The U.S. Navy today is the strongest navy in the world. This is partly due to the fact
that other nations simply can’t afford the colossal military spending required to field
a navy that can compare. As a result, in addition to its record number of aircraft carriers,
the U.S. Navy features equipment that one could only find in science fiction movies.
Let's take a closer look at what kind of armament the U.S. installs on its ships.
In this video, you'll learn what kind of missiles U.S. ships are armed with. We'll tell you
about the most modern forms of long-range weapons, such as universal ship installations,
innovative railguns, and powerful lasers; weapons that may soon change the face of warfare
dramatically! At the very top of our list is the 76.2mm
OTO Melara 76 naval gun, originally from Italy. It was adopted by the US Navy back in 1975
and is still in active use on various ships, such as frigates, corvettes, patrol boats,
destroyers, and squadrons. The system is extremely compact, allowing
it to be deployed on even the smallest warships. The high rate of fire and variability of ammunition
made it capable of close-in point defense as well as air and ground support.
The OTO Melara 76 uses armor-piercing, incendiary, and fragmentation projectiles. If necessary,
a guided projectile capable of destroying maneuverable anti-ship missiles can be engaged.
To conceal the cannon on a ship, it can be installed inside an invisible dome. That way,
the enemy won’t even be able to tell where the shell came from!
The Mark 38 is based on the M242 Bushmaster, a 25mm automatic gun developed by McDonnell
Douglas engineers. It wasn’t by chance that engineers chose
the M242; it was chosen for its design, which allows the chain gun to fire almost non-stop,
varying its rate of fire from single shots to its maximum safe rate of fire, depending
solely on how quick pressure drops in the barrel after firing along with the mechanical
endurance of the unit. In addition, the short barrel makes installation of the armament
inside the turret much easier. The gun is used by the U.S. Navy on warships
for defense against light surface targets as well as coastal targets. In extreme cases
it can also be used for assault. The gun has undergone a number of upgrades,
resulting in an increased rate of fire, which allows for more effective use in combat.
The Phalanx CIWS, also known as the Phalanx, is a ship-based anti-aircraft artillery system
that entered service with the U.S. Navy slightly before the Mark 38 in 1980.
The system is used by the Navy primarily to counter anti-ship missiles with supersonic
and subsonic flight speeds. The Phalanx CIWS consists of the M61A1 six-barreled
automatic gun, two radar stations, an electronic turret, control panels, barbette, and, of
course, the mount on which all this is set. The Phalanx CIWS is mainly installed on U.S.
Navy warships, but there is also a ground version, the Phalanx LPWS, which is
being tested as part of the C-RAM air defense system. It protects against missile, mortar,
and artillery fire.
From defensive weapons, we move on to more futuristic weapons, which you’ve probably
already seen more than once, be it in games or movies.
We’re talking about the railgun, of course, an impulse accelerator, which uses an electromagnetic
force, also known as the Lorentz force, to accelerate its projectiles to insane speeds.
The railgun's original range of fire was 112 miles as early as 2015, and in the future,
military engineers intend to increase the figure even further, bringing it to 250 miles!
As part of tests in 2008, scientists were able to fire a 6.61-pound projectile at 1.56
miles per second. In terms of range, only missiles can compare
with the railgun, but these days any missile can be countered by a wide array of equipment.
Besides, rockets cost millions of dollars, while a railgun shell costs the military 20-25,000
dollars at most. Compared to missiles, this is practically pennies.
The transportation and loading of ammunition, unlike missiles, doesn’t necessarily create
any problems. After all, these projectiles can’t detonate at random, which comes as
an unqualified victory for the railgun. One of the few disadvantages of this futuristic
weapon was manufacturing projectiles from materials with maximum conductivity. Any other
kind of projectile will simply vaporize in the railgun before being fired.
Another potential problem is sourcing power. After all, it’s extremely expensive to build
an entire fleet with railgun feeding
in mind, and the power consumption of a 70-megawatt cannon can be equated to the power consumption
of a small American town!
The Laser Weapon System is another type of weaponry that came straight out of science-fiction,
evolving from a class of imaginary technology to real and very intimidating weapons.
The laser weapon was developed by ingenious engineers from Kratos Defense & Security Solutions
commissioned by the U.S. Navy. The project was launched in 2007, and its
main purpose was to destroy drones, small maritime vessels, fighters, and to suppress
the electronic systems of air targets. In 2010, the company signed an $11 million
contract to develop LaWS as part of an alternative weapons program, Directed Energy and Electric
Weapon Systems. As a result, a year later the laser system was tested. It was able to
successfully disarm a flying target vehicle, and in 2017 the military performed a full-scale
test in the Persian Gulf. In 2014, the USS Ponce, patrolling the Persian
Gulf, was equipped with a 30 kW laser system. The purpose of this was to check its operability
and effectiveness in the field. The main advantage, as in the case of the
railgun, is the low cost of ammunition -- less than 1 dollar! That said, there are several
levels of firing energy, both for disabling electronics and physically damaging equipment.
