and relocatable targets at ranges beyond enemy air defences. After launch, it will be able to fly autonomously over a low-level, circuitous route to the area of a target, where an autonomous terminal guidance system will guide the missile in for a direct hit. JASSMs midcourse guidance is provided by a Global Positioning System (GPS)-aided inertial navigation system (INS) protected by a new high, anti-jam GPS null steering antenna system.
In the terminal phase, JASSM is guided by an imaging infrared seeker and a general pattern match-autonomous target recognition system that provides aim-point detection, tracking and strike. It also offers growth potential for different warheads and seekers, and for extended range.
India and Russia have jointly developed the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos. There are three versions of the BrahMos: ship/landlaunched, air-launched and sub-launched. The ship/land-launched version is operational whereas the air-launched and sub-launched versions are under development. The airlaunched version is expected to be fielded by next year. The BrahMos has the capability to attack targets on land.
Russia also continues to operate several other cruise missiles, like the SS-N-12 Sandbox, SS-N-19 Shipwreck, SS-N-22 Sunburn and SS-N-25 Switchblade.
The UK and France operate the Storm Shadow, Germany and Spain the Taurus missile while
Pakistan has developed its own cruise missile somewhat similar to Tomahawk cruise missile, named the Babur.
Pakistan is reportedly developing air-launched version of the Babur to be adapted to its ever increasing F-16 Fighting Falcon fleet and Chinese/Pakistan-made JF-17 fighters.
Both the Peoples Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan) have also designed several cruise missile variants, such as the well-known C-802, some of which are capable of carrying biological, chemical, nuclear, and conventional warheads.
Anti-Ship Missiles
Like the multi-purpose ATGM, anti-ship missiles (ASHM) are probably the most fielded ASM in service today. New generation of ASHM has also been modified with the latest navigational systemsINS, GPS and Tercomadding landattack capability.
The latest innovation had led to many armed forces and analysts to classify ASHM with land attack capability as cruise missiles instead. Air-launched ASHM typically differs from ship-based versions, as most they do not come with boosters needed for surface launching.
Most ASHM in service are typically of the sea-skimming type, and use a combination of inertial guidance and radar homing. These missiles can be launched from a variety of platforms with the most important being ships, aircraft (including helicopters) and submarines.
One of the most prolific ASHM in contemporary service is the US-made Harpoon. Since it was first fielded in 1977, some 7,000 Harpoons have been delivered to US forces and its allies in both the surface and air-launched versions. The missile system has also been further developed into a coastal strike version, the Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM).
The Harpoon uses active radar homing and low-level, sea-skimming cruise trajectory to improve survivability and effectiveness.
Harpoons main western competitor is the French (now European) Exocet. Initially designed to be fired from ships, the first Exocet combat kill came from an air-launched version, designated AM39, fired by the Argentine Air Force in the 1982 Falklands War.
The air-launched Exocet was developed in 1974 and entered service with the French Navy five years later. It is guided inertially in mid-flight, and turns on active radar late in its flight to find and hit its target. Its solid propellant engine gives the Exocet a maximum range of 70km.
The newest variant ExocetMM40 Block 3has an improved range of 180km, through the use of a turbojet engine. Among the latest European ASHM include the Swedish RBS15 and the Norwegian Naval Strike Missile (NSM).
The latest RB15Mark III and Mark IVhas an increase range of some 200km; improved accuracy (integrated GPS) and selectable priority targeting, which improved the weapon systems flexibility. Both Germany and Sweden have fielded the Mark III version of the missile both sea and air-launched versions.
The NSM weighs slightly more than 400kg and have a range of at least 160km. The missile is designed for littoral waters (brown water) as well as for open sea (green and blue water) scenarios. Like its Penguin predecessor, NSM is able to fly over and around landmasses, travel in sea skim mode, and then make random manoeuvres in the terminal phase, making it harder to stop by enemy countermeasures.
The target selection technology provides NSM with a capacity for independent detection, recognition, and discrimination of targets at sea or on the coast. This is possible by the combination of an imaging IR seeker and an onboard target database. NSM is able to navigate by GPS, inertial and terrain reference systems. NSM initial serial production contract was signed in June 2007. It has been chosen by the Royal Norwegian Navy for its new Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates and Skjold-class patrol boats.
Russia has plenty of ASHM available for exportin both ship and air-launched versions with the Zvezda Kh-35 (NATO reporting nameSS-N-25 Switchblade) as the most prolific, both in numbers and variants. The SS-N-25 is commonly referred to as the Harpoonski due to its similarity to the US missile. The missile is universal in terms of its carries and can be included in shipboard, coastal and airborne systems.
