AS.15TT

Last updated
AS.15 TT
AS15TT sketch.svg
Side view of an AS 15 TT missile
Type Anti-shipping missile
Place of originFrance
Service history
In service1985 -
Used by Saudi Arabia (main user)
Wars Gulf War
Production history
Designedmid 1970s
Manufacturer Aérospatiale
Unit cost$295 000 (1992)
Produced1985-
No. built306
Specifications
Mass96 kilograms (212 lb)
Length2.16 metres (7 ft 1 in)
Width0.564 metres (1 ft 10.2 in)
Diameter0.185 metres (7.3 in)
WarheadHE, semi-perforating
Warhead weight30 kilograms (66 lb)
Detonation
mechanism
impact fuze

EngineTwo SNPE Anubis CMDB booster
(launch)
One SNPE Acis CDB sustainer motor
(cruise)
Operational
range
15,000 metres (49,000 ft)
Flight altitude Sea-skimming
Maximum speed 1,008 kilometres per hour (626 mph)
Guidance
system
Radio command guidance (remote control guidance)

The AS.15 and AS.15TT (in French : "Tous Temps", meaning "All weather") [1] are French anti-ship missiles. It was developed as a replacement for the AS-12 missile.

Contents

Development

In the 1970s two Aerospatiale programs were started to examine potential replacements for the AS.12 missile. These were the radar guided AS 15 TT and the AM 10 LASSO (Light anti-surface semi-automatic optical), which were both publicly revealed in 1976 and 1977 respectively. Development of the AM 10 was halted in 1978 when it became apparent that the optically tracked missile had less potential than the radar-guided one.

The first live firing was conducted in 1981. Helicopter integration began in 1982 and was completed in the second half of 1983. Development was completed in June 1985.

A ship launched version of the missile, designated MM 15 was shown at the 1984 Farnborough Air Show, and later the 1992 Singapore air show, firing trials were reportedly conducted in 1993. A coastal defense version of the missile has also been offered by Aerospatiale.

Description

The missile consists of a long cylindrical main body ending in a pointed nose, with four fins arranged in a cruciform cross-section. Each fin has a pod on the tip containing either a radar receiver or a battery. From front to back the missile consists of the warhead and impact fuse and safety and arming mechanism. Next is the autopilot (EOP), altimeter, gyro, and radar receiver and a battery. Following that is the SNPE Acis CDB solid rocket sustainer motor, which exhausts through a small central nozzle. Behind the sustainer are the two solid rocket SNPE Anubis CMDB booster motors, which exhaust through two large nozzles. On the rear underside of the missile is a radar altimeter. On the rear of the missile are four inline control fins.

The guidance system of the missile is actually command guidance, as the missile doesn't have its own radar. It only follows orders provided by the onboard radar of the carrier/launcher helicopter, the Thomson-CSF I/J-band "Agrion 15". When this radar detects and identifies a suitable target, it switches to automatic tracking mode. Once the target is inside the missiles range it launches, the booster motors accelerate the missile to its cruise speed of 280 meters per second, after which the sustainer motor cuts in. The missile immediately begins descending to an altitude of around 3 to 5 meters. [2] The rocket motors have a combined burn time of around 45 seconds.

Bearing corrections are transmitted to the missile via the Agrion 15 radar and are picked up by the rearward-facing receiver units in two of the wing pods. The directional nature of the receivers makes jamming the command link difficult. On final approach to the target (about 1000 ft remaining to target), the missile descends to an altitude of around two meters. Its powerful warhead is able to perforate a 40 millimetres (1.6 in) thick steel armoured hull. [3]

The Agrion 15 radar is capable of detecting a large ship at a range of 150 kilometres (93 mi) and a smaller attack boat at a range of 100 kilometres (62 mi).

Service

The missile entered service with Saudi Arabia in 1985, and 365 of the missiles were ordered.

The AS-15TT missile was relatively similar to the British Sea Skua missile; both were meant to replace the AS-12, both were very small anti-ship missiles, and up to four examples were used with small helicopters (Lynx and Dauphin). The AS-15TT, with a characteristic red colour (Sea Skua was often white), was, in comparison to the British rival, smaller, slimmer, lighter and with a different type of guidance. However, unlike Sea Skua, its only guidance was by the Agrion 15 radar, without the flexibility of the other system, and was, therefore, less successful in the market. Both the missiles were also offered unsuccessfully as surface-surface models (the Kuwaiti Navy being the only operator of either missile in the surface-to-surface role, using Sea Skuas aboard its fast attack craft).

