Anti-submarine missile

An anti-submarine missile is a standoff anti-submarine weapon. Often a variant of anti-ship missile designs an anti-submarine systems typically use a jet or rocket engine, to deliver: an explosive warhead aimed directly at a submarine; a depth charge, or; a homing torpedo that is carried from a launch ship, or other platform, to the vicinity of a target.

Ikara, an Australian-designed missile used by several navies between the 1960s and 1990s; a rocket-parachute delivery system carried an acoustic torpedo up to 10 nautical miles (19 km) after launch. A variant re-designed in the UK and used by the Royal Navy could deliver a nuclear depth charge.
The Malafon, used by the French Navy between 1966 and 1997, used a rocket-assisted glider to carry a torpedo up to 8 nautical miles (13 km) after launch.

History

Depth charges were the earliest weapons designed for use by ships against submerged submarines. These explosives were initially dropped as the ship moved over the presumed location of a submarine. Before World War II, shipboard sonar was unable to maintain contact with a submarine at close range.

Various mortar-type projectors, including hedgehog and squid, were devised during World War II to allow a ship to maintain sonar contact while lobbing explosive charges toward the submarine.[1]

During the Cold War, missiles were developed to provide greater range with reduced recoil. Some missiles and rockets, such as Hong Sang Eo carry homing torpedoes to provide terminal guidance for the warhead.[2]

Examples

References

  1. ↑ Hughes, Terry, and Costello, John The Battle of the Atlantic (1977) Dial Press ISBN 0-8037-6454-2 pp.307-308
  2. ↑ Albrecht, Gerhard Weyer's Warships of the World (1969) United States Naval Institute p.385


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