RIM-7 Sea Sparrow Surface-to-Air Missile.

Technical Data

• Design

  The RIM-7 Sea Sparrow is a compact and aerodynamically refined missile designed to be both lightweight and effective in countering a wide variety of airborne threats. Its design reflects its specific role as a surface-to-air missile optimized for naval air defense.

  The missile features a cylindrical body, which measures approximately 3.66 meters (12 feet) in length and has a diameter of 0.18 meters (7.1 inches), providing a streamlined profile ideal for its high-speed flight. The front section of the missile houses the radar seeker, a crucial component for its semi-active radar homing guidance system. This seeker is mounted within a nose cone that tapers to minimize air resistance and improve the missile’s aerodynamic performance during flight.

  The wings of the Sea Sparrow are mounted towards the middle of the missile's body, contributing to its stability during flight. These low-mounted, fixed wings span approximately 1.15 meters (45 inches) and are designed to maintain the missile’s maneuverability at high speeds. The wing design also ensures that the missile can maintain stability during its flight path while undergoing sharp turns to intercept fast-moving targets.

  At the rear of the missile, the tail fins are equipped with four large fixed stabilizer fins, which provide additional control and ensure a stable flight trajectory. These tail fins are essential for maintaining the missile’s accuracy in the final phase of its interception.

  The missile's propulsion system is housed in the tail, with a solid-fuel rocket motor that powers the missile to speeds of up to Mach 2.5. This powerful engine allows the missile to reach supersonic speeds, ensuring rapid interception of fast-moving aerial threats.

  Overall, the missile’s design is optimized for rapid launch and flight, with a balance between stability and maneuverability to ensure effective interception of high-speed targets, such as incoming anti-ship missiles or aircraft. Its compact size allows for efficient storage and launch from both Vertical Launch Systems (VLS) and traditional deck-mounted launchers, making it versatile and adaptable for use on a wide range of naval platforms. The Sea Sparrow's overall physical design allows it to be deployed quickly and accurately, providing a reliable air defense capability for modern naval forces.

• Warhead

  The Sea Sparrow is equipped with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead designed to destroy or disable incoming missiles and aircraft. The warhead weighs approximately 34 kg (75 lbs), providing an effective balance of size and destructive power. Upon detonation, the warhead releases a burst of shrapnel that can incapacitate the target through kinetic energy and blast effects, making it particularly effective against high-speed, hard-to-hit targets such as anti-ship missiles.

  This fragmentation warhead is designed to ensure maximum damage over a wide area, increasing the probability of intercepting small, fast-moving targets. It is especially effective in scenarios where a direct hit might be difficult due to the maneuvering capability or high speed of the threat. The Sea Sparrow’s warhead provides substantial lethality against air threats, ensuring that even near misses can result in significant damage to an incoming missile or aircraft.

• Propulsion

  The RIM-7 Sea Sparrow is powered by a solid-fuel rocket motor, which gives the missile its high speed and rapid acceleration. This propulsion system allows the Sea Sparrow to reach speeds of up to Mach 2.5, enabling it to engage supersonic targets effectively. The solid-fuel engine provides a relatively simple but reliable means of propulsion, ensuring consistent performance in a variety of environmental conditions.

  In terms of range, the missile is capable of striking targets at a maximum distance of around 15 to 25 kilometers (9 to 16 miles). This range is sufficient for intercepting incoming threats before they can close in on the defended ship, providing an effective air defense perimeter. While the missile's range is influenced by factors such as target altitude, atmospheric conditions, and flight profile, it remains effective within the typical engagement distances for naval air defense.

• Guidance Systems

  The Sea Sparrow utilizes a semi-active radar homing guidance system, which enables the missile to lock onto and track targets with precision. In the mid-course phase, the missile is guided by radar signals reflected from the target, allowing it to close in on the enemy vessel or aircraft. During the terminal phase, the missile uses its onboard radar seeker to engage the target with continuous wave radar, offering high accuracy in the final moments of flight.

  The missile's radar system is capable of engaging fast-moving targets, even those with small radar signatures, and can operate in challenging electronic warfare environments, providing it with increased resistance to countermeasures. This combination of semi-active radar guidance and monopulse radar seeker makes the Sea Sparrow highly effective against modern anti-ship missiles and aircraft.

• Combat Use

  The RIM-7 Sea Sparrow is primarily used for fleet air defense, tasked with protecting ships from various airborne threats such as anti-ship cruise missiles, fast aircraft, and UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). It is designed for engagements at medium ranges, with an effective interception range of 15 to 25 kilometers (9 to 16 miles). The missile is particularly effective in intercepting low-flying, high-speed threats that may attempt to evade radar detection or launch from a short distance.

  The Sea Sparrow's versatility extends to both defensive and offensive naval operations. In fleet air defense, it ensures that high-value targets such as aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships are shielded from incoming attacks, offering a reliable layer of protection. The missile's ability to intercept anti-ship missiles, which typically approach at high speed and low altitude, makes it a vital component of modern naval defense systems. In addition to protecting ships from direct hits, the Sea Sparrow's warhead ensures that even near misses can cause sufficient damage to neutralize a threat, further enhancing its effectiveness in naval combat.