C-Ram phalanx upgrade with laser weapons missiles US Army 10507171
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Military Defense Industry Technology - C-RAM Phalanx
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| Northrop Grumman to upgrade C-RAM air defense system with new laser weapons and sensors. | |||
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According to the website scout.com, the U.S. Army and American Company Northrop Grumman is on the process to develop new optical sensors, passive sensors and laser weapons for C-RAM Phalanx air defense system which can be used to destroy targets as enemy drones, helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and cruise missiles. The goal is also to upgrade the C-RAM Phalanx with new missiles.
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By adding new sensors and weapons to the C-RAM, Northrop Grumman would like to extend the capacity of this air defense systems against new threats as the UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles).
.Northrop’s plan to develop ground-fired laser technology is consistent with the Army’s current strategy to deploy laser weapons to protect Forward Operating Bases by the early 2020s. Adding lasers to the arsenal, integrated with sensors and fire-control radar, could massively help U.S. soldiers quickly destroy enemy threats by burning them out of the sky in seconds, U.S. Army leaders said. Other interceptor weapons are now being developed for an emerging Army ground-based protective technology called Indirect Fire Protection Capability, or IFPC Increment 2. The C-RAM Centurion Weapon System is a Land-Based Phalanx Weapon System with the capability of integration with other protection sensors and systems. The system is designed and manufactured by the American Company Raytheon. Phalanx is a rapid-fire, computer-controlled radar and 20 mm gun system that automatically acquires, tracks, and destroys enemy threats that have penetrated all other ship defense systems. The first C-RAM was sent to Iraq in late 2006, to protect the Green Zone (the large area in Baghdad turned into an American base). It was found that C-RAM could knock down 70-80 percent of the rockets and mortar shells fired within range of its cannon. In the last two years, Centurion systems in Iraq have intercepted over a hundred rockets or mortar shells aimed at the Green Zone. C-RAM Phalanx combines a proven 20 mm M61A1 Gatling gun, firing M-246 or M-940 self-destruct rounds at a selectable rate of 3,000 or 4,500 shots per minute, with an advanced search and track Ku-band radar featuring closed-loop spotting technology to provide autonomous target detection and engagement. Phalanx can be interfaced with a multitude of sensors and systems designed to provide an overarching protection umbrella of sites on the ground. Phalanx uses six optimized gun barrels along with an integrated forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensor suite. |
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