RIM-116 test firing

RAM Launcher on German Gepard class fast attack craft Wiesel

The RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) is a small, lightweight, infrared homing surface-to-air missile in use by the United States Navy, German Navy, Hellenic Navy, and South Korean Navy. It is intended primarily as a point-defense weapon against anti-ship cruise missiles. The missile is named for the behaviour it exhibits in flight - rolling to stabilise the flightpath. RIM-116 being fired. ... RIM-116 being fired. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x989, 361 KB) Beschreibung: RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Launcher auf dem Schnellboot Wiesel Fotograf: Darkone, 13. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x989, 361 KB) Beschreibung: RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Launcher auf dem Schnellboot Wiesel Fotograf: Darkone, 13. ... S71 Gepard The Type 143A Gepard class is a German class of missile bearing Fast Attack Craft. ... Infra-red homing refers to a guidance system which uses the infra-red light emission from a target to track it. ... Akash Missile Firing French Air Force Crotale battery Bendix Rim-8 Talos surface to air missile of the US Navy A surface-to-air missile (SAM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. ... USN redirects here. ... The German Navy (German: Deutsche Marine  ) is the navy of Germany and part of the Bundeswehr. ... The Hellenic Navy (Greek: , Polemikó Naftikó) is the naval force of the modern nation of Greece (Hellenic Republic). ... ROKN Jack The Republic of Korea Navy (ROK Navy, ROKN, Hangul: 대한민국 í•´êµ°; hanja: 大韓民國 海軍) is the navy of South Korea. ... Point-defence is the defence of a single object or a limited area, e. ... A Tomahawk cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile which uses a lifting wing and most often a jet propulsion system to allow sustained flight. ...

The onboard Mk 49 launcher installation weighs 5,777 kilograms and stores 21 missiles. The weapon cannot employ its own sensors prior to firing so it must be integrated with a ship's combat system, which directs the launcher at targets. On US ships it is integrated with the AN/SWY-2 and Ship Self Defense System combat systems. Ships Self Defense System (SSDS) is an integrated weapons system used aboard large U.S. Navy ships, such as Nimitz class supercarriers and various amphibious assault ships such as LHDs and LSDs. ...

The RIM-116 was developed by General Dynamics under a July 1976 agreement with Denmark and West Germany. (The General Dynamics missile business was later acquired by Hughes Aircraft and is today part of Raytheon.) The first 30 were built under FY 85 and became operational on November 14, 1992 aboard the USS Peleliu (LHA-5). The U.S. Navy hopes to purchase 1,600 RAMs and 115 launchers to equip 74 ships. The RIM-116 is currently used on several American and 25 German warships. Moreover, all new German Navy vessels will be equipped with RAM, such as the new, stealthy Braunschweig class corvettes, which will mount 2 RAM launchers per ship. The Hellenic Navy has equipped the new fast attack missile class Super Vita. South Korea has also signed procurement contracts. General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) is a defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2005 it is the sixth largest defense contractor in the world[1]. The company has changed markedly in the post-Cold War era of defense consolidation. ... Hughes logo adopted after his death Hughes developed the AIM-120 AMRAAM, one of the worlds most advanced air-to-air missiles Hughes Aircraft Company was a major defense/aerospace company founded by Howard Hughes. ... Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) is a major United States military contractor based in Waltham, Massachusetts. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining until the end of the year. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... USS Peleliu (LHA-5) is a Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship of the United States Navy, named after the Battle of Peleliu during World War II. Originally to be named Khe Sanh and then Da Nang, Peleliu was laid down in 1976 at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, launched 25... The German Navy (German: Deutsche Marine  ) is the navy of Germany and part of the Bundeswehr. ... The upcoming K130 Braunschweig class (sometimes Korvette 130) will be Germanys newest class of ocean-going patrol craft. ... The Hellenic Navy (Greek: , Polemikó Naftikó) is the naval force of the modern nation of Greece (Hellenic Republic). ... // The design of the 62 metres fast attack craft missile is based on the smaller Vita class crafts already in service with the Qatar Navy and similar-sized craft built for Oman and other countries. ...

