Navy Lacks Plan to Defend Against `Carrier-Destroying' Missile

[razors edge]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20070323/pl_bloomberg/ako7y_orw538

March 23 (Bloomberg) -- The
U.S. Navy, after nearly six years of warnings from
Pentagon testers, still lacks a plan for defending aircraft carriers against a supersonic Russian-built missile, according to current and former officials and Defense Department documents.

The missile, known in the West as the ``Sizzler,'' has been deployed by China and may be purchased by
Iran. Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England has given the Navy until April 29 to explain how it will counter the missile, according to a Pentagon budget document.

The Defense Department's weapons-testing office judges the threat so serious that its director, Charles McQueary, warned the Pentagon's chief weapons-buyer in a memo that he would move to stall production of multibillion-dollar ship and missile programs until the issue was addressed.

``This is a carrier-destroying weapon,'' said Orville Hanson, who evaluated weapons systems for 38 years with the Navy. ``That's its purpose.''

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. Iran also has its homegrown up supersonic (or close) cruise anti ship missile

which we ALSO can't defend against.

[damntexdem]

11. I think Dubya may want to lose a carrier, ...

then use that as an excuse to nuke Iran.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

23. that very thought crossed me mind, and then my teeth began to grind.

poetic licenses licensing poets?

[lovuian]

29. We are sitting ducks I think Bush is out to destroy America

her army Navy and airforce

its pretty obvious what he is doing

[Zenlitened]

2. Nor can we stop a rocket lobbed into the "Green Zone" in Baghdad.

Yet we're gonna build a Missile Shield over Europe. (Just like the one fer the good ol' US of A!)

Good to know we've got our military priorities in order. Let the troops get slagged, let the ships get sunk. But by Gawd, be sure to hand out endless bags of cash to military contractors for 'Star Wars.'

:eyes:



(edit: omitted word)

[razors edge]

7. Sad but true. n/t

[dkofos]

3. Has *ush got all the carriers in range yet??

[razors edge]

8. Three I think,

if you consider the subs Iran has in international waters constituting in rage for carriers in the region.

USS Ronald Reagan is playing war games with S. Korea, and the north just got pissed and left the table, again.

[ORDagnabbit]

4. the plan is to do an impromptu increase of the "sub" fleet

[razors edge]

9. The won't have any problems

locating them after christening.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

5. The killer tactic...

Would be to attack a carrier group with multiples of this weapon. Your defense systems on your pickets and your CIWS systems on your carrier would not be able to handle all the threats from the "vampires".

Supposedly, that is what the AEGIS ships were supposed to handle, but time and technology marches on.

[razors edge]

6. This was developed to defeat the aegis

The article is interesting in that the navy has been told to find an answer to the missile, and have refused to do anything.

The aegis tracks and engages about fifty bogeys at once. Sending up a hundred cheap disposables dogs and one of these crowd pleasers might make for a bad day on a carrier.

[FogerRox]

10. Excellent point , saturation of defensive electronic systems

THe Sunburn cruise missile, diving at a carrier @ mach 4+, the Phalynx gun has about a 2-3 second engagment window. If 10 of the Sunburns are mixed in with 500 other missiles, the aegis cant keep up. When those 10 missiles declare their intentions by diving out of a cload of 500, towards a carrier.

There is also the X-555 Russian missile, mach 3 plus.

[rinsd]

12. The Phalanx is being replaced by this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_Airframe_Missile

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/missile/ram.htm

[FogerRox]

17. IIRC not installed on the Arleigh Burkes ?

Not compatable with Aegis computers? makes me think that system will be used as an addition to the Phalanx.

[rinsd]

19. I don't know how many are installed on which ships.

:shrug:

[FogerRox]

22. Aegis computers have been not shown to be readily

used for other systems. The system you describe uses PC based Linux OS, while Aegis runs what seems to be an older system, possible firmware. The system you describe is likely destined for carriers and other ships, it seems to be able to fire 24 missiles at 24 targets in 24 seconds at a farther range than what the Phalanx can even think about, not to replace the Phalanx, but as an adjunct to the Phalanx.

If I was a CO, I would want both, not either or.

