German Navy Pursues Sub-Launched Missile

[SABRE]

German Navy Pursues Sub-Launched Missile

​

By MARTIN AGÜERA, MUNICH​

In the next legislative term, the German Navy hopes to revive an effort to develop a submarine-launched missile that may ignite a multinational development and marketing effort, said officials and industry executives.

The weapon would be intended to work against anti-submarine warfare helicopters, small surface and littoral targets, industry officials said.

Last year, the German military’s central procurement agency, the BWB in Koblenz, began to explore the idea through a working group dubbed IDAS, for Interactive Defense & Attack System for Submarines. The group is composed of representatives from the BWB and several companies which split the proceeds from the contract. The contract’s value has not been publicly disclosed, but the firms and their shares of it are:

• Diehl BGT Defense, Überlingen, 40 percent.

• ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems’ Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft (HDW), Kiel, 40 percent.

• Norway’s Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace, Kongsberg, 20 percent.

Kongsberg will provide the weapon control system and HDW will integrate the missile into the submarine itself. HDW will build the container and perform other integration, said Klaus-Eberhard Möller, head of anti-radar and naval missiles with Diehl BGT Defense.

Funding is being provided through the country’s research and development resources, said one Ministry of Defense (MoD) official.

No existing missile fully met the IDAS requirements, Möller said. IDAS would replace Triton, a fiber-optic guided missile program based on EADS-LFK’s Polyphem missile and scrapped in 2002 primarily for budgetary reasons.

“Back then,” said the MoD official, “the procurement of a new missile from scratch was deemed too expensive.”

IDAS’ primary sensor likely will be based on the infrared image-processing seeker of the six-nation IRIS-T short-range air-to-air missile. Other components will be new, such as the fiber-optic data link and the one-stage solid-fuel rocket engine with a range of 15 kilometers, said the MoD official.

The IDAS working group will also make use of the complete IRIS-T hardware and software guidance package. Each will trail a lightweight fiber-optic cable to send images from the missile’s infrared seeker back to a controller aboard the sub.

“By this, we have eliminated a share of the development costs already, which is very significant for such a program,” said Möller.

IRIS-T Model

The IDAS team said it can use management methods of a multinational program like IRIS-T to reduce redundancies, said Möller.

“With IDAS, we strive to develop a new missile for submarines that applies to the mission scenarios of the future,” said Joachim Reuter, IDAS project manager for HDW. “It is a suitable weapon for effects-based operations.”

HDW, a platform maker, has never built a munition, said Reuter.

“But the torpedo as the only main armament system of the submarine limited the ships somewhat for future missions,” said Reuter. “Now, the main focus is not any more on destroying ships totally.”

Instead, a weapon must be able to deliver a variety of punches, depending on the situation.

Preparations for tests are under way. By the end of next year, the IDAS team could demonstrate a dummy driven by a hot-water propulsor out of the submerged submarine’s torpedo tube to the point where fiber-optic guidance would begin.

The MoD official said a heavyweight torpedo tube would hold a launch container with several missiles, which will be launched separately.

The MoD official said several navies had already expressed an interest. “It would be ideal to find suitable partners for this development effort, which could begin in 2007,” said the MoD official. “Those who deal with missiles also know how expensive development work can be … That’s why putting it on a multinational level can help.”

But tight German MoD budgets are complicating the effort.

Möller expects that a number of countries — basically, all the ones that operate HDW submarines — could become customers for IDAS: Greece, Israel, Norway, Pakistan, Turkey and others.

The Diehl BGT Defense executive said the working group is already in talks with Norway.

Source: Defensenews subscription only

 

[BilalK]

Someone on PakDef somehow made it available, here's the link;

http://dfn.dnmediagroup.com/story.php?F=1102541&C=europe

E-Mail: [email protected]

 

[Druz]

But range 15 km is very litle range for land Targets. Where is exist such targets - only ports .

 

[turin]

Actually the more important use is as a measure of self-defence against ASW-helos and nearby ships. The land-attack capability is more of a bonus than anything else. It could be useful for assisting in small SOC-like operations though.

 

[Druz]

I belive that new German sub ASM is more nessary for HDW Sub. Without such missile HDW lost india market.

 

[turin]

Without such missile HDW lost india market.

Actually that is thought to be one of the reasons given officially only. The conditions of the French including ToT etc. are thought to be more favorable and therefore deciding inofficially. That would also make sense in that regard, that it is not all to difficult to adapt current HDW designs to the use of existing ASM, for example Harpoon, as is clearly demonstrated by the Israeli Dolphin class SSK, which are very closely related to the Type 212A and 214 SSK.

 

[Firn]

Updates IDAS:


HDW report IDAS

Aviation Week

All in all a very interesting system, especially for the an AIP-submarine like the U-212A with very low signatures throughout the spectrums (perhaps bar the blue-green visible one). The specifc mode of operation has great merits (very fast response time, relative simple), still wonder to which extent it is possible to:

(i) add a silent "booster" in the form of a compact electro engine, compact batteries and a low-signature propellor to the rocket, enabling it to cruise a couple of clicks or stay afloat for a longer period of time. This would allow the U-boat to attack non-critical targets with the launch signature of the rocket well away from it.