Sea Skua also had the advantage of being 'combat proven' (Falklands) and in service with the Royal Navy, while the French Navy did not have it in service, so it was produced apparently only for Saudi Arabia. [4]

At war

During the Gulf War, the Royal Saudi Navy reported firing 15 missiles against 5 Iraqi patrol boats. [1]

Operators

Map with AS 15 TT operators in blue AS 15 TT operators.png
Map with AS 15 TT operators in blue

Current operators

Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain
20 missiles, for Dauphin helicopters aboard fast attack crafts.
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile
For Dauphin helicopters.
Flag of France.svg  France
The missile never entered service in its country of origin. Only about 32 missiles were bought for the French Navy, for trials.
Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq
60 missiles ordered in 1989, probably never delivered.
Flag of Israel.svg  Israel
For Dauphin helicopters.
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia
First order for 221 missiles in 1988, with a total delivery of 254. Used on AS565 Panther helicopters, aboard Al-Madinah-class frigates and shore bases.
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates
New order in 1994, to equip seven AS565 Panther helicopters.

Notes

  1. 1 2 Friedman, Norman (1997). Naval Institute press (Annapolis, MD) (ed.). Naval Institute's guide to World naval weapon systems 1997-1998. pp. 224–225. ISBN   1-55750-268-4 . Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  2. Encyclopédie des armes (ed.). "Aérospatiale AS. 12 et AS.15TT (France)" (in French). Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  3. Taïwan Wiki (ed.). "1 法國AS-15-TT反艦導彈 -屬性及應用" (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  4. Fischer, Johann, Sea Skua, the hurricane from the Sea, RiD Magazine, Genova, March 1993 p.70-71

Related Research Articles

AIM-7 Sparrow Medium-range, semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile

The AIM-7 Sparrow is an American, medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile operated by the United States Air Force, United States Navy, and United States Marine Corps, as well as other various air forces and navies. Sparrow and its derivatives were the West's principal beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile from the late 1950s until the 1990s. It remains in service, although it is being phased out in aviation applications in favor of the more advanced AIM-120 AMRAAM.

Silkworm (missile) Series of Chinese anti-ship missiles

The Shang You or SY-series, and the Hai Ying or HY-series were early Chinese anti-ship cruise missiles. They were derived from the Soviet P-15 Termit missile.

Air-to-air missile Missile fired from the air at airborne targets

An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fueled but sometimes liquid fueled. Ramjet engines, as used on the Meteor, are emerging as propulsion that will enable future medium-range missiles to maintain higher average speed across their engagement envelope.

Aster (missile family) Franco-Italian surface-to-air missile family

The Aster missile series, primarily comprising the Aster 15 and Aster 30 are a family of Franco-Italian vertically launched surface-to-air missiles. The name "Aster" stands for "Aérospatiale Terminale" and from the mythical Greek archer named Asterion, Asterion likewise receiving his name from the ancient Greek word aster, meaning "star". Aster is manufactured by Eurosam, a European consortium consisting of MBDA France, MBDA Italy and the Thales Group (33%).

Eurocopter AS565 Panther Military utility helicopter

The EurocopterAS565 Panther is the military version of the Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin medium-weight multi-purpose twin-engine helicopter. The Panther is used for a wide range of military roles, including combat assault, fire support, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, search and rescue, and medical evacuation.

Seacat (missile) Surface-to-air missile system

Seacat was a British short-range surface-to-air missile system intended to replace the ubiquitous Bofors 40 mm gun aboard warships of all sizes. It was the world's first operational shipboard point-defence missile system, and was designed so that the Bofors guns could be replaced with minimum modification to the recipient vessel and (originally) using existing fire-control systems. A mobile land-based version of the system was known as Tigercat.

Sea Dart Surface-to-air, surface-to-surface

Sea Dart, or GWS.30 was a Royal Navy surface-to-air missile system designed in the 1960s and entering service in 1973. It was fitted to the Type 42 destroyers, Type 82 destroyer and Invincible-class aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy. Originally developed by Hawker Siddeley, the missile was built by British Aerospace after 1977. It was withdrawn from service in 2012.

RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile Small, lightweight, infrared homing surface-to-air missile

The RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) is a small, lightweight, infrared homing surface-to-air missile in use by the German, Japanese, Greek, Turkish, South Korean, Saudi Arabian, Egyptian, Mexican and US Navies. It was intended originally and used primarily as a point-defense weapon against anti-ship missiles. As its name indicates, RAM rolls as it flies. The missile must roll during flight because the RF tracking system uses a two-antenna interferometer that can measure phase interference of the electromagnetic wave in one plane only. The rolling interferometer permits the antennas to look at all planes of incoming energy. In addition, because the missile rolls, only one pair of steering canards is required. As of 2005, it is the only U.S. Navy missile to operate in this manner.

