PAC-3 and THAAD missiles may be launched by jet

Navy and Missile Defense Agency study of missile defense options includes a new, unorthodox alternative with ramifications beyond the Navy -- equipping fighter aircraft with interceptors like the most advanced version of the Patriot. “MDA is investigating launching various missiles off of aircraft, including THAAD and PAC-3,” said an industry source. Those missiles could be assisted by organic fighter radars or the Aegis radar in shooting down ballistic or cruise missiles, according to sources and Navy briefing charts describing the assessment. “In theory,” the source said, “you could put two THAADs on an F-15.”

insidedefense.com...

This is interesting. THAAD and PAC-3s being launched from aircraft.

cool

BrahMos cruise missiles can be launched by Su-30MKI's as well

What does Brahmos launched from MKIs have to do with this thread?

Originally posted by COWlan
What does Brahmos launched from MKIs have to do with this thread?

I mean its similar to the PAC-3 being launched from an F-15 isi'nt it ??

And which thread has not discussed related topics ??

Brahmos is a cruise missile, whereas, the PAC-3 is not.




seekerof

This doesn't make sense unless there is some sort of intellegence regarding the imminent launch of a missile, or they've found some way to increase the loiter time of a fighter jet. Any ballistic missile I know of would be past interception by the time a jet had warmed up it's turbofans and left the runway.

Originally posted by Seekerof
Brahmos is a cruise missile, whereas, the PAC-3 is not.

no offence, but what i thought was that both are essentially land / ship based systems that have found their way into being launched off airplanes.

The air launched brahmos will go downwards while the PAC-3 will go upwards.

Question...has this application been extended to the tomahawk too previously, or any news of it being planned ??

I think I heard about this a couple years ago, but it was mostly on the back-burner.

Originally posted by Stealth Spy

Originally posted by Seekerof
Brahmos is a cruise missile, whereas, the PAC-3 is not.

no offence, but what i thought was that both are essentially land / ship based systems that have found their way into being launched off airplanes.

The air launched brahmos will go downwards while the PAC-3 will go upwards.

Question...has this application been extended to the tomahawk too previously, or any news of it being planned ??

Yes there was an air launched version of the Tomahawk.

MRASM (Medium-Range Air-to-Surface Missile): AGM-109C/H/I/J/K/L
In the late 1970s both the U.S. Navy and the USAF had plans for a tactical air-launched medium-range cruise missile. By 1978 it had become clear that Navy and Air Force would have to agree on a common missile, and in March 1980 General Dynamics was awarded a development contract for a MRASM (Medium-Range Air-To-Surface Missile) based on the AGM-109 Tomahawk, which had lost shortly before against the AGM-86B in the USAF's ALCM (Air-Launched Cruise Missile) competition.

The MRASM was planned in several different versions for both Navy and USAF. The Air Force variants were very similar in general arrangement to the BGM-109 SLCM missile family, except that the F107 turbofan engine was replaced by a much cheaper Teledyne CAE J402-CA-401 turbojet. Due to size and weight restrictions imposed by ammunition elevators on U.S. aircraft carriers and the maximum safe return weight of the A-6E aircraft, the Navy MRASM variants were significantly shorter and lighter than the USAF MRASMs. The shorter nose also necessitated the use of a slight sweep-back on the wings.

The initial MRASM version for the Navy was to be the AGM-109C, a conventional land-attack missile similar to the BGM-109C with a unitary warhead (most probably the TLAM-C's WDU-25/B). The AGM-109H was a USAF version also known as TAAM (Tactical Anti-Airfield Missile), and was to carry 28 BLU-106/B BKEP (Boosted Kinetic-Energy Penetrator) runway-cratering submunitions. The Navy's AGM-109J was either a low-cost derivative of the AGM-109C or a variant armed with a submunition dispenser. In any case, the -109J was cancelled very early in the MRASM program. The AGM-109C/H/J were all planned to use TERCOM/DSMAC guidance like the BGM-109C/D TLAM-C/D missiles. The designation AGM-109I was unofficially used by the U.S. Navy for a generic MRASM equipped with a low-cost TERCOM system and an IIR (Imaging Infrared) terminal seeker. This MRASM could serve both as land-attack and anti-ship missile. Planned versions with an IIR seeker were the USAF's AGM-109K with a WDU-25/B warhead, and the Navy's AGM-109L with a WDU-7/B warhead.

MRASM program was in trouble almost from the beginning, because the U.S. Navy was not very enthusiastic about it. They feared to get a very expensive missile, which would not be an ideal fit for their mission requirements. The USAF reportedly also wanted to kill the joint program, and therefore the whole MRASM effort was cancelled in 1984, without any versions having been built.

Raytheon (General Dynamics) AGM/BGM/RGM/UGM-109 Tomahawk


The US military already have several air launched cruise missiles in the form of the JASSM, SLAM, CALCM.


Mod edit to include link to source material. Always cite/credit your source material. Thank you.

[edit on 14-7-2005 by Seekerof]

This is nice but what would be good is if they can make a UAV specifically for this job that can carry more than 2 THAAD’s because only 2 missiles per jet is not enough IMO.

Originally posted by WestPoint23
This is nice but what would be good is if they can make a UAV specifically for this job that can carry more than 2 THAAD’s because only 2 missiles per jet is not enough IMO.

Yes it is. There will be more than one jet.

Originally posted by Stealth Spy

Originally posted by Seekerof
Brahmos is a cruise missile, whereas, the PAC-3 is not.

no offence, but what i thought was that both are essentially land / ship based systems that have found their way into being launched off airplanes.

The air launched brahmos will go downwards while the PAC-3 will go upwards.

Question...has this application been extended to the tomahawk too previously, or any news of it being planned ??

Er hem, the brahmos is A2G, the THAAD and PAC-3 are A2A.

THAAD and PAC-3 were designed to be G2A. They may be used in the A2A role.