CHAPTER 3

NAVAL AIRCRAFT AND MISSILES

Naval Aircraft

Air Wing

C-2AS-3B

AV-8B EA-6B

E-2CF/A-18

Airplanes fall into three main groups:

1. Fixed-wing - Wings are the primary

lifting devices for the aircraft.

F-14 TomcatNo Longer in Active Inventory F/A-18 Hornet

2. Rotary-wing - Two or more rotating

blades lift the aircraft by pulling or

pushing air.

SH/HH-60 Seahawk

3. Lighter-than-air - Casings filled

with light gas, such as helium,

provide lifting power.

U.S. Navy

Attack planes

are used for:

• Low-level

bombing

• Ground support

• Nuclear strikes

F/A-18 Super Hornet

F/A-18 Hornet

Attack planes carry heavy payloads

(fuel, bombs, and missiles) and can

remain on station long enough to

support ground troops.

Fighter planes are high-performance

aircraft used to gain air superiority.

F/A-18F Super Hornet

Fighters may be used as:

• Interceptors — defensively

• Escorts — offensively

• Ground support

Patrol aircraft are land-based,

long-range, multi-engine planes

used mainly for undersea warfare patrol.

P-3C Orion

Patrol aircraft can:

• Detect, locate, and destroy submarines.

• Escort surface convoys.

• Conduct photographic missions.

• Lay mines.

P-8A Poseidon to Replace P-3C Orion

starting in 2013

Electronic warfare (EW)

aircraft detect and jam

enemy radars.

EA-6B Prowler

Replacing Navy and Marine Corps

EA-6 B Prowlers

F/A-18 Growler

Undersea warfare (USW) aircraft

hunt and destroy submarines.

S-3B Viking

Reconnaissance aircraft gather

intelligence information.

TARPS (Tactical

Airborne

Reconnaissance

Pod System)

F-14

Attack or fighter aircraft may perform

reconnaissance duties.

ATARS (Advanced Tactical

Airborne Reconnaissance System)

F/A-18

Reconnaissance photography

The mission of the early warning aircraft

(AEW) is to:

• Provide early warning of approaching

enemy aircraft.

• Direct interceptors into attack position.

E-2C Hawkeye

Helicopter Roles

• Cargo and personnel transportation

• Undersea Warfare (USW)

• Observation and reconnaissance

• Search and rescue

• Mine countermeasures

Lighter-than-air craft have not been used

much since WWII, but DARPA is working

on a concept for a blimp (―WALRUS‖)

capable of transporting 500 tons

(Small brigade size unit).

Until the end of WWII, naval fighter

type aircraft armament consisted of:

• Machine guns

• Unguided rockets

• Bombs

The WWII fighter-bombers or attack

aircraft would also carry:

• Incendiaries

• Torpedoes

Navy planes

developed

specifically to

deliver nuclear

bombs

A-3 Skywarrior A-5 Vigilante

A-4 Skyhawk

Guided missiles were developed for

fighter aircraft and used in:

• Korean War

• Vietnam War

F-4 PhantomF-86 Sabre

Most dogfights were still decided with

machine guns.

Gatling-type

machine guns

appeared in

the late 1960s.

In the 1980s and 1990s

Improved guidance and propulsion

made the guided missile (AAM) the main

armament for the modern naval fighter

aircraft.

F-14 Tomcat

Cruise missile and ―smart‖ bombs

now play major roles.

F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

AIM-9

AIM-9

TALD

GBU-24

LAU

WALLEYE

CBU-59

WALLEYE-1

JSOW

GBU-12

CBU-72

MK-56TANK 33D

MK-83

AGM-84D

MK-62

MK-63

AIM-7

MK-82

MK-65

AGM-48

MK-20

AGM-65

MK-84

JDAM

MK-77

Designed with fuselage-mounted

20-mm Gatling guns which can fire

100 rounds per second

F-14 Tomcat

F/A-18 Hornet

Missile

Any object that

can be projected

or thrown at a

target

Today the term ―missile‖

means ―guided missile.‖

Guided Missile

An unmanned, self-propelled vehicle

with a guidance system

Smart Bomb

A non-self-propelled vehicle with

a guidance system

Rocket

No internal guidance system

A guided missile can carry either a

conventional explosive or a nuclear

warhead.

