Stand Alone Defensive System

In previous posts we have used the phrase "Stand Alone Defensive System" (S.A.D.S.),here we will explain what such a thing is.

A Stand Alone Defensive System in not an existing weapon system,it is a concept for a future system.

It may be a missile system

It may be a gun system.

It may be a combination missile and gun system.

It may even be a directed energy weapon system.


Most elements of the system would be lower cost non-developmental items as there is a wide range of radars,guns,ammunition,Auxiliary Power Units (A.P.U.s) and other components available either "off the shelf" or made to order.

A Stand Alone Defensive System is a replacement for the many types of light cannon and Close In Weapons Systems in use today.

Many modern warships carry 4 short range guns,these may be replaced by just 2 well placed Stand Alone Defensive Systems reducing weight and manpower requirements.

A Stand Alone Defensive System serves the following primary purposes:

Short range defensive armament for warships in the event that their other weapons fail due to human error,technical problems or battle damage;

Short range defensive armament for civilian vessels,auxiliary naval vessels and other craft which would not otherwise be armed.

It may also perform the following secondary roles:

Engaging low value targets where more expensive weapons are not neccessary;

Firing warning shots.

There are three fundamental qualities which a Stand Alone Defensive System must posess:

It Stands Alone.

The system must be be a fully self contained unit,capable of fully independent operation,though it may also be able to operate with external control and power;

It is defensive.

It must be able to engage short range targets on land,on sea or in the air,even if the ship it is on has been hit and it's crew killed or wounded;

It is a system.

It must be a fully self contained unit including the weapon,ammunition,sensors,fire control system and power supply required for extended operation without external input.

These qualities require the following features:


It must not penetrate the deck on which it is mounted.

This allows it to be mounted above the bridge and helicopter hanger on warships.

This also allows it to be mounted on civilian or other vessels with only minor strengthening to the deck of the ship.

It must have it's own on board power supply.

This allows it to operate when external power is not available due to technical failure,human error or battle damage,though it may also be connected to an external power source when one is available.

It must have all of it's ammunition supply on the mount and ready to use.

This allows it to operate without the need for reloading by crew members who may have become casualties or be occupied with damage control duties.

This also allows it to be carried by a civilian or other vessel with no magazine space to store ammunition and no trained crew members to do the reloading.

It must be capable of operating for long periods with little or no maintenance.

This allows it to continue operating without needing maintenance to be done by crew members who may have become casualties or be occupied with damage control duties.

This also allows it to be carried by a civilian or other vessel with little or no support crew.

It must be protected against shock.

This allows it to continue operating after the ship which is carrying it has been hit by a missile or torpedo.

It must be protected against fragmentation.

This allows it to continue operating after the ship which is carrying it has been hit by a missile or torpedo.

It must be light enough to be mounted above the ship's superstructure.

This allows it to have wide firing arcs unobstructed by the ship's superstructure.

It must be able to engage targets on land,on sea or in the air.

This allows it to defend against the full range of above water threats.

It must have it's own on board sensors.

This allows it to detect,track and engage targets without the help of external sensors which may not be available due to technical failure,human error or battle damage.

This also allows it to detect,track and engage targets without the help of external sensors which may not be available if it is mounted on a civilian vessel which does not have such systems.

We are not aware of any current system which meets all of these requirements.

However,there are many existing systems which meet some but not all of these requirements.

The BAE Mark 38 Mod 2 25mm chain gun does not require any deck penetration.

Auxiliary Power Units are commonly found on military land systems such as the Gepard anti-aircraft vehicle.

Many systems carry large amounts of ammunition on the mount.

This Rolling Airframe Missile launcher appears to be mounted on shock absorbing wire rope mounts.

Protection against fragmentation was standard equipment on most anti-aircraft guns during the Second World War.

This Bofors 40mm Mark 4 is light enough to be mounted above the bridge or hangar on many large warships.

This Bofors 57mm Mark110 is capable of engaging the full range of air and surface targets.

This SeaRAM launcher has the full range of sensors required for autonomous detection and tracking of air and surface targets.


A Stand Alone Defensive System must combine all of these features.

The above illustration shows the firing arcs for 2 Stand Alone Defensive Systems (and a larger gun in "A position") mounted above the hangar and bridge on our Falklands class frigate template.

