Sea Wolf (missile)

Sea Wolfis a navalsurface-to-air missilesystem designed and built byBAC,later to becomeBritish Aerospace(BAe) Dynamics, and nowMBDA.It is an automatedpoint-defenceweapon system designed as a short-range defence against both sea-skimming and high angleanti-ship missilesand aircraft. TheRoyal Navyhas fielded two versions, theGWS-25Conventionally Launched Sea Wolf (CLSW) and theGWS-26Vertically Launched Sea Wolf (VLSW) forms. In Royal Navy service Sea Wolf is being replaced bySea Ceptor.

Sea Wolf
Type 23 frigateHMSPortlandfires a vertical-launch Sea Wolf.
Type	Surface-to-air
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	Since 1979
Used by	Seeoperators
Wars	Falklands War,Gulf War
Production history
Designer	British Aircraft Corporation
Designed	1967
Manufacturer	British Aircraft Corporation (1967–1977) BAe Dynamics(1977–1999) MBDA UK(since 1999)
Produced	1979
Variants	Electronics; GWS-25, GWS-26, GWS-27 Vertical Launch
Specifications
Mass	82kg(180.8lb)
Length	1.9m(6ft2.8in)
Diameter	180mm(7.1in)
Wingspan	450 mm (17.7 in)
Warhead	14 kg (30.9 lb)HE blast-fragmentation
Detonation mechanism	Direct contact/proximity fuzeactivated
Engine	Blackcap solid fuel sustainer
Operational range	1–10km(0.5–5.4nmi),VLS
Flight ceiling	3,000 m (9,842.5 ft)
Maximum speed	Mach 3 (3,700 km/h; 2,300 mph)
Guidance system	Automatic Command to Line-Of-Sight (ACLOS)
Steering system	Control surfaces
Launch platform	Ship

History

Seawolf (right) replaced Seacat (left).

The earliest point-defence missile used by the Royal Navy was theSeacat,which had been rapidly developed from an earlieranti-tank missiledesign, theMalkara.As a weapon originally designed to operate against slow-moving ground vehicles, the missile had subsonic performance and was of limited capability against even early jet aircraft. It was used largely due to the ease which it could be adapted to the role simply by replacing the originalwire guidancesystem with aradio commandlink, and that its small size allowed multi-round launchers to be fitted to ships in place of theirBofors 40 mm guns.It entered service in 1961, the first point-defence missile to do so.

The limited performance was understood to be a problem from the start and a requirement for a higher performance replacement was published in 1964.British Aircraft Corporation(BAC) won a 1967 development contract along withVickersand Bristol Aerojet. Although only slightly longer and heavier than Seacat, Sea Wolf offered dramatically higher performance, with a top speed on the order of Mach 3, an effective range roughly double that of Seacat, and a fully automated guidance system that made engagements much simpler.

Testing lasted from 1970 until 1977, with shipborne trials on a modifiedLeanderclass frigate,HMSPenelope,from 1976. Sea Wolf was tested with a vertical launch system early in the development period on a modifiedLochclass frigate,HMSLoch Fadabut for obscure 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, once intercepting a 114 mm (4.5 in) shell.

Sea Wolf at RAF Museum Cosford.

The first deployment, in the GWS-25 form, was on theType 22 frigate(2 systems) and later on modifiedLeanderclass frigates (1 system) in six-round, manually-loaded trainable launchers. It entered service with the Royal Navy in 1979 and was used during theFalklands War.The current version is the GWS-26 Mod 1 system onType 23 frigates,fielding 32 vertical launch missiles (VL Sea Wolf) in its missile silo. It is expected to remain in service until 2020.

Description

Sea Wolf is powered by theBlackcapsolid-fuel rocket to a maximumvelocityof Mach 2, and can intercept targets at ranges between 1,000 and 6,000 m (1,100 and 6,600 yd) and altitudes from 10 m (33 ft) to 3,000 m (9,800 ft). The warhead weighs 14 kg (30.9 lb) and is aproximity fuzedHE-fragmenting type. In the manually loaded form, the missiles are stored on board in maintenance-free canisters, sealed until use and handled like a round of ammunition.

Fire control

Original GWS-25 sextuple launcher on theType 22 frigateHMSCumberland.

Sea Wolf GWS-25 missile launcher atExplosion Museum of Naval Firepower

The standard mode is fully automated and uses radar tracking. Target detection is carried out using the ship's surveillance radars. In the Type 22- and Sea Wolf-equippedLeanderclass, 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 automatically (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 WolfLeander). 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. The lighter Type 911 supplanted the Type 910, adding a second radar (a K-band set based on theBlindfiretracker of theRapier missile,to control engagements at low level) and was fitted in the 7thType 22Frigate 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 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 guidance commands to the missile through an Automatic Command to Line of Sight (ACLOS) device transmitting on a microwave link controlling the rear fins of the missile. It is possible for a tracker to control a salvo of two missiles. The radar and CCTV guidance system were developed by Marconi Radar atGreat Baddow,Essex.

Combat performance

HMSGlasgow

HMSBrilliant

The Type 42/22 combination achieved some degree of success during the Falklands Conflict, but the Sea Wolf armed ships were unable to prevent the loss ofHMSCoventryand heavy damage toHMSGlasgow.

During the Falklands War, Sea Wolf was the Royal Navy's only modern point-defence weapon. It equipped the Type 22 frigatesHMSBrilliant,HMSBroadswordand the Batch 3A Leander class frigateHMSAndromeda.These ships were assigned "goalkeeper" duties, to provide close anti-aircraft defence of the carrier task force.

