Sea Wolf missile
Encyclopedia
Sea Wolf is a naval guided missile
system designed and built by BAC
, later to become British Aerospace
(BAe) Dynamics (now MBDA
). It is an automated point-defence
weapon system designed as a final line of defence against both sea-skimming and high angle anti-ship missile
s and aircraft. It has been fielded by the Royal Navy
in two versions: the GWS-25 Conventionally Launched Sea Wolf (CLSW) and the GWS-26 Vertically Launched Sea Wolf (VLSW) forms.
(BAC) from a 1964 requirement for a replacement for the Sea Cat missile
system to give small warships protection against anti-ship missiles and aircraft. A contract was awarded in 1967 to BAC, Vickers
and Bristol Aerojet. Testing lasted from 1970 until 1977, with shipborne trials on a modified Leander class frigate
, HMS Penelope
, from 1976 onwards. Sea Wolf was tested with a vertical launch system early in the missile's development on a modified Loch class frigate
, Loch Fada
, but for unclear reasons work did not continue in this direction: the GWS-26 "VL Seawolf (VLS)" being a much later (1980s) development.
During trials the missile performed impressively, successfully intercepting a 114 mm shell on one occasion.
The first deployment, in the GWS-25 form, was on the Type 22 frigate
(2 systems) and later on modified Leander class frigates (1 system) in six-round, manually loaded, trainable launchers.
It has been used by the Royal Navy since 1979 and was fired in anger during the Falklands War
. Current deployment is the GWS-25 Mod 3 system on the Type 22 Batch 3 and the GWS-26 Mod 1 system on Type 23
frigates. The latter fields 32 vertical launch missiles (VL Sea Wolf) in its missile silo. It is expected to remain in service until 2020.
Vertically launched Seawolf is also fitted to the Lekiu Class Frigates
in service with the Royal Malaysian Navy
.
The system's standard mode is fully automated and uses radar tracking. Target detection is carried out using the parent ship's surveillance radars. Originally, in the Type 22 and Sea Wolf equipped Leander class, this was the radar Type 967 / 968 combination; the D-band Type 967 providing long range surveillance and the E-band Type 968 providing short range target indication. On the Type 23 frigates, these functions have been taken over by the Type 996 3D surveillance radar. Target data is processed by the ship's computers and when the system is live, targets are automatically assigned and engaged without the need for human intervention (although this can be over-ridden by the Missile Director (MD) in the Operations Room).
When a target is to be engaged, the ship's computer slews one of the two Sea Wolf trackers onto the target (there was a single tracker on a Sea Wolf Leander). Originally the Type 910, with an I-band radar, was used but this suffered from poor performance locking onto low-altitude targets hidden in the background sea clutter in the Falklands War
. Low-level targets had to be engaged using the 910's secondary TV mode to manually track the target. Subsequently, the lighter Type 911 supplanted the Type 910, adding a second radar (a K-band set based on the Blindfire tracker of the Rapier missile
, to control engagements at low level) and was fitted in the 7th Type 22 Frigate onwards. Unlike Type 910, Type 911 does not have any TV function; the TV camera is retained only to allow the Missile Director to visually confirm targets, and to provide a record of engagements.
When lock has been achieved with the missile tracker a round is fired, and is tracked by a pair of radio beacons in the missile's tail. The ship-board system constantly measures the angle differences between the target and the missile and issues the relevant guidance commands to the missile through an Automatic Command to Line of Sight (ACLOS) device transmitting on a microwave link and controlling the rear fins of the missile. It is possible for a single tracker to control a salvo of two missiles.
The radar and CCTV guidance system were developed by Marconi Radar at Great Baddow, Essex.
, Sea Wolf was present on board HMS Brilliant
and HMS Broadsword
. As the Royal Navy's only modern point-defence weapon at the time, the two Type 22 frigates so equipped were assigned "goalkeeper" duties, to provide close anti-aircraft defence of the carrier task force. Sea Wolf lived up to expectations and performed well in combat.