These 2 Stand Alone Defensive Systems provide better all round coverage and redundancy than the 4 side mounted light cannon carried by a Daring class destroyer,only 2 of which are capable of engaging missiles.


If a Phalanx anti-missile system fails on a Daring class destroyer it leaves a blind arc of about 180 degrees,requiring a turn of up to  90 degrees for the ship to bring the weapon on it's other beam to bear.


If a Stand Alone Defensive System fails on a Falklands class frigate it leaves a blind arc of only about 20 degrees,requiring a turn of around 10 degrees for the ship to bring it's remaining system to bear.



In total,the Stand Alone Defensive Systems on the Falklands class frigate provide about 680 degrees of coverage compared to about 360 degrees for the Phalanx systems on the Daring class destroyers.

The tumble home of the superstructure of the Falklands class,combined with the narrowness of the bridge and the pedestal atop the hangar,also allows excellent depression to engage targets very close to the ship.

The loss and damage of Her Majesty's Ships Sheffield, Coventry and Glasgow during the Falklands War of 1982,demonstrated the importance of a Stand Alone Defensive System on a modern warship.


In each of these cases the ships' main weapon systems failed to engage for various reasons but none of these vessels was equipped with an adequate back up short range air defence system.

The loss of the unarmed Atlantic Conveyor to an attack by an Exocet anti-shipping missile demonstrated the need for sea lift ships to carry an air defence system.

The bombing of M.V. British Wye by an Argentinian Hercules demonstrated the need for fleet replenishment vessels to carry an air defence system.

The loss and damage of the Royal Fleet Auxiliaries Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram demonstrated the need for amphibious landing ships to carry  an adequate air defence system.

During the same conflict the Argentinian corvette Guerrico demonstrated the importance of having a back up system which can engage land targets at short ranges when she suffered failures of her 20mm cannon,40mm cannon and 100mm gun while being fired upon by Royal Marines on South Georgia.

The attack on the United States Ship (U.S.S.) Cole in port in Yemen highlighted the need for a close range defensive system to engage small boats at close range.


On a Falklands class frigate there are 2 independent Stand Alone Defensive Systems covering most bearings,providing a high degree of redundancy in the event of a failure at a critical moment.






An aircraft carrier will require 4 Stand Alone Defensive Systems.


A surface combatant will require 2 Stand Alone Defensive Systems.



An amphibious dock ship will require 2 Stand Alone Defensive Systems.



A replenishment ship will require 2 Stand Alone Defensive Systems.



A sealift ship will require 2 Stand Alone Defensive Systems.



A minor warship intended for lower threat environments may need only 1 Stand Alone Defensive System.



A fleet such as the Royal Navy's may require a total of over 100 Stand Alone Defensive Systems.

 

New Chinese Aircraft Carrier Puts To Sea For The First Time

Today China joined the elite group of first tier navies.

Just months after David Cameron signalled Britain's withdrawal from the World stage by scrapping the Royal Navy's aircraft carrier capability,China's first aircraft carrier has put to sea on trials.

China will soon be one of only a handful of countries capable of delivering air power anywhere in the World without asking any country for permission.

Ministry Of Defence Police Acting Illegally?

There is an interesting post on the EUReferendum blog.

The author was stopped and questioned by members of the Ministry Of Defence Police force*.

This stop and search was presumably under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000,if it was not on Ministry Of Defence property.

The provisions of which were ruled illegal by the European Court of Human Rights on the 12th of January 2010.

In fact the British government had agreed to suspend section 44:

"3. Following the courts judgment in Gillan and Quinton the UK 

government announced that it would suspend the use of S 44 stop and 

search without reasonable suspicion.


 Guidance was accordingly disseminated to chief constables  to suspend use of this power."

Doctor North might like to seek legal clarification over this incident.

The noted Eurosceptic failed to notice the number plate of the police vehicle which stopped him.

He may notice the irony if this stop was indeed in violation of European law.




*Not neccessarily those shown in the above picture which is taken from the Ministry Of Defence website and used here only for illustrative purposes.

Italian Frigate Fired On By Missile Off Libya

There are reports that there has been a possible attack on an Italian Frigate off the Libyan coast.