The Navy’s homing torpedoes are

self-propelled weapons having

elaborate guidance systems that

hunt for a target and steer for it on

a collision course.

A mechanism incorporated into a

guided missile, airplane, etc., that

aims it toward its objective

Homing Device

A guided missile has four basic parts:

• Airframe

• Propulsion system

• Guidance system

• Warhead

MISSILE AIRFRAME

GUIDANCE PROPULSION

WARHEAD

Missile Airframe

Missile airframes contain the other

parts of the missile plus the fuel.

WINGS

ROCKET

MOTORWARHEADTARGET

DETECTING

DEVICE

FINSIR DOME

GUIDANCE-CONTROL

GROUP

MISSILE AIRFRAME

Missile airframes are made of aluminum

alloys, magnesium, and high tensile

steel sheets, which are lightweight and

capable of withstanding extreme heat

and high-pressure.

Missile Propulsion (Supersonic)

• Liquid or solid fuel motors

Missile Propulsion (Subsonic)

• Air-breathing ―cruise‖ missiles

Warhead

The missile high-explosive payload

Currently the Navy guided missiles

have one of five types of guidance

systems:

• Preset gyro

• Inertial

• Homing

• Command

• Beam rider

Preset Gyro Guidance — It uses gyroscopes

to keep the missile on a set course, with an

onboard computer constantly checking angle

of climb and acceleration.

Inertial Guidance — It makes use

of a predetermined flight profile

programmed into the onboard

missile computer.

Inertial Guidance

Booster

Separation

Descent

and

Pullout

Phase

Midcourse

Phase

(Inertial

Guidance)

Terminal

Maneuver

(Homing

Guidance)

Homing Guidance — It depends on the

missile picking up and tracking a

target by means of radar, optical, or

heat-seeking devices.

Active Homing — The radar transmitter

and receiver are both located in the

missile.

Semiactive Homing — The radar

transmitter is located on the launching

ship or aircraft, and the receiver is in

the missile.

Passive Homing — The missile picks

up and tracks a target by detecting

some form of energy emitted by it.

MISSILETARGET

RF/INFRARED

WAVES FROM TARGET

Command Guidance — It involves

missile control by signals from the

launch station.

MISSILE

LAUNCHER

COMPUTER

TARGET

TRACKER

UPLINK

COMMAND

TRANSMITTERDOWN LINK

RECEIVER

Beam Rider Guidance — It requires

the missile to follow a radar beam to

the target (will self destruct if off course)

MISSILE

BOOSTER

TARGET

TRACKING

AND

GUIDANCE

RADAR

Missiles have great

range, accuracy,

and payload.

POSEIDON

C-3 SLAM

POLARIS

A-3 SLAM

Polaris and Poseidon — The initial

fleet ballistic missile (FBM)

Polaris A – 1

missile — deployed

in 1960

The Trident missile

has a range of

over 4,000 nautical

miles.

The Minuteman

is the most

powerful

Intercontinental

Ballistic Missile

(ICBM) and has

a range of over

5,000 miles.

Any supersonic missile that has a

range of at least 3,500 nautical miles

(6,500 km) and follows a ballistic

trajectory after a powered, guided

launching

Intercontinental BallisticMissile (ICBM)

The U.S. fleet ballistic submarine

(SSBN) force consists of 20 submarines.

USS Maine (SSBN 741)

Each SSBN carries twenty-four

4,000-nautical mile range MIRV

(multiple independently targeted

reentry vehicle) ballistic missiles.

A reentry vehicle that breaks up into

several nuclear warheads, each

capable of reaching a different target

Multiple Independently TargetedReentry Vehicle (MIRV)

Trident Submarine Bases

Bangor, WA

Kings Bay, GA

Ballistic missile flight and trajectory — It

is a two-stage flight path.

Antiballistic

Missiles (ABMs)

They are designed

to detect, intercept,

or destroy incoming

ballistic missiles.

The United

States has

never

deployed a

fixed ABM

system.

The Soviet Union deployed thousands

of ABM systems in the 1970s and 1980s.

Army’s mobile

Patriot missile

system used

during Operation

Desert Storm in

1991

What was the

Patriot missile

system used for

in Operation

Desert Storm?

What was the

Patriot missile

system used for

in Operation

Desert Storm?

