Sunday, June 13, 2010

New Anti-Ship Missile Technologies Will Change The Balance Of Power On The Oceans


Peril On The Sea -- Economist

Naval warfare: As anti-ship missile and torpedo technologies improve, a new seaborne arms race could be on the horizon.

THE West has some formidable missiles designed to sink warships. Three of the most deadly are America’s Harpoon, France’s Exocet and the Swedish RBS-15. These all fly close to the speed of sound for up to about 200km (124 miles) using precision-guidance systems to skim over land or water. This makes them difficult to detect. And even if they are spotted, the missiles can fly in unpredictable patterns, which makes it harder to shoot them down. They then punch a warhead, weighing as much as 200kg (440lbs), into a moving ship with devastating consequences.

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My Comment: Those big and fat aircraft carriers are going to be a tempting target for these new anti-ship missiles .... and one cannot help but cringe at the economics of it all. One aircraft carrier and escort fleet with air wings in the billions of dollars .... one lucky missile hit at a million bucks or so.

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