The Italian warship Bersagliere was operating just 12 miles (some sources say 15 miles) from the Libyan coast at the time of the incident.


This is close enough for her 127mm gun to bombard targets ashore.

The missile is reported to have missed the Soldati class frigate Bersagliere by 2,000 metres.

The origins of the missile have been described as unknown which leaves open the possibility that this may have been a "friendly fire" incident (Edit : it has since been confirmed that the missile was fired by Libyan forces).

The Soldati class are small frigates related to the Lupo class.

These ships had an interesting history,having been originally ordered by Iraq they were never delivered due to an arms embargo,an incident demonstrating the importance of security of supply.

A New American Frigate

In an earlier post we gave an illustration of what we wished to see in a future frigate for the Royal Navy.

Today we will look at what might be a suitable replacement for the American Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates.

The above illustration applies existing American weapon and sensor systems to our "Falkland class frigate" template.

Such as the 5 inch (127mm) Mark 45 Mod 4 gun.

The Mark 41 Vertical Launch System.

The Phalanx 1B.

Or,alternatively,SeaRAM.

AN/SPY 1F.

The MH 60R Seahawk.

Multi Function Towed Array AN/SQR 20.

All guns and missiles cover most bearings abeam of the ship,a narrow arc on the bow is covered by missiles,5" gun and a single Phalanx/SeaRam and a narrow arc on the stern is covered only by missiles and a single Phalanx/SeaRam but all weapons can be brought to bear on any bearing with a minimum of manoeuvering.

Other systems might include the Converteam Advanced Induction Motor.

LM2500 G4 Gas Turbine Generator.

All of these systems are "off the shelf" or made to order non developmental items.

The only thing which needs to be designed from scratch is a new hull to put those systems in,as the British can afford to design a new 6,850 tonne frigate,it is difficult to see why the United States' Navy could not do the same.


They could even share the Royal Navy's design (though the current design needs more work,note the poor firing arcs of the Phalanx).

The end result might be a frigate looking a little like this.

The configurable deck mentioned above is a flat load bearing area with access to the sea or pierside.

It may be enclosed or open.

It has connections for communications,power,potable and waste water services.

Items may be secured here by means of tie downs built in to the deck,bolts or welds.

Although it will be most often used as a location for boats and davits,the configurable deck can carry many other items including mines,mine hunting equipment,vehicles,submersibles,accommodation,stores,cruise missiles,sensors or any other mission specific equipment which the frigate may be required to carry either temporarily or permanently.

The unusual location of the Magazine Torpedo Launch System (an alternative to the Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes found on American ships) is based on the principle of,as far as is practical,keeping ordnance towards the extremities of the hull for damage control purposes as well as allowing a simple arrangement of torpedoes stored facing for'ard but launching on each beam.

That location was originally conceived as a suitable place for heavyweight torpedoes,which are not commonly carried by modern surface combatants.

Squad Mission Support System

Sometimes armed forces have a habit of making the simple and cheap expensive and complicated.


This was brought to our attention by Solomon's S.N.A.F.U. blog.

This is the United States' Army's new Squad Mission Support System,an unmanned vehicle to carry 600lbs (375kg) of kit for foot soldiers which is said to cost U.S. $500,000 (£312,000) each.

This is the British Army's Supacat All Terrain Mobile Platform (A.T.M.P.) which carries a payload of 1.6 tonnes (3,520 lbs) and cost about £46,000 each (U.S. $74,000) including a trailer back in 1997,today they can be purchased used at a very reasonable £9,500 (U.S.$15,200).

Infantrymen have to carry large amounts of equipment when they are operating in areas where vehicles cannot operate such as jungles,forests or mountains like the troops shown above in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan.

At most other times they will be on bases or operating alongside vehicles which can carry their kit for them.


The Squad Mission Support System cannot follow the infantry in very close terrain,it can only go to places where a manned vehicle could go.

But unlike the driver of a manned vehicle it cannot keep it's eyes and ears open for the enemy,pick up a rifle and shoot,provide medical attention to wounded men or even change it's own tyres when they are punctured.


To an infantry section it is more of a burden and less of a benefit than a manned vehicle.

Is it worth the loss of military capability and huge procurement cost of an unmanned vehicle just to save the wages of an 18 year old driver?