Sea Eagle (missile) Anti-ship missile

The BAe Sea Eagle is a medium weight sea-skimming anti-ship missile designed and built by BAe Dynamics. It is designed to sink or disable ships up to the size of aircraft carriers in the face of jamming and other countermeasures including decoys. Its users include the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, the Royal Saudi Air Force, and the Indian Navy.

Sea Skua British lightweight short-range anti-ship missile

The Sea Skua is a British lightweight short-range air-to-surface missile (ASM) designed for use from helicopters against ships. It was primarily used by the Royal Navy on the Westland Lynx. Although the missile is intended for helicopter use, Kuwait employs it in a shore battery and on their Umm Al Maradem fast attack craft.

The SS.12 and AS.12 are two variants of the same missile: SS for surface-to-surface and AS for air-to-surface. It was designed in 1955-1957 by Nord Aviation, later Aérospatiale. It was a derivative of the NORD SS-10 and SS-11 missiles which were surface-to-surface wire-guided missiles for use by infantry, vehicle or a helicopter primarily in the anti-tank role, but also anti-material, anti-personnel and against light field fortifications. The SS.12/AS.12 was basically a scaled-up version of the SS.11/AS.11, with a massive increase in range and warhead weight. The SS.12/AS.12 original mission was primarily to be anti-shipping from naval helicopters and combat aircraft or ground launchers, and secondarily for use against heavy field fortifications. The range and the destructive power of its warhead are roughly equivalent to a 127 mm (5-inch) artillery shell.

These are some of the key weapons of the Falklands War used by both sides.

Umkhonto (missile) Short to medium range surface-to-air missile

The Umkhonto is a South African family of modern short- to medium-range, all-weather-capable vertical launch (VLS) surface-to-air missiles (SAM) manufactured by South Africa's Denel Dynamics. The missile and associated subsystems are supplied as a missile group for easy integration into naval combat suites or ground-based air defence systems.

Otomat Anti-ship missile and land-attack missile

The Otomat is an anti-ship and coastal defence missile developed by the Italian company Oto Melara jointly with Matra and now made by MBDA. The name comes, for the first versions, from the name of the two builders and, for the later versions, Teseo, from the Italian word for Theseus. The MILAS variant is an anti-submarine missile. In its latest version Mk/2E purchased by the Italian Navy is a medium range anti-ship missile and a ground attack missile.

The TL-10 or Sky Dragon (天龙) - 10 is a light anti-ship missile unveiled in the Zhuhai Airshow in 2004 in China, and it is the Chinese equivalent of the French MM-15TT / AS-15TT light anti-ship missile developed by Aérospatiale.

Harbin Z-9

The Harbin Z-9 is a Chinese military utility helicopter with civilian variants. It is a licensed variant of the French Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin, and is manufactured by Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation.

AGM-176 Griffin American-made air-to-surface and surface-to-surface guided missile

The AGM-176 Griffin is a lightweight, precision-guided munition developed by Raytheon. It can be launched from the ground or air as a rocket-powered missile or dropped from the air as a guided bomb. It carries a relatively small warhead, and was designed to be a precision low-collateral damage weapon for irregular warfare. It has been used in combat by the United States military during the War in Afghanistan.

Martlet (missile) Light Air-to-surface, surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missile

Martlet is a lightweight air-to-surface, surface-to-air, and surface-to-surface missile developed by Thales Air Defence for the United Kingdom. It is named after a mythical bird from English heraldry that never roosts, the martlet.

Sea Killer / Marte Anti-ship missile

Sea Killer is an Italian anti-ship missile family. The latest development of the system is known as Marte. Marte is a sea skimming, subsonic, anti-ship missile, it carries a 70 kilograms (150 lb) semi-armour piercing warhead. It has been built in several versions, with differing guidance systems, and is suitable for launching from ships or aircraft.

Sea Venom (missile) Light anti-ship missile

Sea Venom is an Anglo-French lightweight anti-ship missile developed by MBDA to equip the French Navy and the Royal Navy. The missile is known as Anti-Navire Léger (ANL) in France and Sea Venom in the United Kingdom. While initial operating capability had been expected with the Royal Navy in 2022, Sea Venom missiles were reported deployed with Royal Navy Wildcat helicopters operating as part of the Royal Navy's carrier strike group in 2021. The first test launch, from an AS365 Dauphin helicopter of the French DGA defence procurement agency, was successfully conducted on 21 June 2017.

References