In an attempt to overcome the fleet's overall air defence deficiency following the loss ofHMSSheffield,a new tactic was devised, which saw each of the two Type 22 frigates paired with each of the two remainingType 42 (area air defence) destroyers.The pairing was unofficially termed "Type 64", the sum of both classes numbers.The two pairs were deployed some distance from the main fleet, covering likely attack routes, in an attempt to draw attacking aircraft into a "missile trap", the intention being that, if the Type 42 was unable to engage targets at longer ranges with itsSea Dartmissiles, the Type 22 would use its short-range Sea Wolf missiles to defend both ships.

On 12 May 1982,BrilliantandHMSGlasgowwere operating in combination and were attacked by two flights of fourArgentineDouglas A-4 Skyhawkaircraft.Brilliantshot down two of these and caused a third to crash trying to avoid the missile. The second wave of aircraft attacked during a failure of the missile system and the Type 42Glasgowsustained damage.

On 25 May 1982,HMSCoventryandBroadswordalso operating in a 22/42 combination to the north-west ofFalkland Soundcame under attack by two waves of two A-4 Skyhawks.Broadswordattempted to target the first pair with Sea Wolf but the tracking system locked down and could not be reset before the aircraft released their bombs.Broadswordwas hit by one bomb, which bounced up through the deck and destroyed herWestland Lynxhelicopter. The second pair of Skyhawks headed forCoventry90 seconds later at a 20-degree angle to her port bow. OnBroadswordthe Sea Wolf system had been reset and acquired the attacking aircraft butCoventry's evasive manoeuvring took her through the line of fire and the lock was lost.Coventrywas struck by three bombs and sank shortly after.

Sea Wolf suffered from problems with hardware failure causing launches to fail, broken locks from the extreme sea conditions and the Argentines' low-altitude hit-and-run tactics with multiple, crossing targets which it was not designed to intercept.

Sea Wolf accounted for three confirmed "kills" and two further possibles from eight launches.

Variants

A trainable launcher type GWS-25 Sea Wolf missile. The GWS-26 vertical launch missile has a large booster motor in tandem.

Vertical launch (VL) Sea Wolf GWS-26

Instead of a launcher that is aimed at the target by the fire-control system, VL Sea Wolf uses avertical-launch system(VLS). Missiles are launched vertically by aCadizbooster motor and turnover pack, to clear the ship's superstructure and rapidly flipped onto their flight path bythrust vectoring.The booster motor, which also increases the range of VL Sea Wolf from 6.5 km (4.0 mi) to 10 km (6.2 mi), 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 theGWS-26 system,on the Type 23 frigateHMSNorfolk.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

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

Proposed "fire-and-forget"development with an active radar seeker instead of command guidance for dealing with saturation attacks. GWS-27 was cancelled in 1987.

Lightweight Sea Wolf

Sea Wolf at RAF Museum Cosford.

Sea Wolf was not designed as a particularly lightweight system, the original GWS-25 variant with Type 910 tracking required 13.5tonnes(13.3long tons;14.9short tons) of tracking and below-decks fire-control equipments, reduced to 5 t (4.9 long tons; 5.5 short tons) with the upgraded Type 911 tracker. The "broad-beam"Leander-class frigate of 2,500 t (2,500 long 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 obsoleteSea Catsystem. It was intended to equip the Royal Navy'sInvincibleclasscarriers and Type 42 destroyers to supplement the medium rangeSea Dartsystem, which was not as capable of intercepting sea-skimming missiles. However, it was cancelled before it entered service.

Replacement

Main article:CAMM (missile family)

At theDSEI conferencein September 2007 it was announced that the UKMinistry of Defencewas funding a study byMBDAto investigate a replacement for Sea Wolf which is scheduled to leave service about 2018. MBDA was later contracted to replace the Vertical-Launch Sea Wolf weapons system on the Royal Navy's Type 23 frigates as part of theFuture Local Anti-air Defence System (Maritime)or FLAADS(M). The system chosen was theCommon Anti-Air Modular Missile(CAMM) which would be known in Royal Navy service as "Sea Ceptor" and will also be jointly used by theBritish Army'snewSky Sabreair defence systemunder the name "Land Ceptor". CAMM is derived from and shares components with theAdvanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM)missile in service with theRoyal Air Force.

Sea Ceptor entered service on theType 23 frigatesin 2018 replacing the Sea Wolf and will also be integrated onto the forthcomingType 26andType 31frigates when they enter service in the late 2020s.Sea Ceptor will also replace theAster 15missiles on theType 45 Destroyersbetween 2026 and 2032.

Operators

Map of Sea Wolf operators in blue

Current operators

• Brazil
• Malaysia

Former operators

• United Kingdom(replaced byCAMM)
• Chile(replaced byCAMM)
• Indonesia

See also

• List of missiles
• CAMM– (United Kingdom, Italy)- Also known as 'Sea Ceptor' has replaced the Sea Wolf missile in service with the Royal Navy.
• Barak 1– (Israel)
• RIM-113– (United States)

References

Bibliography

• Smith, Gordon Smith (2006),Battle Atlas of the Falklands War 1982, by Land, Sea, Air,naval-history.net
• Tras un manto de neblina. Breve crónica de la Guerra de las Malvinas,Mario Díaz Gavier, Córdoba, 2004
• Marriott, Leo (1986),Type 22,Modern Combat Ships 4, Ian Allan Publishing
• Marriott, Leo (1983),Royal Navy Frigates 1945–1983,Ian Allan Publishing
• Naval Armament,Doug Richardson, Jane's Publishing, 1981

External links

• Jane's Defence news on Seawolf Block 2, April 2006
• Global Security
• Seawolf v Exocet - test detailed (Flight International 1983)