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The RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) is a development of the
RIM-7 Sea Sparrow RIM-7 Sea Sparrow is a U.S. ship-borne short-range anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapon system, primarily intended for defense against anti-ship missiles. The system was developed in the early 1960s from the AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missile as a ...
missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...
used to protect
ships A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguishe ...
from attacking missiles and aircraft. ESSM is designed to counter
supersonic Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound (Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...
maneuvering
anti-ship missile An anti-ship missile (AShM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A good nu ...
s. ESSM also has the ability to be "quad-packed" in the
Mark 41 Vertical Launch System The Mark 41 Vertical Launching System (Mk 41 VLS) is a shipborne missile canister launching system which provides a rapid-fire launch capability against hostile threats. The Vertical Launch System (VLS) concept was derived from work on the Aegis Co ...
, allowing up to four ESSMs to be carried in a single cell.


Design

The original Sea Sparrow was an expedient design intended to provide short-range defensive fire in a system that could be deployed as rapidly as possible. The
AIM-7 Sparrow The AIM-7 Sparrow (Air Intercept Missile) 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 a ...
was the simplest solution as its radar guidance allowed it to be fired head-on at targets and this guidance was easily provided by mounting an aircraft radar on a trainable platform. In the years after its introduction, it was upgraded to follow improvements being made in the air-to-air Sparrow models used by the US Navy and
US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
. The ultimate version in this line of weapons was the R model, which introduced a new dual-seeker homing system and many other upgrades. After that point, the
AIM-120 AMRAAM The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM (pronounced ), is an American beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. It is 7 inches (18 cm) in diameter, and employs ...
offered higher performance from a missile that was smaller and lighter, and development of the Sparrow ended in the 1990s. This left only the Sea Sparrow using the basic platform, and it no longer had to fit on aircraft. So instead of simply using the P and R models as they were, it was decided to dramatically upgrade the weapon as the Evolved SeaSparrow. The ESSM emerged as a completely new weapon, common only in name with the original, although using all of the same support equipment allowing it to be fit to ships already mounting the older models. Compared to the Sea Sparrow, ESSM has a larger, more powerful
rocket motor A rocket engine uses stored rocket propellants as the reaction mass for forming a high-speed propulsive jet of fluid, usually high-temperature gas. Rocket engines are reaction engines, producing thrust by ejecting mass rearward, in accordance ...
for increased range and agility, as well as upgraded
aerodynamics Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...
using strakes and
skid-to-turn {{Unreferenced, date=July 2008 Skid-to-turn is an aeronautical vehicle reference for how such a vehicle may be turned. It applies to vehicles such as aircraft and missiles. In skid-to-turn, the vehicle does not roll to a preferred angle. Instead ...
. In addition, ESSM takes advantage of the latest
missile guidance Missile guidance refers to a variety of methods of guiding a missile or a guided bomb to its intended target. The missile's target accuracy is a critical factor for its effectiveness. Guidance systems improve missile accuracy by improving its P ...
technology, with different versions for
Aegis The aegis ( ; grc, αἰγίς ''aigís''), as stated in the ''Iliad'', is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, variously interpreted as an animal skin or a shield and sometimes featuring the head of a Gorgon. There may be a connection with a d ...
/
AN/SPY-1 The AN/SPY-1 is a United States Navy 3D radar system manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The array is a passive electronically scanned system and a key component of the Aegis Combat System. The system is computer controlled and uses four complement ...
, Sewaco/
Active Phased Array Radar Active Phased Array Radar (APAR) is a shipborne active electronically scanned array multifunction 3D radar (MFR) developed and manufactured by Thales Nederland. The radar receiver modules are developed and built in the US by the Sanmina Corpor ...
(APAR), and traditional target illumination all-the-way. In the 2000s the NATO Seasparrow Project Office began planning an upgraded Block 2 version of the ESSM. In 2014 Canada pledged 200M CAD to underwrite their share of the Block 2's development cost. ESSM Block 2 leverages the existing Block 1 rocket motor and features a dual-mode
X band The X band is the designation for a band of frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is rather indefinitely set at approxim ...
seeker, increased maneuverability, and other enhancements. Block 2 features enhanced communications systems that allow for mid-course guidance correction, which makes the missiles easy to network into the Navy's emerging
Cooperative Engagement Capability Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) is a sensor network with integrated fire control capability that is intended to significantly improve battle force air and missile defense capabilities by combining data from multiple battle force air search ...
. Unlike Block 1, Block 2's
active radar homing Active radar homing (ARH) is a missile guidance method in which a missile contains a radar transceiver (in contrast to semi-active radar homing, which uses only a passive radar, receiver) and the electronics necessary for it to find and track ...
seeker will support terminal engagement without the launch ship's target illumination radars. The upgraded blast-fragmentation warhead was designed, developed and is being produced by
Roketsan Roketsan Roket Sanayii ve Ticaret A.S. is a major Turkish weapons manufacturer and defense contractor based in Ankara, Turkey. Incorporated in 1988 by Turkey's Defense Industry Executive Committee (''SSİK'') to establish the nation's industri ...
. The improved ESSM Block II will be fielded by the US Navy from 2020.