(ii) detach a whole launch container connected with an additional fibre optic cable to a specific location. This would enable an U-boat laying in ambush to engage 4 targets while being silent with great accuracy and precision. By doing so it also gets an accurate IR picture of the surrounding areas.​

But already without such capabilities the IDAS is a game-changer as every ASW helicopter or patrol aircraft will be in grave danger in the larger vicinity of a submarine. When a ASW helicopter probes the waters too closely it is virtually helpless against the fast IR-guided missile. Although it gives away the rough position of the sub to supporting assets the sub is not easily and speedily hunted unless one can launch VL-ASROCS. The relative short/medium range of them forces them to fire from well within the torpedo envelop of the sub or perhaps also of IDAS.


Thoughts:

A common tactic might thus be to launch a pair of IDAS, one to destroy the immediate thread, the second one to get a clear picture of the surrounding air- and seaspace and to attack targets of interest, like a second ASW helicopter, a maritime patrol aircraft, ship or UUV. Additional missiles could be than be quickly launched if the need dictates it. Especially fleets moving at high speed employ a large variety of air-based assets to rapidly search the area ahead. In this case a submarine might fire a considerable volume (WCS permitting) of IDAS to wipe a large part of the dippers out of sky or off the decks. So if you give them a flaming datum, it should be a red hot one...

Ships might also be targeted by the heavy torpedos, all while the sub changes position. Even the mere possibility of such a danger might induce the enemy ships to backpedal, keeping their assets away from the zone of the sub. Enemy submarines might actually prove to be the most dangerous assets, as the underwater launch signature too should be audible over long distances. However the relative low speed of a torpedo allows the submarine more time for evasive actions. And a VLO-sub as the U-212A would also be very hard to detect by a passive torpedo, forcing it to likely use active homing which gives the topedo and the presence of an enemy sub away.

Prelaid mines might also provide protection and denial potential against enemy assets. Torpedo defense systems employing relative small and compact decoys form also excellent layers of defense for the evading sub, especially if it a LO one.


I focused on the SSAM ability, but of course such a missile offers also other interesting capabilities, among them precision strike against land and sea targets.

 

[Firn]

Here are some links which help to understand the environments in which IDAS might get employed and the importance of the "flaming datum" it leaves in its current form.


Fundamental of Naval Weapons

The basic of accoustics


UUV designed for TCS (Time Critical Strike) might one day too deploy a capability similar to IDAS. A simple, low-endurance heavy UUV/Mine designed around the 4 IDAS missiles would be certainly an interesting node.

UUV Master Plan

Communications at Speed and Depth


Anti-Torpedo Defense Systems are key factor in the survivability of submarines, especially when a flaming datum is set by an IDAS.

Anit-Torpedo Defense

Rafael ATD

 

[Firn]

Additional thougths

All in all the IDAS SSAM holds every flying ASW asset at great risk. Even if a highly sensitive magnetic anomaly detector or/and a LIDAR is used for the the fine search after an observed IDAS strike the sound waves emitted from the relative low-flying assets now in use will warn the submarine. It also gives it more than a rough bearing when the aircraft is close enough to possibly detect it by MAD or LIDAR. Being so close it becomes virtually defenseless against the SSAM, reducing the time-of-flight to at most 10 sec. Such a danger might greatly influence the procedures of the OPFOR.

This aggressive defense is of course determined by the tactical situation and the mission of the submarine. A U-212A cruising at low speed at around 300m is depending on the acoustic (and visual) properties of the layers very very hard to spot by hydrophones. Its magnetic signature is also very very low compared to an cold-war SSN, drastically reducing the range at which it can be acquired. Even the AN/ASQ-233 - with a possible increase in sensitivity by a factor of 50 or 30db should only be able to detect at most at a couple of hundred meters under favorable conditions. A blue-green LIDAR might get employed at higher altitudes, reducing the down-wash and the thus the acoustic signature but the ability to penetrate thicker layers of waters is hard to achieve.

Given the increased dangers of it UUV, USW and UAV might become very important in ASW warfare.


Additional Links

Anit-torpedo torpedo Seaspider

Some additonal very interesting capabilities.

Subcon 2007 (German)

A good round-up of this Con

3Magnetic Detection System

The new MDS of the US Navy.

Aerial LIDAR survey

Covers the basics pretty well, also interesting for persons with a bit deeper understanding of physics.

 

[Firn]

Further thoughts:

While a "floater" or a "silent booster" and especially the ROV/mine TCS container (based on the existing container) would still add considerable advantages to this design I'm pretty sure that it is also possible to program/guide the missile to increase the time spent in the water. This leaves a longer underwater signature but sets the launcher and the flaming datum further apart.

All in all I wonder just how clear the acoustic signature of the solid fuel rocket motor. By throttling the engine it should be possible to achieve a relative contained one for "silent" underwater cruising, possibly also streching the relative range between the launcher and the missile and the absolute one too.

It would be quite a shock to detect at short-medium range a torpedo which suddendly leaps into the sky


Anyway we will see how soon this missile enters operative service....