[Leopolds Ghost]

27. What about Metal Storm?

After all, the Voice of the Military-Industrial -er-
Discovery/Times/Military Channel let the cat out of
the bag recently,

telling everyone how Metal Storm works and how to make one.

Thanks, Alexandria-VA-based black ops weapons makers!

You can use the profits from selling Metal Storm
technology to our future enemies, to funnel into
gov't operations to finance endless war! Shades
of WWI... or, _Attack of the Clones_...

[razors edge]

13. delete

replied to wrong reply, tried to copy and past and just duped, oops.

[razors edge]

15. Thats why I joined the Corps.

As a naval aviation tech, I preferred to be ground based as much as possible. No walking home from a sunk ship. I wonder how much of our tax money it will cost to reclaim a nuclear reactor from one of our carriers taking up residence with Davy Jones.

[FogerRox]

14. The "E" model has the mach 3 rocket booster

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iran/2005/33-230805.htm

RUSSIA OFFERS ANTI-SHIP MISSILES TO IRAN. Russia is offering Iran the Novator 3M54 Club-S (SS-N-27 "Sizzler") multirole anti-ship missile system, according to the September issue of "Jane's Missiles and Rockets." The system is for use on the Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines Iran purchased from Russia in the late 1990s.
--------------

Its not clear which model was purchased by Iran.

GS says Iran has 3 Kilo class subs

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/navy.htm

SO that is very limiting, VS most other missile systems Iran has bought as of late, that can be mounted on a varietty of mounts, small planes trucks, patrol boats, etc.

http://rdanafox.blogspot.com/2007/01/iranian-missile-systems.html

[razors edge]

16. I doubt they would try

to slug it out with us toe to toe, just bloody our nose in a big way, and prepare to go Iraqi on our ass after we invade.

[FogerRox]

18. Is bloody nose losing 1 carrier & 4-5 support ships?

I think your right, Iran can bloody our nose.

http://rdanafox.blogspot.com/2007/01/iranian-missile-systems.html

[razors edge]

25. And they will,

if we push too hard in their neighborhood. (not saying we haven't already, Iraq comes to mind)

PBS just concluded an episode of Now, that showed most Americans a side of Iran they probably have never seen. I joined the Marines in 80, and my sister married an Iranian national that same year.

He was very afraid of me until we got to know each other. He let me in on the thinking of the average Iranian and I had no reason to doubt his point of view. Later, my own investigation showed their complaints against the US to be pretty damn well justified. (too bad he turned out to be a POS and my sister left him, but thats besides the point)

Anyways, it would make more sense that if we were to launch on them first, they would use their ability to disrupt our economy instead of a frontal assault.

Some people learn the lessons of history, unlike the Neocons.

[FogerRox]

21. Put yourself in Irans shoes

THe USA has just launched an air war on your ass, jets in the air, tomahawks are in the air. What do you do ? If you decide to shoot back, you might as well fire all of your guns at once.....

Otherwise you risk losing it all anyway....

[paparush]

20. Bush** has no probs sacificing a carrier..just look what he sacrificed

on 9/11.

Loosing the carrier will free up the dictator to use tactical nukes on Iran, which I believe, he already has approval to do. As the mushroom clouds play in 24 hour non-stop repeat on all the MSM outlets, Bush/Cheney/Rove/Cristol will all be having a circle jerk playing 'ookie cookie'. All their wet dreams will come true.

[razors edge]

26. Well,

how long can you bend over and wave your nuts in someones face till they poke them with a stick?

[Leopolds Ghost]

24. What does it Matter? All Iran War Talk has ceased.

Nobody has addressed this issue, here.

[razors edge]

28. What issue is that?

Are you referring to the fact that we are being led by an incompetent fascist dictatorship with a compliant congress and judiciary?

Hell, thats what happens in a dictatorship. We are lucky they haven't rounded up all of us "libruls" and gave new housing arrangements.

As far the war with Iran talk being toned down in the U$ media, that worries me even more. With British soldiers being held captive, and the usual Israeli paranoia taking precedence in the minds of the neocons, I seriously doubt that all talk of war with Iran has ceased.