The Kh-35 missile is a subsonic vehicle featuring a normal aerodynamic configuration with cruciform wings and fins and a semi submerged air duct intake. The propulsion unit is a turbofan engine. The missile is guided to its target at the final leg of the trajectory by commands fed from the active radar homing head and the radio altimeter.
Russia is currently promoting two versions of the Kh-35 for export, the Kh-35E and Kh-35U. The Kh-35E can be equipped on ships, coastal systems, and aircraft. The Kh-35U is air-launched only, and can be equipped on MiG-21, MiG-29SMT, Su-30, Su-35, Ka-27, and Ka-28,
The standard Kh-35U & Kh-35E has range up to 130km and speed of Mach 0.8. The missile weights 520kg, with 145kg warhead, is 3.85 metres in length, 0.42 metres in diameter, and 1.33 metres empennage span. The helicopter version for Ka-27 and Ka-28 is heavier at 610kg, and longer at 4.4 metres in length.
Apart from Kh-35, Russia has several versions of supersonic ASMs namely the P-800 Yakhont and the P-270 Moskit for both land attack and anti-ship roles. Both of these ASMs are formidable weapons due to their terminal velocity although it is hard to determine whether any had been exported to other countries.
Chinas Yingji-82 or YJ-82 (export name C-802) was first unveiled in 1989 by the China Haiying Electro-Mechanical Technology Academy. Due to the Yingji-82 missiles small radar reflectivity, low attack flight path (only five to seven metres above the sea surface) and strong anti-jamming capability of its guidance equipment, target ships have a very small chance of intercepting the missile. The Yingji-82 can be launched from airplanes, surface ships, submarines and land-based vehicles, and has been consideredalong with the US Harpoon missileas among the best anti-ship missiles of its generation.
Apart from the Harpoon and JSSM, the US has several powered bombs in its inventory.
These missiles are modified glide bombs, by adding a rocket motor and guidance units. One of these modified bombs is the US/Israeli-made AGM-142 Raptor. The Raptor is designed for high- and low-altitude strikes at standoff ranges against a variety of targets.
The AGM-130 is integrated on the F-15E which is capable of carrying two missiles, one on each inboard store station. The Raptor provides the air force with a retargetable, precision guided standoff weapon using inertial navigation aided by GPS. The AGM-130 is designed to attack high value fixed, relocatable or slow moving targets from 30 to 70km range.
The missile is a powered version of the GBU-15 bomb and provides a significantly increased standoff range beyond that of the GBU-15. The missile allows the aircraft to remain at a distance from the target and uses man-in-the-loop guidance with either a television or infrared seeker and a 450kg general purpose warhead.
Another flying bomb in the inventory is the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW), which is manufactured by Raytheon for the USAF and the Navy. The AGM-154A (Formerly Advanced Interdiction Weapon System) is intended to provide a low cost, highly lethal glide weapon with a standoff capability. JSOW family of kinetically efficient, air-to-surface glide weapons, in the 250kg class, provides standoff capabilities from 30km (low altitude launch) to 70km (high altitude launch).
The JSOW is designed against a variety of land and sea targets and will operate from ranges outside enemy point defences. The JSOW is a launch and leave weapon that employs a tightly coupled GPS/INS, and is capable of day/night and adverse weather operations. The JSOW uses inertial and global positioning system for midcourse navigation and imaging infrared and data-link for terminal homing.
Anti Radiation Missiles (ARM)
Anti-Radiation Missiles as the name implies is designed to target and home in to an enemy radio transmission, typically radar emissions although jammers and even radio communications can be targeted. Almost all current ARM have been fielded against ground based radars. For US forces, specialist attack aircraft, known as Suppression of Enemy Air Defence (SEAD) are primarily use for this role in order to increase the chance of success.
These aircraft are also tasked to attack unexpected air defence sites during raids and finished off these targets once the ARM had destroyed the radar.
First generations ARMs were not that smart, once the targeted radar is turning off, the missile simply went ballistic. This led to the development of more advanced ARMs like the AGM-78 Standard ARM and AGM-88 HARM missiles, which have inertial guidance systems (INS) built-in. This allows them to remember the radars location if it is turned off and continue to home into it. HARM high speed and smokeless motors, mean that it will probably close the distance significantly before anyone even realises one has been fired.
This gives the missile a much higher probability of destroying the radar even in this circumstance. In any case, even a temporary shut down of the enemys missile guidance radar can be of a great advantage to friendly aircraft during battle. The British ALARM has the ability to loiter: a parachute allows it to slow its descent until the radar reactivates. Once the radar is activates the rocket motor kicks in and the missile will fly at high speed to the target.��
article was written in 2007 but still has good information.
