Latest ABMS test had a surprise

I guess we can talk about this now because I saw a glimpse in the real news.

A HVP fired from an Army Paladin shot down one of the Skeeters (cruise missile analogue target) launched at White Sands in the latest ABMS exercise about two weeks ago... So there's that...

a reply to: RadioRobert

They've also fired them from a Mk 45.

MK-45 5-inch Gun

Had to look that one up.

Could this be used to shoot down that new CCP missile, that they claim is an aircraft carrier killer?

For those of us not in the know. Whats the surprise?

originally posted by: Antipathy17
For those of us not in the know. Whats the surprise?

I think the accomplishment is that it can shoot down cruise missiles cheaper and maybe faster.

In January 2016, the U.S. Army test-fired hypervelocity projectiles originally designed for use by U.S. Navy electromagnetic railguns and found that they significantly increased the gun's range. The Army is looking into using the M109 Paladin firing the HVP for ballistic missile defense, as traditional missile interceptors are expensive and gun-based missile defense used for point defense would use artillery at a much lower cost per round.[4][5] The HVP is capable of being fired out to 50 nautical miles (58 mi; 93 km) from a conventional cannon. It weighs 68 lb (31 kg) with a 46 lb (21 kg) flight body containing its guidance and warhead—less powerful, but more agile to hit small, high-speed targets.

Modifications will be needed for the Paladin to effectively shoot the HVP, possibly including different propellant to achieve higher velocities, automated reloading systems to fire quickly enough to defeat salvo launches, improved barrel life, and a new fire control and sensor system.[6] During a test of the Air Force's Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) on 3 September 2020, an HVP fired from an Army Paladin howitzer successfully intercepted a BQM-167 target drone simulating a cruise missile.[7][8]

wiki

I'm not in the know either, though.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Ty

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Well AFAIK the navy has several cool missiles that shoot out and then hover a distance away from the ship and try to trick the missile into hitting that saving the ship.

But basically using one bullet to shoot another bullet is pretty tough.

a reply to: grey580

But basically using one bullet to shoot another bullet is pretty tough.

I think it has gotten a lot easier lately with AI and robotics.

There are some incredible systems out there.

a reply to: Antipathy17

The Mk 45 is the standard deck gun for the US Navy, and the Paladin is a standard artillery piece. So they're basically firing a high speed, guided shell out of standard weapon systems, without requiring either totally new systems, or extensive modification, AND shooting down a cruise missile simulator while doing it.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Not really. There's still a lot of room for error, and at the speeds of new weapons systems a small error is big. They're improving, but slowly.

originally posted by: Antipathy17
For those of us not in the know. Whats the surprise?

HVP is leveraging all the work done on rail gun projectiles, and using derivatives in a conventional cannon. The projectiles have an increased speed and range over larger conventional rounds. The ultimate goal is to use them just like artillery for naval bombardment, ASuW, BMD, etc.

The projectiles currently come in three flavours: KE, HE, and a burst. It's been intended from the start to accept terminal targeting from other platforms (such as a UAV watching a ship or train, etc), and they recently connected it with the ABMS network in an exercise in New Mexico and used it to shootdown a target drone simulating a cruise missile.

Using essentially the same round from a Paladin to hit ground targets or in an air-defense role gives you increased range and flexibility for your artillery. It's also cheaper than developing and deploying a new missile system for air defense or rocket for long-range bombardment.

If we can collect and process all the information we collect into useable form, we're pretty close to a nearly autonomous system that, say, collects information from an AWACS, JSTARS, F-35, UAV's, etc, and then directs another asset to prosecute the targets -- for example, artillery fire from an Army utopianism battalion to prosecute a moving ground target or air defense site -- or a hostile air target.

We can already have an "quietly" F-35 direct HIMARS or artillery on say an air defense site. The goal is to take the F-35 pilot out of the decision-making process. A centralized management system that collects all the networked information and can rapidly process the information suggest or command a strike from available assets and hand off missions to them.

So the F-35 on it's way for an interdiction strike stumbling across a SAM site or several cruise missiles can go about his day avoiding the SAM site, and automatically sending the data to an ABMS which sees the two new target groups and commands an Army battery or battalion (or someone else) to prosecute the targets using terminal data from the F-35 or another platform.

Not there yet, but getting real close.

a reply to: grey580

Nulka is one the Aussies use, ship decoy, looks like a missile but isn’t a missile.

a reply to: Forensick

Yeah this one. Apparently one was used to defend against houthi rebels in 2016 in the gulf.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: LookingAtMars

Not really. There's still a lot of room for error, and at the speeds of new weapons systems a small error is big. They're improving, but slowly.

yeah the new projectiles are only usable in certain Axes and arcs.

Watching sniper footage and how a bullet wanders due to wind,ballistic torque and other effects its a hard job hitting at super or hypersonic speeds with something travelling the opposite way at the same speed..