In an attempt to overcome the fleet's overall air defence deficiency following the loss of Sheffield
, a new tactic was devised, which saw the two Type 22 frigates each teamed with one of the remaining pair of Type 42 destroyers (unofficially termed Type 64, the sum of both classes numbers); these were deployed together some distance from the main fleet, covering likely attack routes, in an attempt to draw attacking aircraft into a "missile trap". On 12 May 1982, Brilliant and HMS Glasgow
were in combination. The ships were attacked by a flight of four Argentine
A-4 Skyhawk
aircraft. Brilliant was able to shoot down two of these and cause a third to crash trying to avoid the missile. A second wave of aircraft attacked during a failure of the missile system, which led to Glasgow suffering heavy damage. Broadsword however was unable to successfully defend HMS Coventry
when the pair were attacked on May 25. The latter, moving evasively, crossed in front of Broadsword and broke the Sea Wolf's lock on the attacking aircraft. Sea Wolf also suffered from problems with hardware failure causing launches to fail, and broken lock resulting from the extreme sea conditions and the Argentine's low altitude hit-and-run tactics, and multiple targets and crossing targets - neither of which it was designed to intercept. Sea Wolf accounted for two confirmed "kills" and three further possible successes from eight launches.
Instead of a launcher that is aimed at the target by the fire-control system, VL Sea Wolf uses a vertical launch system (VLS)
. Missiles are launched vertically by a Cadiz booster motor and turnover pack, to clear the ship's super-structure and rapidly flipped onto their flight path by thrust vector control. The booster motor, which also increases the range of VL Sea Wolf from 6.5 km to 10 km, then separates from the missile, which flies on to engage the target.
Although vertical launch had been explored much earlier in Sea Wolf's development, it was not until the 1980s that a production design was undertaken. VLS went into service, using the GWS-26 system, on the Type 23 frigate
HMS Norfolk
. Type 23 frigates have a 32-cell VLS, each cell holding one VL Sea Wolf for a total of 32 missiles. The cells, or canisters, are housed vertically in the ship's magazine such that the top of the canisters protrude from the magazine.
" missile; it relies on target data from the parent ship all the way to intercept. A variant with a fire-and-forget capability, GWS-27, was cancelled in 1987.
system. It was intended to equip the Royal Navy's Invincible class
carriers and Type 42 destroyers to supplement the medium range Sea Dart
system, which was not as capable of intercepting sea-skimming missiles. However, it was cancelled before it entered service.
to investigate a replacement for Sea Wolf which is scheduled to leave service about 2018. The Common Anti-Air Modular Missile
(CAMM), would share components with the ASRAAM missile in service with the RAF.
This system has now been designated the Future Local Anti-air Defence System (Maritime) or FLAADS (M). It is intended to replace Sea Wolf on the Type 23 frigates around 2018, and to be fitted to the Future Surface Combatant
ships which are expected to enter service around 2020.
Guided Missile
Guided Missile is a London based independent record label set up by Paul Kearney in 1994.Guided Missile has always focused on 'the underground', preferring to put out a steady flow of releases and developing the numerous GM events around London and beyond....
system designed and built by BAC
British Aircraft Corporation
The British Aircraft Corporation was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs , the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 1960. Bristol, English Electric and Vickers became "parents" of BAC with...
, later to become British Aerospace
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...
(BAe) Dynamics (now MBDA
MBDA
MBDA is a missile developer and manufacturer with operations in France, Britain, Germany, Italy, and the United States. It was formed by a merger of Aérospatiale-Matra Missiles , Finmeccanica and Matra BAe Dynamics in December 2001. In 2003 the company had 10,000 employees...
). It is an automated point-defence
Point-defence
Point-defence is the defence of a single object or a limited area, e.g. a ship, building or an airfield, now usually against air attacks and guided missiles...
weapon system designed as a final line of defence against both sea-skimming and high angle anti-ship missile
Anti-ship missile
Anti-ship missiles are guided missiles that are designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea-skimming type, many use a combination of inertial guidance and radar homing...
s and aircraft. It has been fielded by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in two versions: the GWS-25 Conventionally Launched Sea Wolf (CLSW) and the GWS-26 Vertically Launched Sea Wolf (VLSW) forms.
History
The system was developed by the British Aircraft CorporationBritish Aircraft Corporation
The British Aircraft Corporation was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs , the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 1960. Bristol, English Electric and Vickers became "parents" of BAC with...
(BAC) from a 1964 requirement for a replacement for the Sea Cat missile
Sea Cat missile
Sea Cat was a British short-range surface to air missile system intended to replace the ubiquitous Bofors 40 mm gun aboard warships of all sizes. It was the world's first operational shipboard point-defence missile system and was designed so that the Bofors guns could be replaced with minimum...
system to give small warships protection against anti-ship missiles and aircraft. A contract was awarded in 1967 to BAC, Vickers
Vickers
Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 1999.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...
and Bristol Aerojet. Testing lasted from 1970 until 1977, with shipborne trials on a modified Leander class frigate
Leander class frigate
The Leander class, or Type 12I frigates, comprising twenty-six vessels, was among the most numerous and long-lived classes of frigate in the Royal Navy's modern history. The class was built in three batches between 1959 and 1973...
