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.[ citation needed ]
The PLAAF (People's Liberation Army Air force) uses the indigenous HQ-17 SHORAD air defense system.[ citation needed ]
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.[ citation needed ]
The Swedish Army ordered LVRBS 98 systems based on a BvS 10 All Terrain Armoured Vehicle equipped with four IRIS-T SLS missiles. [7]
Aselsan developed various SHORAD systems such as ATILGAN PMSS, HİSAR and Sungur.
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 12.7 mm (.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-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.
Rheinmetall Air Defence AG is a division of German armament manufacturer Rheinmetall, created when the company's Oerlikon Contraves unit was renamed on 1 January 2009 and integrated with Rheinmetall's other air-defence products. Oerlikon Contraves was a Swiss anti-aircraft artillery manufacturer famous for its adaptation of the 1916 20 mm Becker as the Oerlikon 20 mm autocannon design, which was used in the Second World War and remains in use. Copies and derivatives of these designs were made by German, French, British, and Japanese weapon manufacturers. Oerlikon Contraves was purchased by Rheinmetall in 1999.
The Boxer is a multirole armoured fighting vehicle designed by an international consortium to accomplish a number of operations through the use of installable mission modules. The governments participating in the Boxer programme have changed as the programme has developed. The Boxer vehicle is produced by the ARTEC GmbH industrial group, and the programme is being managed by OCCAR. ARTEC GmbH is based in Munich; its parent companies are KNDS Deutschland GmbH & Co and Rheinmetall Land Systeme GmbH on the German side, and Rheinmetall Defence Nederland B.V. for the Netherlands. Overall, Rheinmetall has a 64% stake in the joint venture.
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.
The AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel is an X-band electronically steered pulse-Doppler 3D radar system used to alert and cue Short Range Air Defense (SHORAD) weapons to the locations of hostile targets approaching their front line forces. It is currently produced by Raytheon Missiles & Defense.
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.
The Saab Giraffe Radar is a family of land and naval two- or three-dimensional G/H-band passive electronically scanned array radar-based surveillance and air defense command and control systems. It is tailored for operations with medium- and Short Range Air Defense (SHORAD) missile or gun systems, or for use as gap-fillers in a larger air defense 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 mortars before they hit their targets, or provide early warning.
The central acquisition radar (3D-CAR) is a 3D radar developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for use with Akash Surface-to-air missiles and is capable of tracking 150 targets.
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.
Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) is a missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Bharat Electronics and Bharat Dynamics Limited for the Indian Army, meant for protecting moving armoured columns from aerial attacks.
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.
This article consists of projects of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
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.