Launchers


Mk 29

The original launcher is Mark 29 Guided Missile Launching System Mod. 4 & 5 (Mk 29 GMLS Mod 4 & 5), which is developed from earlier models Mk 29 Mod 1/2/3 for Sea Sparrow. Mk 29 launchers provide on-mount stowage and launching capability for firing up to eight missiles in a self-contained environmentally controlled trainable launcher design.


Mk 41

The
Mark 41 Vertical Launching System The Mark 41 Vertical Launching System (Mk 41 VLS) is a shipborne missile canister launching system which provides a rapid-fire launch capability against hostile threats. The Vertical Launch System (VLS) concept was derived from work on the Aegis Co ...
is the primary launch system for the Evolved SeaSparrow Missile. The Mk 41 is deployed aboard destroyers and frigates, primarily of the United States and allied nations. The ESSM is quadpacked within a Mk 41 cell allowing a significantly increased missile load over SM-2.


Mk 48

In addition to the Mk 29 GMLS and Mk 41 VLS, the other primary launcher is Mk 48 VLS. The 2-cell module of Mk 48 makes the system very versatile and enables it to be installed on board in spaces that otherwise cannot be utilized. The weight of a 2-cell module of Mk 48 is 660 kg (1,450 lb; including empty canisters), 330 kg (725 lb) for exhaust system, and 360 kg (800 lb) for ship installation interfaces. Each canister of the Mk 48 VLS houses a single RIM-7VL (Vertically Launched) Sea Sparrow cell or two RIM-162 ESSM cells, though, with modification, other missiles can also be launched. There are a total of four models in the Mk 48 family, with Mod 0 & 1 housing either 2 RIM-7VL or 4 RIM-162 cells, Mod 2 housing either 16 RIM-7VL or 32 RIM-162 cells. Mod 0/1/2 are usually grouped into either a 16-cell module for RIM-7VL or a 32-cell module for RIM-162. Mod 3 fits into the
StanFlex StanFlex (also known as STANFLEX or Standard Flex) is a modular mission payload system used by the Royal Danish Navy. Originally conceived during the 1980s as a way of replacing several classes of minor war vessel with a single class of multi-role ...
modules on
Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and Greenland). Ot ...
ships and can house either 6 RIM-7VL or 12 RIM-162 cells; the Danes now use the latter.


Mk 56

The successor of the Mk 48 VLS is the Mark 56 Guided Missile Vertical Launching System (Mk 56 GMVLS) or simply Mk 56. In comparison to its predecessor, the Mk 56 utilizes a greater percentage of composite material, reducing the weight by more than 20%. The
Mexican Navy The Mexican Navy is one of the two independent armed forces of Mexico. The actual naval forces are called the ''Armada de México''. The ''Secretaría de Marina'' (''SEMAR'') (English: Naval Secretariat) includes both the ''Armada'' itself and ...
will be one of the customers of the Mk 56, using an 8-cell launcher on their
Sigma-class design The SIGMA class is a Dutch-built family of modular naval vessels, of either corvette or frigate size, designed by Damen Group. SIGMA stands for Ship Integrated Geometrical Modularity Approach. The basic design of the SIGMA Patrol Series can var ...
frigates. Specifications:


Mark 57 (Mk 57)

The Mk 57 Peripheral Vertical Launching System (PVLS), an evolution of Mk 41 VLS, is used on ''Zumwalt''-class destroyers. It is designed to be installed on the ship periphery instead of centralized magazines. It comes in 4-cell launcher modules and provides backwards compatibility with existing missiles, while allowing new missiles with significantly increased propulsion and payloads.


AMRAAM-ER

The AMRAAM-ER is an Extended Range upgrade to the AIM-120 AMRAAM missile for the
NASAMS NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, also known as the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) is a distributed and networked short- to medium-range ground-based air defense system developed by Kongsberg Defence & ...
ground-based air defense system, which combines ESSM rocket motor with the AMRAAM two-stage seeker head.


