thedrifter
06-22-05, 10:32 AM
June 27, 2005
Missile reworked for urban fight
Predator tweaked for bunker busting
By Laura Bailey
Times staff writer
After the heavy urban combat Marines saw last spring in Fallujah, Iraq, it became apparent to some that the Corps’ anti-armor missiles did not quite fit the bill for the city fight.
Marines needed a shoulder-fired missile they could use against buildings and bunkers — one they could fire from inside a building.
But the same top-down flight path that makes the Predator Short Range Assault Weapon ideal for hitting heavy armor where it’s weakest left Marines at a disadvantage when taking on a fortified building.
So at the Corps’ request, manufacturer Lockheed Martin took the Predator — the Corps had already signed a contract for 700 systems — and modified 400 of them to fire a new missile more suited for urban combat. The modified versions were delivered in December.
“We didn’t have to go out and procure an additional warhead. It was all there,” said Michael Woodson, project officer for the SRAW at Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va.
Lockheed Martin tweaked the Predator’s software and shortened its warhead to come up with the SRAW Multi-Purpose Variant. The launcher remains the same.
The new missile flies in a direct line to its target, making it more suitable for attacking buildings, bunkers and lightly armored vehicles, said Andy Hawkins, the program’s manager at Lockheed Martin.
The 140mm weapon has a range of up to 600 meters and can be fired safely from inside buildings — it uses the same two-stage motor technology as the larger Javelin anti-armor system — so gunners don’t have to expose themselves, Woodson said.
A launch motor ejects from the tube, with a flight motor engaging once the projectile is five meters down range, Woodson said.
“That’s what allows it to have a fire-from-enclosure capability where you don’t have a large sound pressure that you’re dealing with or a lot of toxicity or back-blast,” Woodson said. “It’s a relatively benign event.”
The engagement procedures are largely the same for both variants, making training time minimal for gunners, Woodson said.
Hawkins said Lockheed completed the conversions in six months after performing engineering, safety, accuracy and qualification tests at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Calif.
Laura Bailey covers Marine Corps Systems Command. She can be reached at (703) 750-8687 or lbailey@marinecorpstimes.com.
Ellie
Missile reworked for urban fight
Predator tweaked for bunker busting
By Laura Bailey
Times staff writer
After the heavy urban combat Marines saw last spring in Fallujah, Iraq, it became apparent to some that the Corps’ anti-armor missiles did not quite fit the bill for the city fight.
Marines needed a shoulder-fired missile they could use against buildings and bunkers — one they could fire from inside a building.
But the same top-down flight path that makes the Predator Short Range Assault Weapon ideal for hitting heavy armor where it’s weakest left Marines at a disadvantage when taking on a fortified building.
So at the Corps’ request, manufacturer Lockheed Martin took the Predator — the Corps had already signed a contract for 700 systems — and modified 400 of them to fire a new missile more suited for urban combat. The modified versions were delivered in December.
“We didn’t have to go out and procure an additional warhead. It was all there,” said Michael Woodson, project officer for the SRAW at Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va.
Lockheed Martin tweaked the Predator’s software and shortened its warhead to come up with the SRAW Multi-Purpose Variant. The launcher remains the same.
The new missile flies in a direct line to its target, making it more suitable for attacking buildings, bunkers and lightly armored vehicles, said Andy Hawkins, the program’s manager at Lockheed Martin.
The 140mm weapon has a range of up to 600 meters and can be fired safely from inside buildings — it uses the same two-stage motor technology as the larger Javelin anti-armor system — so gunners don’t have to expose themselves, Woodson said.
A launch motor ejects from the tube, with a flight motor engaging once the projectile is five meters down range, Woodson said.
“That’s what allows it to have a fire-from-enclosure capability where you don’t have a large sound pressure that you’re dealing with or a lot of toxicity or back-blast,” Woodson said. “It’s a relatively benign event.”
The engagement procedures are largely the same for both variants, making training time minimal for gunners, Woodson said.
Hawkins said Lockheed completed the conversions in six months after performing engineering, safety, accuracy and qualification tests at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Calif.
Laura Bailey covers Marine Corps Systems Command. She can be reached at (703) 750-8687 or lbailey@marinecorpstimes.com.
Ellie