The RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missile is a development of the RIM-7 Sea
Sparrow missile used to protect ships from attacking missiles and aircraft.
ESSM is designed to counter supersonic maneuvering anti-ship missiles. ESSM
also has the ability to be "quad-packed" in the Mk 41 VLS system, allowing up to
four ESSMs to be carried in a single cell.
Design The original Sea Sparrow was an
expedient design intended to provide short-range defensive fire in a system
that could be deployed as rapidly as possible. In the years after its
introduction, it was upgraded to follow improvements being made in the
air-to-air models used by the US Navy and US Air Force. The ultimate version
in this line of weapons was the R model, which introduced a new dual-seeker
homing system and many other upgrades. However, the AIM-120 AMRAAM offered
higher performance from a missile that was smaller and lighter, and development
of the Sparrow ended in the 1990s. This left only the Sea Sparrow using the
basic platform, and it no longer had to fit on aircraft. So instead of simply
using the P and R models as they were, it was decided to dramatically upgrade
the weapon. The ESSM emerged as a completely new weapon, common only in
name with the original, although using all of the same support equipment
allowing it to be fit to ships already mounting the older models.
Compared to the Sea Sparrow, ESSM has a larger, more powerful rocket motor for
increased range and agility, as well as upgraded aerodynamics using strakes and
skid-to-turn. In addition, ESSM takes advantage of the latest missile guidance
technology, with different versions for AegisSPY-1, Sewaco/APAR, and traditional
target illumination all-the-way. The improved ESSM Block II will be fielded
by the US Navy from 2020. Launchers
= Mk 29= The original launcher is Mark 29 Guided
Missile Launching System Mod. 4 & 5, which is developed from earlier models
Mk 29 Mod 13 for Sea Sparrow. Mk 29 launchers provide on-mount stowage and
launching capability for firing up to eight missiles in a self-contained
environmentally controlled trainable launcher design.
= Mk 48= In addition to the Mk 29 GMLS and Mk 41
VLS systems, the other primary launcher is Mk 48 VLS. The 2-cell module of Mk-48
makes the system very versatile and enables it to be installed on board in
spaces that otherwise cannot be utilized. The weight of a 2-cell module
of Mk-48 is 1,450 pounds, 725 pounds for exhaust system, and 800 pounds for ship
installation interfaces. Each canister of the Mk-48 VLS houses a single RIM-7VL
Sea Sparrow cell or two RIM-162 ESSM cells, though, with modification, other
missiles can also be launched. There are a total of four models in the Mk 48
family, with Mod 0 & 1 housing either 2 RIM-7VL or 4 RIM-162 cells, Mod 2
housing either 16 RIM-7VL or 32 RIM-162 cells. Mod 02 are usually grouped into
either a 16-cell module for RIM-7VL or a 32-cell module for RIM-162. Mod 3 fits
into the StanFlex modules on Royal Danish Navy ships and can house either 6
RIM-7VL or 12 RIM-162 cells; the Danes now use the latter.
= Mk 56= The successor of Mk 48 VLS, Mark 56
Guided Missile Vertical Launching System or simply Mk 56, is latest launcher
developed for RIM-162 ESSM. In comparison to its predecessor, Mk 56
utilize greater percentage of composite material, reducing the weight more than
20%. Specifications: Operational history
US operational evaluation was conducted in July 2002 aboard USS Shoup. Initial
operational capability did not occur until later.
In October 2003, at the USN Pacific Missile Range Facility near Hawaii,
Australian frigate HMAS Warramunga conducted a successful firing of an
ESSM. The firing was also the first operational use of the CEA Technologies
CWI for guidance. In November 2003, approximately 200
nautical miles from the Azores, the Royal Netherlands Navy frigate HNLMS De
Zeven Provinciën conducted a live fire test of a single ESSM. This firing was
the first ever live firing involving a full-size ship-borne Active
electronically scanned array guiding a missile using the Interrupted Continuous
Wave Illumination technique in an operational environment. As related by
Jane's Navy International: During the tracking and missile-firing
tests, target profiles were provided by Greek-built EADS/3Sigma Iris PVK
medium-range subsonic target drones. [...] According to the RNLN, ... "APAR
immediately acquired the missile and maintained track until destruction".
[...] These ground-breaking tests represented the world's first live
verification of the ICWI technique. In August 2004 a German Navy Sachsen
class frigate completed a series of live missile firings at the Point Mugu
missile launch range off the coast of California that included a total of 11
ESSM missile firings. The tests included firings against target drones such as
the Northrup Grumman BQM-74E Chukkar III and Teledyne Ryan BQM-34S Firebee I, as
well as against missile targets such as the Beech AQM-37C and air-launched
Kormoran 1 anti-ship missiles. Further live firings were performed by
the Royal Netherlands Navy frigate HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën in March 2005, again
in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 180 nautical miles west of the Azores. The
tests involved three live-firing events including firing a single SM-2 Block
IIIA at an Iris target drone at long range, a single ESSM at an Iris target
drone, and a two-salvo launch against two incoming Iris target drones.
All ESSM launches from De Zeven Provinciën class frigates and Sachsen
class frigates involved ESSMs quad-packed in a Mark 41 Vertical
Launching System. The first "kill" by the RIM-162D from a
United States Navy carrier's Mk 29 launcher was achieved during a training
exercise by the USS John C. Stennis on 7 October 2008.
On 14 May 2013, the ESSM intercepted a high-diving supersonic test target,
demonstrating the ability to hit high-G maneuvering. No software changes were
needed to prove the ESSM's enhanced capability.
See also List of missiles
References External links
Designation Systems.net: Raytheon RIM-162 ESSM
Global Security.org: RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile
NATO SEASPARROW Project Office NAMMO Raufoss - Nordic Ammunition
Company