Short range air defense (SHORAD) is a group of anti-aircraft weapons and tactics that have to do with defense against low-altitude air threats, primarily helicopters and low-flying aircraft such as the A-10 or Sukhoi Su-25. SHORAD and its complements, HIMAD (High to Medium Air Defense) and THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) divide air defense of the battlespace into domes of responsibility based on altitude and defensive weapon ranges. [1]
The Canadian Forces Land Force Command used the Air Defense Anti-Tank System [2] (ADATS) based on the M113A2 prior to its retirement from service in 2012. ADATS is a completely self-contained system in an unmanned turret with FLIR (Forward-Looking Infrared) and TV sensors, laser rangefinder and designator, a search radar. Composed of eight missiles, the ADATS can find and hit multiple threats in few seconds. Also in the Canadian Army, the Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle and LAV III hold anti aircraft turrets that are capable of destroying attacking aircraft. They have a range of 2400 meters. After the withdrawal of the ADATS, Rheinmetall Canada made the AMADS (Advanced Man-portable Air Defense System) which serves as the short range air defense trainer for the Canadian army.
The PLAAF (People's Liberation Army Air force) uses the indigenous HQ-17 SHORAD air defense system.
Rheinmetall Air Defence has developed two types of SHORAD systems called Skyranger 30 and Skyranger 35. [3] Denmark has also ordered the Skyranger 30 mounted on Mowag Piranha Vs on 16 May 2023. [4]
India started testing indigenous VSHORAD system. Multiple tests were conducted successfully. The missile uses dual thrust motors and is meant to take out low flying targets. [5] [6]
The Norwegian Army ordered "Mobile Ground Based Air Defence System" based on NASAMS 3, which includes air-mobile Humvee launchers capable of firing AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles and tracked launchers for IRIS-T SLS missiles.
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The Swedish Army ordered LVRBS 98 systems based on a BvS 10 All Terrain Armoured Vehicle equipped with four IRIS-T SLS missiles. [7]
In the United States Army, Avenger air defense artillery battalions will be assigned to a theater or corps, and may attach air defense platoons to a brigade combat team or maneuver battalion. SHORAD units are based upon a mounted platform, the AN/TWQ-1 Avenger, which utilizes eight FIM-92 Stinger missiles coupled with a FLIR, laser range finder, and a M3P .50 caliber machine gun for close-in defense.
The Army also ordered Stryker SHORAD platform, equipped with four Stinger and two AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire missiles, 30 mm M230 chain gun, 7.62 M240 machine gun, and a 360-degree search radar system. First vehicles were delivered in 2021, and a total of 144 vehicles will be deployed by 2025.
In the United States Marine Corps, there are only two existing Low Altitude Air Defense (LAAD) Battalions : 2d Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion and 3d Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion.
The following Military Occupational Specialties (MOS's) are related to SHORAD:
An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a surface-to-air missile designed to counter ballistic missiles. Ballistic missiles are used to deliver nuclear, chemical, biological, or conventional warheads in a ballistic flight trajectory. The term "anti-ballistic missile" is a generic term conveying a system designed to intercept and destroy any type of ballistic threat; however, it is commonly used for systems specifically designed to counter intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
An anti-aircraft vehicle, also known as a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG) or self-propelled air defense system (SPAD), is a mobile vehicle with a dedicated anti-aircraft capability.
The Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) for the United States Army in a plant in London, Ontario. It has four-wheel drive (8×4) and can be switched to all-wheel drive (8×8).
The Wiesel Armoured Weapons Carrier (AWC) is a German light air-transportable armoured fighting vehicle, more specifically a lightly armoured weapons carrier, produced by Rheinmetall.
The Oerlikon/Martin Marietta air defense anti-tank system is a dual-purpose short range surface-to-air and anti-tank missile system based on the M113A2 vehicle. The ADATS missile is a laser-guided supersonic missile with a range of 10 kilometers, with an electro-optical sensor with TV and forward looking infrared (FLIR). The carrying vehicle also has a search radar with an effective range of over 25 kilometers.