, HMS Penelope
HMS Penelope (F127)
HMS Penelope was a of the Royal Navy. Like other ships of the class, Penelope was named after a figure of mythology. HMS Penelope was launched on 17 August 1962 and commissioned on 31 October 1963...
, from 1976 onwards. Sea Wolf was tested with a vertical launch system early in the missile's development on a modified Loch class frigate
Loch class frigate
The Loch class was a class of anti-submarine frigate built for the Royal Navy and her allies during World War II. They were an innovative design based on the experience of 3 years of fighting in the Battle of the Atlantic and attendant technological advances.-Design:The Lochs were based upon the...
, Loch Fada
HMS Loch Fada (K390)
HMS Loch Fada was the lead ship of the s of the British Royal Navy, built by John Brown & Company of Clydebank, Scotland, and named after Loch Fada in Scotland....
, but for unclear reasons work did not continue in this direction: the GWS-26 "VL Seawolf (VLS)" being a much later (1980s) development.
During trials the missile performed impressively, successfully intercepting a 114 mm shell on one occasion.
The first deployment, in the GWS-25 form, was on the Type 22 frigate
Type 22 frigate
The Type 22 Broadsword class is a class of frigate built for the British Royal Navy. Fourteen of the class were built in total, with production divided into three batches. With the decommissioning of HMS Cornwall on 30 June 2011, the final Type 22 of the Royal Navy was retired from service...
(2 systems) and later on modified Leander class frigates (1 system) in six-round, manually loaded, trainable launchers.
It has been used by the Royal Navy since 1979 and was fired in anger during the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
. Current deployment is the GWS-25 Mod 3 system on the Type 22 Batch 3 and the GWS-26 Mod 1 system on Type 23
Type 23 frigate
The Type 23 frigate is a class of frigate built for the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. All the ships were first named after British Dukes, thus the class is also known as the Duke class. The first Type 23 was commissioned in 1989, and the sixteenth, was launched in May 2000 and commissioned in...
frigates. The latter fields 32 vertical launch missiles (VL Sea Wolf) in its missile silo. It is expected to remain in service until 2020.
Vertically launched Seawolf is also fitted to the Lekiu Class Frigates
Lekiu Class Frigates
The Lekiu class frigates are presently the most modern major assets of the Royal Malaysian Navy. The class comprised two vessels, F29 KD Jebat and F30 KD Lekiu...
in service with the Royal Malaysian Navy
Royal Malaysian Navy
The Royal Malaysian Navy is the naval arm of Malaysian Armed Forces. All commissioned ships of the RMN have the prefix KD , which means Royal Ship.-Straits Settlement Naval Volunteer Reserve:...
.
Description
Sea Wolf is powered by the Blackcap solid-fuel rocket to a maximum velocity of Mach 2, and can intercept targets at ranges between 1000m and 6000m and altitudes between 10m and 3000m. The warhead weighs 14 kilograms (30.9 lb) and is a proximity fused HE-fragmenting type. In the manually loaded form, the missiles are stored onboard in individual maintenance-free canisters, sealed until use and handled like a round of ammunition.Fire control
When a target is to be engaged, the ship's computer slews one of the two Sea Wolf trackers onto the target (there was a single tracker on a Sea Wolf Leander). Originally the Type 910, with an I-band radar, was used but this suffered from poor performance locking onto low-altitude targets hidden in the background sea clutter in the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
. Low-level targets had to be engaged using the 910's secondary TV mode to manually track the target. Subsequently, the lighter Type 911 supplanted the Type 910, adding a second radar (a K-band set based on the Blindfire tracker of the Rapier missile
Rapier missile
Rapier is a British surface-to-air missile developed for the British Army and Royal Air Force. Entering service in 1971, it eventually replaced all other anti-aircraft weapons in Army service; guns for low-altitude targets, and the English Electric Thunderbird, used against longer-range and...
, to control engagements at low level) and was fitted in the 7th Type 22 Frigate onwards. Unlike Type 910, Type 911 does not have any TV function; the TV camera is retained only to allow the Missile Director to visually confirm targets, and to provide a record of engagements.
