Naval Pictures V: The Glorious Fifth

[Wrangler]

The quad pack VLS for the Sea Sparrow do they have to fire all 4 at once or one at a time?

I think they launch one at a time from a sub-cells per tube launcher.  Naval Technology get's into unclassified description of the thing.

However a youtube video can best show it. From looks of it, single missile is fired in this video. It is a Mk 56 Launcher, vs dedicated launcher like a trainable Mk 29 missile launcher or newer Mk 56/57 VLS launcher which essentially a small vertical launcher version of mk29.

[Kidd]

The quad pack VLS for the Sea Sparrow do they have to fire all 4 at once or one at a time?

One at a time. I believe in full auto mode typically 2 missiles are fired at 1 target.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Given how expensive the missiles are and that unlike in Battletech, missiles are designed to actually kill what they hit with one shot, I'd be surprised if any missile system was designed to launch multiple missiles simultaneously.

[Orin J.]

Given how expensive the missiles are and that unlike in Battletech, missiles are designed to actually kill what they hit with one shot, I'd be surprised if any missile system was designed to launch multiple missiles simultaneously.

sometimes, just sometimes, you want to make it absolutely clear that they're not going to dodge their way past you.  xp

[Nightlord01]

sometimes, just sometimes, you want to make it absolutely clear that they're not going to dodge their way past you.  xp

Given how expensive the missiles are and that unlike in Battletech, missiles are designed to actually kill what they hit with one shot, I'd be surprised if any missile system was designed to launch multiple missiles simultaneously.

Sort of. Traditionally double engagement is only done against targets that are difficult to hit. Bear in mind these are ESSM, not SM2, ESSM is a point defence missile, so if you're firing it, you really don't want to miss, because you won't get another shot.

To answer the question RE one at a time or all at once, it's one at a time, quite a smart system on the whole although entirely evolutionary, as opposed to the parent Mk 41, which was revolutionary at inception.

[Kidd]

Given how expensive the missiles are and that unlike in Battletech, missiles are designed to actually kill what they hit with one shot, I'd be surprised if any missile system was designed to launch multiple missiles simultaneously.

Oh it comes in handy. Reportedly, purportedly, supposably... ESSM's Pk against a supersonic antiship missile about to ruin your day is such that TPTB prefer to fire 2 missiles. Same for SM2s. Whereas the Aster 15/30 system has better Pk and so is comfortable firing 1 missile.

How true any of that is...  ::)

[worktroll]

Isn't it shoot, shoot, rescan, shoot?

W.

[I am Belch II]

They are called "miss-les not hit-les. As proven many many times in warfare what works on paper and maybe even tests don't work in real life.

[Daryk]

Oh it comes in handy. Reportedly, purportedly, supposedly... ESSM's Pk against a supersonic anti-ship missile about to ruin your day is such that TPTB prefer to fire 2 missiles. Same for SM2s. Whereas the Aster 15/30 system has better Pk and so is comfortable firing 1 missile.

How true any of that is...  ::)

Just remember that P_k is provided by the manufacturer.

[kato]

Given how expensive the missiles are and that unlike in Battletech, missiles are designed to actually kill what they hit with one shot, I'd be surprised if any missile system was designed to launch multiple missiles simultaneously.

RAM by design can be used for "sector clearing" against massed targets, firing up to the full 21-cell launcher as a missile stream within 10 seconds. For singular targets it only fires a single missile, but depending on success the launchers will keep putting missiles into the air in set interval until the target is down (typically two with the second fired before the first has intercepted; up to six missiles in defense plans per engagement, in proper installations spread over multiple launchers so as to engage from multiple angles and lower ECM/EW effectiveness).

In the relevant seeker mode for "sector clearing" it is used against massed targets - mostly on the water - with missiles themselves picking out the target that best matches their target spectrum and subsequent missiles switching over onto the next-best target once that one is destroyed. Block 2B, currently under development, includes a missile-to-missile datalink meant to improve coordination within the swarm of missiles in the air in that regard.

[Wrangler]

A guy i knew in the service in the 90s told me of a mishap his ship during a training exercise. I believe it was the Wainwright, if I'm not mistaken, she one of the Belknap Class Guided Missile Cruisers we had in service.  She was stationed in Subic Bay in the Philippines at time.  The exercise in question, where she had fire a target drone missile from one of it's RIM-2 Terrier Missile launcher so they could do target practice. Essential the idea was to have the drone fly in circle around the ship, this was so the crew could test fire a SM-2 and shoot it down.

Unfortunately, someone made snafu and made the circle to go around the ship whee bit small.  So the drone ended up on intercept course for the ship.  Apparently there was something was wrong with the Phalanx, so that was down.  SO they used the Mark 42 5-inch/54-caliber gun to shoot thing down, which they succeeded.   Good thing it was a dumb per-programmed drone!

Mishaps tend to be made classified, but it's been long enough since its ok talk about it. I wasn't there, so i got no way prove it didn't happen, but the guy i spoke to was fairly straight forward guy.

[Nightlord01]

Isn't it shoot, shoot, rescan, shoot?

W.

There's multiple firing patterns in doctrine, shoot, shoot look, shoot look shoot, that sort of thing. It all depends on how your doctrine is written, as to how many of what you will fire when and in what order.

[Kidd]

RAM by design can be used for "sector clearing" against massed targets, firing up to the full 21-cell launcher as a missile stream within 10 seconds.

