Aster 30 missile successfully intercepts supersonic target

Kunal Biswas

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Aster 30 : a "highly technical" interception successfull
As announced on this blog from February 16 , a first in Europe has just been completed by the frigate Forbin "intercepting an airborne target simulating an attack on a supersonic missile flying at low altitude . "The shooting, Wednesday, April 4 performed jointly by the Navy and DGA was" a highly technical, "says the Ministry of Defence.

The test was performed against a target used by the U.S. Navy since 2006: a target drone GQM 163A Coyote. Flying at Mach 2.5 (3,000 km / h), at an altitude of less than 5 meters above the ocean, this target is manoeuvrable. It was designed to simulate the gear that the Russian fleet could meet Western: SSN-22 Sunburn, KH-21 and especially the Russian-Indian Brahmos future.
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original text : http://www.marianne2.fr/blogsecretde...ssie_a569.html



French Navy's Air Warfare Destroyers successfully intercept supersonic sea-skimming target

April 4, 2012, the Forbin Air Defense Destroyer destroyed a supersonic target simulating an antiship missile at very low altitude. The target, a GQM 163A Coyote, was launched from the French Military's Missile Test Center based on the island of Levant (French Riviera). The Forbin, head of Horizon class AAW Destroyer, intercepted the target in flight with its Aster 30 missile while Chevalier Paul, second ship of Horizon class, was tracking both the target and the missiles launched by Forbin.

The test, a first in Europe, was "highly technical," according to French Ministry of Defence and a success.

"This test, conducted in collaboration with the French Procurement Agency, strengthens the ability of the French Navy to ensure the protection of forces at sea (carrier battle group or amphibious battle groups) against threats of the most stringent anti-ship missiles. It is, moreover, a first in Europe, during which the two destroyers were prepared and have completed a complex operational scenario, facing a supersonic sea-skimming threat." says the French MoD in an official statement.

The Forbin and Chevalier Paul destroyers are equipped with the Principal Anti Air Missile System (PAAMS), a joint French/Italian/British programme for a naval anti-aircraft weapon. Both vessels have been during Operation Harmattan. Off the coast of Libya, they have ensured the protection of naval groups around the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and Tonnerre and Mistral LHDs. They also conducted coastal fire support operations and coordinated the air activity for the coalition operating off the coast of Libya, function known as "Red crown".
http://www.navyrecognition.com/index...sk=view&id=426
 

Kunal Biswas

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GQM-163 SSST: A Tricky Coyote to Match Wits With Defenses


"The GQM-163A is launched from the ground with the help of a Hercules MK 70 rocket booster (left over from obsolete RIM-67 Standard ER missiles). The MK 70 is externally identical to the older MK 12 booster of the original specification. The sustainer propulsion system consists of an Atlantic Research Corporation (now Aerojet) MARC-R-282 solid-fueled ducted rocket/ramjet engine, which can propel the Coyote to speeds of up to Mach 2.8 at sea level. In the terminal approach phase, the GQM-163A will fly at Mach 2.5 at 5 m (16 ft) altitude. To save costs, the missile's flight control avionics and its front end structure are taken from the [DID: Beech/Raytheon] AQM-37D target."


rocket-boosted, ramjet-powered GQM-163A was developed to simulate supersonic cruise missiles like the SS-N-22 Sunburn, Kh-31 (aka. AS-17 Krypton, which also has an anti-air AWACS-killer version), the Indo-Russian PJ-10 Brahmos, et. al., which are proliferating throughout the world. Their speed and evasive maneuvers compress the amount of time a defense system has to deal with them once they're detected, and a training target that can simulate their performance is critical to both proper preparedness and pursuant performance.

Despite this growing need, the Supersonic Sea Skimming Target (SSST) program moved very slowly in the 1990s, with false starts that included a Boeing-Strela Kh-31 Krypton variant before the decision was made to develop a new SSST. Orbital Sciences won the contract in June 2000, but the BQM-163 suffered a number of program delays before its final developmental test flight eventually took place in in April 2005. The program is now moving forward, slowly:
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/gqm163-ssst-a-tricky-coyote-to-match-wits-with-defenses-03155/
 

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