To knock down

incoming Iraqi

Scud missile

warheads fired

against Israel and

Saudi Arabia

Task Force Defense

Early Warning

Systems

E-2C Hawkeye

USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54)

First line of defense — Interceptor

aircraft, which would attack enemy

planes with air-to-air missiles

F/A-18 Hornets

Guided missiles have become the

main weapon used in aerial combat.

The air-to-air missile can ―lock on‖

the hostile aircraft while it is still

miles away, and pursue and hit it in

spite of any evasive maneuvers.

AIM-9

Second line of defense — SAMs of

moderate range (20 - 65 miles)

Long-range search radar would

detect incoming enemy.

Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM)

Intercepts attacking aircraft at

great height and ranges

Third line of

defense:

• Shorter range

missiles

(5 - 30 miles)

• Antiaircraft

guns

Point defense systems are

the last defense.

Protection against underwater attack

would include:

• Homing torpedoes

• Depth bombs

A winged guided missile designed to

deliver a conventional or nuclear

warhead by flying at low altitudes to

avoid detection by radar

Cruise Missile

Harpoon — first antiship cruise missile

Length – 15 feet

Diameter – 13 inches

Weight – 1,400 pounds

Range (Max.) – 60 NM

Harpoon Missile

It is the primary antiship weapon

system for U.S. forces carried by

cruisers, destroyers, frigates, nuclear

attack submarines, carrier-based

attack and USW aircraft, and P-3 Orion

maritime patrol aircraft.

The missile features over-the-horizon

(OTH) range, a low-level subsonic

cruising trajectory, active guidance,

counter-countermeasures, and a large

payload.

Harpoon

Tomahawk

An all-weather, long-range, subsonic

cruise missile

A Tomahawk can

be launched from

a submarine, as

well as surface

ship, land, and air

platforms.

The land-attack Tomahawk flies at very

low altitudes and has terrain-masking

and infrared features, making defense

against it difficult.

The Standoff Land Attack Missile

(SLAM) was developed in the

mid-1990s as an adverse weather

OTH precision strike missile.

SLAM incorporates:

• A highly accurate GPS-aided

guidance system

• An improved aerodynamic

performance (150nm range)

• A newly developed automatic target

acquisition (ATA) feature

Combat Air Patrol

A task force’s front line of defense

The fleet has three operational

airborne intercept missiles (AIM):

• AIM-9 series Sidewinder missile

• AIM-54 Phoenix missile

• AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range

Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM)

Sidewinder Missile AIM-9

Sidewinder Missile AIM-9

Range – 2 miles

Speed – Mach 2.5

Weight – 160 to 210 pounds

The improved fuze, warhead, and the

maneuverability of the latest model

provides U.S. pilots with the best

possible advantage in close combat.

Sidewinder Missile

AIM-9

Phoenix Missile

AIM-54

AIM-54 Phoenix Missile

Range – 125 miles

Speed – Mach 5+

Weight – 1,000 pounds

The system’s ability to engage

multiple targets almost simultaneously

enhances airspace control, a

prerequisite for fleet operations today.

Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air

(AMRAAM) Missile AIM – 120

AIM-120 AMRAAM is a follow-on to an

older missile series called the Sparrow.

AIM-120 AMRAAM

Range – 30+ miles

Speed – Mach 4

Weight – 335 pounds

Navy Surface-to-Air

Missiles (SAM)

The second line of

fleet defense

Terrier was the Navy’s first

operational SAM missile.

Terrier SAM

Range – 10+ miles

Speed – Mach 2

Weight – 3,000 pounds

Tartar SAM Missile

It was similar to the Terrier but

weighed half as much.

Talos was the Navy’s largest shipboard

SAM missile but was phased out in the

late 1970s.

The Standard missile series featuring

both medium-range (MR) and extended-

range (ER) missiles replaced the Terrier

and Tartar missiles.

Standard

Medium-Range

(MR) Missile

Standard

Extended-Range

(ER) Missile

Standard (MR)

missile has a

range in excess

of 15 miles and

a ceiling greater

than 50,000 feet.

Standard (ER)

missile has a

range exceeding

30 miles and a

ceiling greater

than 60,000 feet.

The Navy has several

types of air-to-ground

missiles (AGM)

designed to attack

armor, air defenses,

ground transportation,

and ships.

AGM-114

AGM-88

AGM-65

The AGM-65 Maverick missile is used

for close air support of friendly ground

forces.