The Mark 48 is a versatile remote-controlled torpedo designed to hit targets at long range.
The main targets of this type of torpedo are fast submarines and surface objects. The projectile
is equipped with an active and passive guidance system to engage targets quickly. But the
cherry on top is the multiple-attack system used by the torpedo; if it suddenly loses
its target, the Mark 48 will rescan the area, find its target and attack it again.
Until 2008, 7 modifications of this weapon were created.
The very first version cost "only" $894,000, but each latest 7 CBASS projectile cost $3.8
million. The UGM-133A Trident II is a 4th generation
three-stage American ballistic missile and is the only representative of submarine-launched
ballistic missiles in service with the US Navy's SSBNs.
These missiles can be found onboard USS Ohio-class submarines, which can carry up to 24 Trident
IIs simultaneously. These missiles currently make up about 52%
of the US strategic nuclear forces. The Trident II is capable of covering over 7,000 miles,
allowing it to reach anywhere in the world! The high accuracy of the Trident effectively
engages even the most hardened targets, like bunkers and intercontinental ballistic missile
silos. The projectiles are notable not only for their
power, but also for their combat achievements. For example, they currently hold a record
for number of successful launches in a row, and because of their high reliability, the
United States plans to use them at least until 2042.
Tomahawk Missile Block V is the latest short-range multi-purpose high-precision subsonic cruise
torpedo modification. Development of the Tomahawks began in 1972
as part of a renewed program for cruise missiles by the U.S. Army, which at the time was heavily
impressed with the USSR’s success in this field.
The development resulted in the first surface flight test from the USS Merrill in 1980,
and by 1982 the missile was completed. These missiles are in service with U.S. Navy
warships and submarines, although the missiles themselves were designed with land and airborne
use in mind. Due to their design features, they can successfully
navigate around uneven terrain. In some cases the missiles can be used as unmanned reconnaissance
vehicles equipped with additional hardware and deliver munitions or ammunition to allies
in cases where delivery by other methods is impossible due to weather conditions or enemy
air defense operations. One such missile costs American taxpayers
$1.87 million.
The SM-2 is one of the newest American anti-aircraft guided missiles in the Raytheon Standard family.
Combat ships are equipped with such missiles and today, they can be seen not only in the
U.S. Navy, but also among many U.S. allies around the world.
One of the main differences of the second version was the new combined guidance system.
It eliminated the need for the Army to have a radar beam accompany the projectile to constantly
"illuminate" the target throughout the missile's flight. It now
tracks the target with radio corrections transmitted to the missile after the radar detects the
target. The "illumination" itself is switched on for just a few seconds for more accurate
targeting, due to which the firepower and interference immunity have been significantly
improved. Missiles designed to work with the Aegis fire
control system have been recently modified with a two-way communication channel between
missile and delivery vehicle. Thanks to this, the military was able to control the flight
of the SM-2 during its march, optimizing its trajectory and leaving its target with no
chance to evade the projectile. A single SM-2 launch costs the Navy about
$409,000. SM-3 - the legacy of the first versions - didn’t
come in vain, as the American company Raytheon followed the previous versions with its next
brainchild, the SM-3 surface-to-air guided missile.
Like its predecessors, it is mounted on destroyers, cruisers, or assembled as ground installations.
This version has its own kinetic warhead and is guided automatically by a high-resolution,
homing infrared warhead. It can even withstand dangerous weapons such
as ballistic missiles and inter-ballistic missile warheads. For example, in 2001-2002,
the missile was able to successfully intercept a simulated ballistic missile warhead at an
altitude of 155 miles, and in 2020 the experiment was repeated by launching the SM-3 Block IIA,
which destroyed a test target near the Hawaiian Islands.
Another aspect of missile technology that has undoubtedly evolved alongside the missiles
is the price. One SM-3 costs the United States a pretty penny, specifically $10 million to
launch
the SM-3 Block IIB, and the SM-3 Block IIA is even more expensive at $18 million!
What do you think about modern weapons? Will railgun lasers be able to outlast other
weapons for the foreseeable future thanks to their performance and more affordable price?
What impressed you the most? Be sure to share your thoughts with us in the comments!
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