Ship Counter-Measures against an Anti-Ship Missile

[shehbazi2001]

What options are available to a captain when he is under attack by an anti-ship missile?

1- As we know that anti-ship missiles mostly switch on their radars either very close to the target or use it in intervals (intermittently) to minimize the warning to the ship that its under attack.

But we also know that a ship's coordinates must be fed to the missile computer before its launch......that means a radar "lock" is required.......this must be a first warning to the ship..........

2- Use the CIWS like Phalanx,

3- use anti-missile missile like BARAK or RAM....Barak has been installed onboard most of the Indian Navy ships............

4- Use chaff catridges........and do maneuver......

Any other method to counter the missile attack on a ship?

One idea may be to put a little armour just on the WATER LINE of the ship on the both broad-sides............because most anti-ship missiles hit the ship on its WATER LINE..........where usually the engine compartement or magazine lies.....correct me if I am wrong.........

 

[Quwa]

Point Defence Missile Systems such as the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM), VL-MICA and Israeli Barak offer high speed missile solutions against AShMs, AShCMs, etc.

 

[sohailbutt]

Shehbaz bhai, the real strategy depends upon the type of missile that is launched towards a ship, if it a supersonic anti ship missile than i think from wut i know best 2 options r available:

1. SeaRAM would engage the incomin missile, if the interception is not successful then another option wuld be;

2. CIWS like phalanx will then do its best to eliminate the incomin missile.

well, i only know these systems but the real question shuld be HOW TO DEAL WITH HYPERSONIC CRUISE MISSILE??? which will be a definite threat to Pak Navy ships in the future.

But shehbaz bhai, extra armour would not prevent the missile from enterin the ship because the missile is travelling very fast n just after a fraction of a second after impact it detonates doin its job, so i really doubt this extra armour option.

 

[shehbazi2001]

I just know about supersonic anti-ship missiles ....going upto Mach 2.5, but hypersonic must be a new development........knowing that hypersonic is near to mach 5.......

Secondly ur arguement seems valid about armour, but even now most anti-ship missiles are sub-sonic or say high sub-sonic......in range of mach 0.6-0.9......

and there are two broad types of their warheads.......one that detonate on contact with the surface......a contact fuse......and there are others which have delayed detonation fuse.......and now the resistance of armour against these two types of detonations needs to be checked experimentally.......the possiblity of putting Explosive Reactive Armour(ERA) may also be checked, which can stop all but tandem warhead technology.....

 

[Keysersoze]

Actually some of the older WW2 ships would handle impacts better than newer ones. they had much more armour than modern ships as was shown by the sinking of HMS Sheffield by a Exocet missile. (the warhead did not explode but the friction with aluminum(?) used to build the ship, caused a fire which gutted the ship)

 

[sohailbutt]

U must have heared Brahmos being tested in a hypersonic version in labs, i was referin to that missile, but accordin to my thinkin the missile wuld only become hypersonic at the termial stage n it will remain supersonic during the rest of the flight. This missile wuld be the biggest threat to Pak Navy ships, n i think brainstorming approach is need here to try find out the valid option that can be used to counter this threat.

for the time being as Keys pointed out in reply to one of my posts earlier our Phalanx CIWS r enough for the current version of Brahmos, so no worries there.

 

[Keysersoze]

U must have heared Brahmos being tested in a hypersonic version in labs, i was referin to that missile, but accordin to my thinkin the missile wuld only become hypersonic at the termial stage n it will remain supersonic during the rest of the flight. This missile wuld be the biggest threat to Pak Navy ships, n i think brainstorming approach is need here to try find out the valid option that can be used to counter this threat.

for the time being as Keys pointed out in reply to one of my posts earlier our Phalanx CIWS r enough for the current version of Brahmos, so no worries there.

Dude the CWIS on its own is not enough. you have to combine it with a few other things.


Also remember just cause you read about a "lab test" doesn't make someting reality. So far the same labs have not had much success with supersonic so far without Russian help.

 

[Quwa]

One concept that may be tested are airborne submunitions on PDMS...i.e. exploding and creating a debris cloud over approaching missiles.

 

[Keysersoze]

One concept that may be tested are airborne submunitions on PDMS...i.e. exploding and creating a debris cloud over approaching missiles.

Interesting........Another method would be directed energy weapons.....any seeker under stresses of those levels would easily be overcome.

 

[vish]

Anti-ship missile counter-measures are also dependent on the number and type of missiles launched. Further, the direction from where the missile is homing in on the target is also a major factor.

Point defence SAMs and CIWS can counter anti-ship missiles, but only to a certain extent. ECMs can also be used; Israel used them effectively against the Egyptian Navy.

Mark Sien:
Will the “cloud of steel and debris” work against lo-lo-lo missiles?

 

[shehbazi2001]

The question of direction from which AShM is coming may be further complicated by the fact that some systems like HARPOON can be fired like 2 missiles from different directions..........Now I am not sure if its only for Harpoon Block 2 or it can be used with Block1 too..........

Although our topic was that a captain can do when under attack........but in the first instance, the Mirages, Sea Kings and Atlantics with Exocets shall try to finish the job before the ship captain is worried.............and the submarines can do the second tier job with sub-launched harpoons and exocets.....;but that is also the offensive side of it.............

A captain may well face AShM and Torpeods from enemy submarine who slips behind other defences and gets close to the ship.........

On ECM side, I at least dont know what type of jammers are available onboard a ship..........although there must be EW systems onboard the ship......

 

[vish]

The question of direction from which AShM is coming may be further complicated by the fact that some systems like HARPOON can be fired like 2 missiles from different directions..........Now I am not sure if its only for Harpoon Block 2 or it can be used with Block1 too..........

Although our topic was that a captain can do when under attack........but in the first instance, the Mirages, Sea Kings and Atlantics with Exocets shall try to finish the job before the ship captain is worried.............and the submarines can do the second tier job with sub-launched harpoons and exocets.....;but that is also the offensive side of it.............

A captain may well face AShM and Torpeods from enemy submarine who slips behind other defences and gets close to the ship.........

On ECM side, I at least dont know what type of jammers are available onboard a ship..........although there must be EW systems onboard the ship......

If we consider the external factors that you have mentioned, then we'll go nowhere. It all depends on tactics, training, and the quality of the weapons and ships.

A ship can fire two missiles and set their paths such that when the two missiles home in on their target, they come from opposite direction. This "confuses" the anti-missile defence systems and results in a higher probability of kill.

 

[sohailbutt]

Mark's point is very interestin wut abut laser to bring down a missile, US has been testin this kind of technology for a while now, they have been succesful at bringin down artillary shells with high energy laser.

 

[Quwa]

Mark Sien:
Will the “cloud of steel and debris” work against lo-lo-lo missiles?

Depends...there might be a fair interception chance at a longer range. The other possibility is somehow sacrificing a USV or a submarine based PDMS.

 

[niaz]

I can't see how a big target such as a cruiser or an aircraft carrier can dodge or jam a fast moving antiship missile once it has homed in. There is no way it can manouvre fast enough; the time from the launch to target is a few minutes at best. Apparently if a missile of the Exocet class has homed in, there are only two choices open to the vessel.

Either they shoot it down with an anti missile missile such as Sea Wolf and/ or a Phalanx type CIWS or to have another smaller expendable vessel screen the more valuable target. Since most of the anti ship missiles are both inertial and radar homing, successful jamming must be the very difficult.

Needless to say the success rates of shootng down a sea skimmimg missile flying at close to Mach 1 are never very good. Therefore best defence against the anti ship missile is to shoot down the launching platform before it has a chance to fire the missile.