Sunday, October 11, 2009

Unsure as to Whether this is Brilliant, or Whacked

But it appears that the Raytheon is working on an underwater surface to air missile based on the AIM-9X.

It appears that they are looking at autonomous operation of the missile after launch from a sub, as opposed the the German IDAS system which maintains a fiber optic link to the missile.

There are a number of reasons that I am dubious of such a system, the ability of a submarine to get targeting data regarding an airborne threat and the fact that the AIM-9X has pretty poor kinematics compared to other IR AAMS, because its motor is based on a 50 year old airframe.

On the other hand, this weapon is just about perfect for terrorists: Drop the canister off the end of a boat, and shoot down a passenger plane coming into land at a seaside airport.

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