Variants

Block 0

Also known as RIM-116A in US service, the original version called Block 0 is based on the AIM-9 Sidewinder, from which it took the rocket motor, fuse and warhead. Block 0 missiles initially home in on active radiation emitted from a target (such as the radar of an incoming antiship missile). Terminal guidance is done by infrared seeker derived from the FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS missile. In test firings Block 0 missiles achieved hit rates of over 95%. Sidewinder Missile The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range, air-to-air missile carried by fighter aircraft and recently, certain gunship helicopters. ... A Redstone rocket, part of the Mercury program The traditional definition of a rocket is a vehicle, missile or aircraft which obtains thrust by the reaction to the ejection of fast moving fluid from within a rocket engine. ... In an explosive device, a fuse (or fuze) is the part of the device that causes it to function. ... A warhead is an explosive device used in military conflicts, used to destroy enemy vehicles or buildings. ... Infra-red homing refers to a guidance system which uses the infra-red light emission from a target to track it. ... Type MANPADS Nationality United States Era Cold War/modern Launch platform Man portable Target aircraft History Builder Raytheon Missile Systems Date of design 1967 Production period Service duration 1981-present Operators Britain, Germany, Israel, Iran, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Pakistan, Switzerland, United States Variants Number built Approx. ... An SA-7 in use Russian Manportable SAM System SA-18/GROUSE MANPADS (Human-Portable Air-Defence System) are shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles. ...

Block 1

Block 1 (RIM-116B) is an enhanced version of the RAM missile that adds infrared-only guidance which enables it to intercept missiles that are not emitting any radar signals. Block 0's passive radar homing capabilities are retained. Active radar homing is a type of missile guidance where a guided missile contains a radar transceiver and the electronics necessary for it to find and track its target autonomously. ...

HAS

In 1998 a memorandum of understanding was signed by Germany and the United States to improve the system, so that it could also engage Helicopters, Aircraft and Surface targets. The developed HAS upgrade is a mere software modification that can be applied to all Block 1 RAM missiles. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) is a legal document describing an agreement between parties. ...

Sea RAM

Sea RAM has been developed as direct replacement for the much shorter ranged gun-based Phalanx system, which unlike RAM is not able to deal with multiple targets coming in simultaneously and has lower kill chances, especially against erratic moving missiles. Block 0 CIWS The Phalanx CIWS (Close-in weapon system, pronounced see-whizz) is an anti-missile system that was designed and manufactured by the General Dynamics Corporation, Pomona Division. ...

It combines Phalanx' hardware (radar and mount) with an 11 cell RAM launcher to produce an autonomous system, which does not need any external information to engage threats. Sea RAM thus can (like Phalanx) be fitted to all kind of ships, e.g. also on replenishment ships which usually do not have integrated combat systems and only limited sensors.

See also Close-in weapon system for more information about the disadvantages of gun-based CIWS.

Phalanx CIWS A Close-in weapon system (CIWS) is a naval shipboard weapon system for detecting and destroying incoming anti-ship missiles and enemy aircraft at short range (the threat(s) having penetrated the ships available outer defences). ...

General Characteristics (Block 1)

• Primary Function: Surface-to-Air Missile
• Contractor: Raytheon, RAM Systems Germany
• Length: 2780 mm
• Diameter: 127 mm
• Fin span: 445 mm
• Speed: Mach 2.0+
• Warhead: 11.3 kg blast fragmentation
• Launch Weight: 73.5 kg
• Range: 7.5 km
• Guidance System: three modes—passive radio frequency/infrared homing, infrared only, or infrared dual mode enabled (radio frequency and infrared homing)
• Unit Cost: $444,000
• Date Deployed: 1992

Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) is a major United States military contractor based in Waltham, Massachusetts. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ...

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile

• RIM-116 RAM Rolling Airframe Missile - GlobalSecurity.org
• RIM-116 RAM - Rolling Airframe Missile - waffenHQ.de
• Designation Systems
• RAM on the Homepage of German developer and manufacturer Diehl BGT (in English)