When lock has been achieved with the missile tracker a round is fired, and is tracked by a pair of radio beacons in the missile's tail. The ship-board system constantly measures the angle differences between the target and the missile and issues the relevant guidance commands to the missile through an Automatic Command to Line of Sight (ACLOS) device transmitting on a microwave link and controlling the rear fins of the missile. It is possible for a single tracker to control a salvo of two missiles.
The radar and CCTV guidance system were developed by Marconi Radar at Great Baddow, Essex.
Combat performance
During the Falklands WarFalklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
, Sea Wolf was present on board HMS Brilliant
HMS Brilliant (F90)
HMS Brilliant was a Type 22 frigate of the Royal Navy.She was part of the Task Force that took part in the Falklands War, with Captain John Coward in command...
and HMS Broadsword
HMS Broadsword (F88)
HMS Broadsword was the lead ship and first Batch 1 unit of the Type 22 frigates of the Royal Navy.-Service:While on sea trials, Broadsword was called into service as the command ship during the large rescue operation required after storms struck the 1979 Fastnet race.Broadsword took part in the...
. As the Royal Navy's only modern point-defence weapon at the time, the two Type 22 frigates so equipped were assigned "goalkeeper" duties, to provide close anti-aircraft defence of the carrier task force. Sea Wolf lived up to expectations and performed well in combat.
In an attempt to overcome the fleet's overall air defence deficiency following the loss of Sheffield
HMS Sheffield (D80)
HMS Sheffield was the second Royal Navy ship to be named after the city of Sheffield in Yorkshire. She was a Type 42 Guided Missile Destroyer laid down by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering at Barrow-in-Furness on 15 January 1970, launched on 10 June 1971 and commissioned on 16 February 1975.An...
, a new tactic was devised, which saw the two Type 22 frigates each teamed with one of the remaining pair of Type 42 destroyers (unofficially termed Type 64, the sum of both classes numbers); these were deployed together some distance from the main fleet, covering likely attack routes, in an attempt to draw attacking aircraft into a "missile trap". On 12 May 1982, Brilliant and HMS Glasgow
HMS Glasgow (D88)
HMS Glasgow was a Type 42 destroyer of the Royal Navy. The last of the Batch 1 Type 42 destoyers, Glasgow was commissioned in 1977. The destroyer fought during the Falklands War, and on 12 May 1982 was damaged by bombs from Argentine A-4 Skyhawks. Glasgow operated with the INTERFET peacekeeping...
were in combination. The ships were attacked by a flight of four Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
A-4 Skyhawk
A-4 Skyhawk
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a carrier-capable ground-attack aircraft designed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The delta winged, single-engined Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later McDonnell Douglas. It was originally designated the A4D...
aircraft. Brilliant was able to shoot down two of these and cause a third to crash trying to avoid the missile. A second wave of aircraft attacked during a failure of the missile system, which led to Glasgow suffering heavy damage. Broadsword however was unable to successfully defend HMS Coventry
HMS Coventry (D118)
HMS Coventry was a Type 42 destroyer of the Royal Navy. Laid down by Cammell Laird and Company, Limited, at Birkenhead on 29 January 1973, she was launched on 21 June 1974 and accepted into service on 20 October 1978 at a cost of £37,900,000.She was sunk by Argentine Air Force A-4 Skyhawks on 25...
when the pair were attacked on May 25. The latter, moving evasively, crossed in front of Broadsword and broke the Sea Wolf's lock on the attacking aircraft. Sea Wolf also suffered from problems with hardware failure causing launches to fail, and broken lock resulting from the extreme sea conditions and the Argentine's low altitude hit-and-run tactics, and multiple targets and crossing targets - neither of which it was designed to intercept. Sea Wolf accounted for two confirmed "kills" and three further possible successes from eight launches.
Vertical launch (VL) Sea Wolf
Vertical Launching System
A vertical launching system is a system for holding and firing missiles on surface ships and submarines used by many navies around the world. Each VLS system consists of a number of cells, which can hold one or more missiles ready for firing...
. Missiles are launched vertically by a Cadiz booster motor and turnover pack, to clear the ship's super-structure and rapidly flipped onto their flight path by thrust vector control. The booster motor, which also increases the range of VL Sea Wolf from 6.5 km to 10 km, then separates from the missile, which flies on to engage the target.
Although vertical launch had been explored much earlier in Sea Wolf's development, it was not until the 1980s that a production design was undertaken. VLS went into service, using the GWS-26 system, on the Type 23 frigate
Type 23 frigate
The Type 23 frigate is a class of frigate built for the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. All the ships were first named after British Dukes, thus the class is also known as the Duke class. The first Type 23 was commissioned in 1989, and the sixteenth, was launched in May 2000 and commissioned in...