The Avenger Air Defense System, designated AN/TWQ-1 under the Joint Electronics Type Designation System, is an American self-propelled surface-to-air missile system which provides mobile, short-range air defense protection for ground units against cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, low-flying fixed-wing aircraft, and helicopters.
Man-portable air-defense systems are portable surface-to-air missiles. They are guided weapons and are a threat to low-flying aircraft, especially helicopters.
The M247 Sergeant York DIVAD was a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG), developed by Ford Aerospace in the late 1970s. Based on the M48 Patton tank, it replaced the Patton's turret with a new one that featured twin radar-directed Bofors 40 mm rapid-fire guns. The vehicle was named after Sergeant Alvin York, a famous World War I hero.
Skyshield air-defence system is a modular, light weight, short range air defense (SHORAD) system developed by the Swiss corporation Oerlikon Contraves. The successor to the Skyguard defense system, Skyshield is intended to rapidly acquire and destroy threatening aircraft and missiles, as well as to fulfill a C-RAM role.
The South Korean K30 Biho twin 30 mm self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon was developed to meet the operational requirements of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces for a highly mobile short range air defense system suited to the operational and terrain conditions of the Korean peninsula. It combines an electro-optically guided 30 mm gun system with a surveillance radar system on a K200 chassis. It supplements the K263A1 Chungung, a self-propelled 20 mm Vulcan system.
Counter rocket, artillery, and mortar, abbreviated C-RAM or counter-RAM, is a set of systems used to detect and/or destroy incoming rockets, artillery, and mortar rounds in the air before they hit their ground targets, or simply provide early warning.
United States Army air defense relies on a range of ground launched missiles, ranging from hand held to vehicle mounted systems. The Air Defense Artillery is the branch that specializes in anti-aircraft weapons. In the US Army, these groups are composed of mainly air defense systems such as the PATRIOT Missile System, Terminal High Altitude Air Defense, and the Avenger Air Defense system which fires the FIM-92 Stinger missile.
The History of ground based air defense in the United States Marine Corps dates back to the early 1930s with the establishment of the Advanced Base Force. World War II would be the high-water mark for air defense units when 20+ defense/anti-aircraft battalions were formed with many seeing significant action throughout the Pacific Theater. Following the war, the Marine Corps divested itself of most of its air defense capability at a time when the service was facing deep personnel cuts and fighting for its institutional survival. Beginning in the early 1950s the Marine Corps aligned itself with the Navy and their development of surface-to-air missiles (SAMs). The Marine Corps retained both flak weapons and SAMs throughout the 1950s until the fielding of the MIM-23 Hawk Missile System in 1960. The HAWK Missile was employed by Light Antiaircraft Missile (LAAM) battalions and remained a mainstay of Marine Corps ground based air defense for the next four decades.
The Joint Ground-based Air Defence Command is a joint command of the Royal Netherlands Army, formed in 2012 after amalgamation of the Commando Luchtdoelartillerie of the Royal Netherlands Army and the Groep Geleide Wapens of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The command is responsible for all ground-based air defence tasks and consists of both army and air force personnel. The DGLC employs an integrated layered air-defence approach featuring FIM-92 Stinger, NASAMS II and MIM-104 Patriot systems.
PSR-A Pilica is a Polish Very Short Range Air Defense (VSHORAD) anti-aircraft missile and artillery system.
The Skyranger 30 is a short range air defense turret system developed by Rheinmetall Air Defence AG and first revealed in March 2021. Its role is to provide ground units with a mobile system capable of engaging fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, Group I and II unmanned aerial systems (UAS), loitering munitions and cruise missiles.
The Very Short Range Air Defence System, or VSHORADS, is a fourth generation, man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) developed by Research Centre Imarat (RCI),a research lab under Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), located in Hyderabad. Multiple DRDO laboratories along with Indian Industry Partners are participating in the project. It is designed for anti-aircraft warfare and neutralising low altitude aerial threats at short ranges.
The Skyranger 35 is a short range air defence turret system developed by Rheinmetall Air Defence AG.