Has anyone ever live fire tested that?

I mean, anyone wanting to blow like 20 Bugatti Veyrons in 10 seconds...

[Elmoth]

When you take into account the cost of amo, it is hard to considered real life weapons firing tests without your head spinning.

[ANS Kamas P81]

Kinda hard to know it'll work without lobbing a few of them, and seeing the effect on a target helps you build stronger hardware.  A good shoot-ex has lots of valuable data for everyone all around, unless you're an unfortunate Tomcat pilot.

[HobbesHurlbut]

http://www.cv6.org/ship/damage/default.htm
Man she took so much beating in the Pacific War.

[Ruger]

http://www.cv6.org/ship/damage/default.htm
Man she took so much beating in the Pacific War.

And she kept coming back for more...any wonder she had the most battle stars of any US warship in that war, and almost as many as you could possibly get for the Pacific War?

Ruger

[glitterboy2098]

RAM by design can be used for "sector clearing" against massed targets, firing up to the full 21-cell launcher as a missile stream within 10 seconds. For singular targets it only fires a single missile, but depending on success the launchers will keep putting missiles into the air in set interval until the target is down (typically two with the second fired before the first has intercepted; up to six missiles in defense plans per engagement, in proper installations spread over multiple launchers so as to engage from multiple angles and lower ECM/EW effectiveness).

In the relevant seeker mode for "sector clearing" it is used against massed targets - mostly on the water - with missiles themselves picking out the target that best matches their target spectrum and subsequent missiles switching over onto the next-best target once that one is destroyed. Block 2B, currently under development, includes a missile-to-missile datalink meant to improve coordination within the swarm of missiles in the air in that regard.

Has anyone ever live fire tested that?

I mean, anyone wanting to blow like 20 Bugatti Veyrons in 10 seconds...

i suspect it got tested during development. wouldn't be hard to go to White Sands, set up the RAM mount on a testing stand, and launch test missiles at it.

i doubt it has ever been tried in the field under combat conditions.

[Wrangler]

USS Laffey, a Benson Class Destroyer.  She was noted for her service in the pacific theater during World War II.
She was noted on her first major outing of rescuing the survivors from her flagship, USS Wasp.  Her most noted actions was during the Battle of Guadalcanal. This would be her final campaign, where she fought in the Battleship Hiei head on, gave all it could against the battlewagon, injuring the Japanese Task Force's commander which would cause the Taskforce itself to be unable coordinate it's efforts properly..  Eventually, the Hiei got a hit with her 14 inch guns on the Laffey's fantail, it lead to the ship being abandoned.

[ANS Kamas P81]

Mildly surprised she still had a fantail after taking a 14" salvo...

[glitterboy2098]

that may well be why the crew finally abandoned her. when half your ship is suddenly missing, it tends to be a big GTFO signal..

[DaveMac]

USS Laffey, a Benson Class Destroyer.  She was noted for her service in the pacific theater during World War II.
She was noted on her first major outing of rescuing the survivors from her flagship, USS Wasp.  Her most noted actions was during the Battle of Guadalcanal. This would be her final campaign, where she fought in the Battleship Hiei head on, gave all it could against the battlewagon, injuring out the Japanese Task Force's commander.  Eventually, the Hiei got a hit with her 14 inch guns on the Laffey's fantail, it lead to the ship being abandoned.

http://www.laffey.org/uss_laffey_dd_459.htm

[Kidd]

Special K continues to special on...

[Fat Guy]

If ships were football teams, the Special K would be the Cleveland Browns.   ;D

[Wrangler]

Well that will take a while to sort out.  Someone dock's prematurely or it just in bad repair like everything else we ever think of Russia's infrastructure.

[I am Belch II]

Well that will take a while to sort out.  Someone dock's prematurely or it just in bad repair like everything else we ever think of Russia's infrastructure.

The poor Russian Navy. Trying to get things going again and then that happens.

[ANS Kamas P81]

I'll take 'what isn't going freaking anywhere for a year' Alex.  If she was on a drydock, was she undergoing hull repairs?  There's a number of short scaffolds and at least one crane set up all below the waterline, clearly not expecting the ship to hit water anytime soon.  Opened hull?

And if PD-50 went down with any sort of list or pitch, then...yikes.

Found this: "A power outage has been blamed for the incident in the northern city of Murmansk which left a four by five metre hole in the ship above the waterline."

[kato]

If she was on a drydock, was she undergoing hull repairs?

They were probably installing the "new" boilers that were supposedly delivered in September.

[ANS Kamas P81]

Apparently Kuznetsov wasn't opened up at the time, but a power failure killed the pumps used in the drydock ship and it's completely submerged.  Kuznetsov herself has been towed to another yard in Murmansk, "repairs will continue" says Sputnik news.  One person from PD-50 is missing, unspecified whether one of her sailors or a workman or someone else.

[chanman]

The Type 001A (improved Kuznetsov) took the Chinese shipyards around 5 years to build and outfit her. I suspect they could just make a new one faster/cheaper than the Kuznetsov can be 'fixed'. I suspect part of the problem with the Kuznetsov is where the unexpected shipyard incident occurred - that's way up north. Like... over the top of Finland north. It's a long way around to the Black Sea or Vladivostok and there's a long history of bad things happening to very large ships under tow.