Operational history

US operational evaluation was conducted in July
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
aboard .
Initial operational capability Initial operating capability or initial operational capability (IOC) is the state achieved when a capability is available in its minimum usefully deployable form. The term is often used in government or military procurement. The United States D ...
did not occur until later. In October 2003, at the USN Pacific Missile Range Facility near Hawaii, Australian frigate conducted a successful firing of an ESSM. The firing was also the first operational use of the CEA Technologies CWI for guidance. In November 2003, approximately from the
Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
, the
Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...
(RNLN) frigate conducted a live fire test of a single ESSM. This firing was the first ever live firing involving a full-size ship-borne
active electronically scanned array An active electronically scanned array (AESA) is a type of phased array antenna, which is a computer-controlled array antenna in which the beam of radio waves can be electronically steered to point in different directions without moving the ant ...
(i.e. the APAR radar) guiding a missile using the Interrupted Continuous Wave Illumination (ICWI) technique in an operational environment.Jane's International Defence Review, February 2004, "Active phased array multifunction radars go live for missile firings" As related by Jane's Navy International:
During the tracking and missile-firing tests, target profiles were provided by Greek-built EADS/3Sigma Iris PVK medium-range subsonic target drones. ..According to the RNLN, ... " APAR immediately acquired the missile and maintained track until destruction". ..These ground-breaking tests represented the world's first live verification of the ICWI technique.Jane's Navy International, October 2005, "Live firing tests rewrite the guiding principles"
In August 2004, a
German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mar ...
completed a series of live missile firings at the Point Mugu missile launch range off the coast of California that included a total of 11 ESSM missile firings. The tests included firings against target drones such as the Northrop BQM-74E Chukkar III and Teledyne Ryan BQM-34S Firebee I, as well as against missile targets such as the Beech AQM-37C and air-launched Kormoran 1 anti-ship missiles. Further live firings were performed by the RNLN frigate HNLMS ''De Zeven Provinciën'' in March 2005, again in the Atlantic Ocean approximately west of the Azores. The tests involved three live-firing events (two of which involved the ESSM) including firing a single SM-2 Block IIIA at an Iris target drone at long range, a single ESSM at an Iris target drone, and a two-salvo launch (with one salvo comprising two SM-2 Block IIIAs and the other comprising two ESSMs) against two incoming Iris target drones. All ESSM launches from and ''Sachsen''-class frigates involved ESSMs quad-packed in a
Mark 41 Vertical Launching System The Mark 41 Vertical Launching System (Mk 41 VLS) is a shipborne missile canister launching system which provides a rapid-fire launch capability against hostile threats. The Vertical Launch System (VLS) concept was derived from work on the Aegis Co ...
. The first "kill" by the RIM-162D from a United States Navy carrier's Mk 29 launcher was achieved during a training exercise by on 7 October 2008. On 14 May 2013, the ESSM intercepted a high-diving supersonic test target, demonstrating the ability to hit high-G maneuvering, low-velocity air threats, as well as surface targets. No software changes were needed to prove the ESSM's enhanced capability. On 30 August 2015, during the annual 'Co-operation Afloat Readiness and Training' ('CARAT') exercise, the ESSM was fired from the Royal Thai Navy ''Naresuan''-class guided-missile frigate HTMS ''Naresuan'' and achieved a direct hit on a BQM-74E drone missile launched from the USN amphibious dock landing ship USS ''Germantown''. On 9 October 2016, fired one RIM-162 ESSM and two SM-2s to defend against two incoming
Houthi The Houthi movement (; ar, ٱلْحُوثِيُّون ''al-Ḥūthīyūn'' ), officially called Ansar Allah (' ''Partisans of God'' or ''Supporters of God'') and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamist political and armed movement that ...
anti-ship cruise missiles, potentially Chinese-built
C-802 The YJ-83 (; NATO reporting name: CSS-N-8 Saccade) is a Chinese subsonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Third Academy.Gromley et al.: page 101 Description The YJ-83 uses m ...
missiles. It is unknown if the RIM-162 was responsible for intercepting either of the missiles, but the incident marked the first time the ESSM was used in a combat situation. In 2018, the ESSM Block 2 passed its first live fire test, successfully intercepting a BQM-74E target drone using its active guidance seeker-head.


Operators

Source: US Navy—Fact File: Evolved Seasparrow Missile ESSM Consortium Members: * * * * * * * * * * * * * Foreign Military Sales (FMS): * * * * *


See also

*
K-SAAM The K-SAAM (Korean Surface to Air Anti Missile, ko, 해궁 "Haegung", Hanja: 海弓) is a South Korean medium range ship-based surface-to-air missile (SAM) system that is being developed by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), LIG Nex1 and ...
*
CAMM (missile family) The CAMM (Common Anti-Air Modular Missile) is a family of surface-to-air missiles developed by MBDA UK for the United Kingdom. CAMM shares some common features and components with the ASRAAM air-to-air missile, but with updated electronics and a ...
*
HQ-16 The HQ-16 () is a medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) from the People's Republic of China. It is derived from earlier versions of the Russian Buk missile system. Development Development began in 2005, and was reportedly assisted by the Al ...
*
Buk missile system The Buk (russian: link=no, "Бук"; "beech" (tree), ) is a family of self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile systems developed by the Soviet Union and its successor state, the Russian Federation, and designed to counter cruise mis ...
* VL-SRSAM *
List of missiles Below is a list of missiles, sorted alphabetically into large categories and subcategories by name and purpose. Other missile lists Types of missiles: * Conventional guided missiles ** Air-to-air missile ** Air-to-surface missile ** Anti-radiat ...


References


External links


Designation Systems.net: Raytheon RIM-162 ESSM


* ttp://www.natoseasparrow.org NATO SEASPARROW Project Office
NAMMO Raufoss - Nordic Ammunition Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rim-162 Essm RIM162