HMS Norfolk
HMS Norfolk (F230)
The sixth HMS Norfolk was laid down in 1985 by Yarrow Shipbuilders. She was launched on the Clyde by Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon in July 1987. She was commissioned on the 1st of June 1990. Norfolk was the 'first of class', as well as being the first of a new generation of 'lean manned'...
. Type 23 frigates have a 32-cell VLS, each cell holding one VL Sea Wolf for a total of 32 missiles. The cells, or canisters, are housed vertically in the ship's magazine such that the top of the canisters protrude from the magazine.
Block 2 Sea Wolf
Block 2 Sea Wolf is a replenishment upgrade to the existing stocks of Sea Wolf missiles. Block 2 missiles have replaced all Sea Wolf missiles, both on Type 22 and Type 23 frigates, as part of normal ammunition replenishment operations. In a parallel programme (Sea Wolf Mid Life Update) the associated Type 911 tracker is being upgraded by the addition of an infra-red camera, enhanced tracking software and new operator's consoles.GWS-27
Sea Wolf is not a "fire-and-forgetFire-and-forget
Fire-and-forget is a third-generation method of missile guidance. The military uses the term for a type of missile which does not require further guidance after launch such as illumination of the target or wire guidance , and can hit its target without the launcher being in line-of-sight of the...
" missile; it relies on target data from the parent ship all the way to intercept. A variant with a fire-and-forget capability, GWS-27, was cancelled in 1987.
Lightweight Sea Wolf
Sea Wolf was not designed as a particularly lightweight system, the original GWS-25 variant with Type 910 tracking required 13.5 tonnes of tracking and below decks fire control equipment, reduced to 5 tonnes with the upgraded Type 911 tracker. The "broad-beam" Leander class frigate of 2,500 tons (standard displacement) could carry only a single missile system, and required some significant structural "surgery" of the upperworks to counteract the weight of the new missile system. Sea Wolf in its original guise cannot therefore be easily added to existing vessels. For this reason, the Lightweight Sea Wolf variant was designed to use a four-missile launcher, similar in form to that of the obsolete Sea CatSea Cat missile
Sea Cat was a British short-range surface to air missile system intended to replace the ubiquitous Bofors 40 mm gun aboard warships of all sizes. It was the world's first operational shipboard point-defence missile system and was designed so that the Bofors guns could be replaced with minimum...
system. It was intended to equip the Royal Navy's Invincible class
Invincible class aircraft carrier
The Invincible class is a class of light aircraft carrier operated by the British Royal Navy. Three ships were constructed, , and . The vessels were built as aviation-capable anti-submarine warfare platforms to counter the Cold War North Atlantic Soviet submarine threat, and initially embarked...
carriers and Type 42 destroyers to supplement the medium range Sea Dart
Sea Dart missile
Sea Dart or Guided Weapon System 30 is a British surface-to-air missile system designed by Hawker Siddeley Dynamics and built by British Aerospace from 1977...
system, which was not as capable of intercepting sea-skimming missiles. However, it was cancelled before it entered service.
Potential future replacement
At the DSEi conference in September 2007 it was announced the UK MoD was funding a study by MBDAMBDA
MBDA is a missile developer and manufacturer with operations in France, Britain, Germany, Italy, and the United States. It was formed by a merger of Aérospatiale-Matra Missiles , Finmeccanica and Matra BAe Dynamics in December 2001. In 2003 the company had 10,000 employees...
to investigate a replacement for Sea Wolf which is scheduled to leave service about 2018. The Common Anti-Air Modular Missile
Common Anti-Air Modular Missile
The Common Anti-Air Modular Missile is a Surface-to-air missile and Air-to-air missile made by MBDA for all three branches of the British Armed Forces, scheduled to enter service from 2016...
(CAMM), would share components with the ASRAAM missile in service with the RAF.
This system has now been designated the Future Local Anti-air Defence System (Maritime) or FLAADS (M). It is intended to replace Sea Wolf on the Type 23 frigates around 2018, and to be fitted to the Future Surface Combatant
Future Surface Combatant
The Global Combat Ship is a ship design and construction programme currently underway by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence to replace the Royal Navy's 13 Type 23 frigates. The programme has been in development since 1998, initially under the designation "Future Surface Combatant "...
ships which are expected to enter service around 2020.