The AGM-88 HARM (high-speed

antiradiation missile) is designed to

home in on and destroy enemy radars.

Designed to home in on radiation

emitted from enemy weapons or

tracking sites

Antiradiation Missile

The AGM-114 Hellfire missile is a laser

guided subsonic missile intended for

launching by helicopters against tanks

or other types of enemy armored

vehicles.

Walleye Glide Bomb

TV CAMERA

LOCKS ON

PILOT

RELEASES

BOMB

Walleye has:

• A powerful warhead

• Amazing accuracy

A newly developed

guidance kit called the

Joint Direct Attack

Munition (JDAM)

converts conventional

1,000- and 2,000-pound

bombs into precision-

guided munitions using

the satellite-based GPS

system for guidance.

―Smart Bombs‖ — non-self-propelled

air-dropped munitions that can be

guided to impact with a target.

GBU-16

JSOW (Joint Stand-Off Weapon) is a

large glide bomb designed to attack

surface targets while remaining at safe

stand-off distances.

The JSOW has a range of from 12 to 40

nautical miles, but a powered version has

a range in excess of 120 nautical miles.

The Harpoon

and Tomahawk

cruise missiles

come in the

AGM version.

Harpoon

Tomahawk

The Navy’s primary undersea warfare

(USW) weapons are antisubmarine

rockets (ASROC) and antisubmarine

torpedoes.

ASROC Torpedo

ASROC — antisubmarine rocket, fitted

with either a homing torpedo or

nuclear depth bomb warhead

Water

Entry

Depth Charge

SONAR

Torpedo

Motor SeparationASROC

ASROC

Operations

The USW ship can launch ASROC

before the submarine is even aware

that it is under attack.

Homing Torpedo — A torpedo that uses a self-

contained guidance system usually based on

sound detection for terminal guidance.

Target

Homing

Target

Detection

Enabling Point

Preset

Search

Pattern

Enabling

Run

Initial

Dive

Acoustic Pulses

From Torpedo

Target

Torpedo

Reflected

Acoustic

Pulse

Active acoustic is not dependent upon

the sound emitted from the target for

its homing information.

Acoustic Pulses

From Target

Torpedo

Passive acoustic homes in on the

noise emitted from the target.

Trajectory

A missile’s path from launch

to impact or destruct

The two basic missile trajectories are:

• Ballistic

• Aerodynamic

Ballistic Missile

Flight

The missile is acted upon only by

gravity and aerodynamic drag after

the propulsive force is terminated

Ballistic Trajectory

Gravity (Weight)

DragThrust

Lift

An aerodynamic missile is one in which

aerodynamic forces are used to maintain the flight

path. It usually has a winged configuration.

Path of an object, as a rocket, when the

air is dense enough to modify the

course of flight significantly.

Aerodynamic Trajectory

Aerodynamic control of missiles is

greatly reduced in the stratosphere

because of low air density.

Booster

Separation

Descent

and

Pullout

Phase

Midcourse

Phase

(Inertial

Guidance)

Terminal

Maneuver

(Homing

Guidance)

Missile trajectories include many

shapes or types of curves.

Hyperbolic Trajectory

The missile will first climb to the desired

altitude, then follow an arc of a hyperbola

before diving on its target.

Predicted

Target

Position

Terminal

Mid-Course

Target

Flight

Path

Missile

Flight

Path

Sharp Curve

Causes High

Accelerations

M1

M2

M3

M4

LOS 4LOS 3

LOS 2

LOS 1

T1 T2 T3 T4

Pursuit Curve

A curved path

followed by a

missile that homes

in on and eventually

overtakes and intercepts a target.

Modified Pursuit

Course

Missile

Flight

Path

Target

Flight

Path

M3

M2

M1

T1

T2

T3

LOS 1 LOS 2 LOS 3

An intermediate-range or long-range

air-breathing missile climbs quickly to

altitude and then flies a flat trajectory to

the target area where it dives straight

down on it.

ICBMs, such

as Trident, are

launched vertically

so they can get

through the

densest part of the

atmosphere as

soon as possible.

ASROC weapons use a combination

trajectory — ballistic and pursuit trajectory.

Missile trajectory

is affected by

―natural forces.‖

• Wind

• Gravity

• Magnetic forces

• Coriolis effect

THE END