The U.S.Navy has developed a 5lb missile

Sundog

Sundog

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The mini-missile

If it proves itself enough to go into production, I could see this being the next missile to follow the path of the Sidewinder.

I don't mean that in the literal sense of replacing the Sidewinder, I mean in terms of a U.S. Navy development team creating a low cost and effective missile that becomes ubiquitous. Of course, if it's really inexpensive, relatively speaking, and it works, look for this program to be cancelled. ;)
 
50,000 USD for a 5lb missile with 5lb capabilities. GMLRS is a 700lb missile for 110,000 USD with the ability to blow up just about anything short of a deep bunker far over the horizon. No, I don't see this becoming ubiqitous at all, it is very expensive for what it can do. It is a niche weapon so special forces can have a small guided weapon for soft targets, and its been in development for a long time.


www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA50053
As seen above original plan was for cost to match the size, clearly that didn't happen and was likely never very realistic
 
Really they should have choose a name that isn't as easily confused with the Israeli Spike family including the Mini Spike which is pretty much the same idea.
 
Sea Skimmer said:
As seen above original plan was for cost to match the size, clearly that didn't happen and was likely never very realistic
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It is being produce in-house on a very limited run basis. This will necessarily drive the price through the roof. Contract out the production to a company that does such things and the price will drop. Contract it out to *two* companies and have them compete on the basis of quality and cost, and the price could really plummet.
 
Spike is basically an M-72 LAW replacement that will actually hit what it's aimed at most of the time. Complaining that it doesn't yield the same bang per buck as GMLRS a bit like complaining that GMLRS doesn't produce as much bang per buck as an ICBM. Horses for courses, folks.


I'm not convinced it's really suited to all the alternative missions being thrown at it right now (It's a bit small for a terminal defense versus small baots, for example), but it's an interested effort that deserves a bit more time to find a niche.
 
TomS said:
Spike is basically an M-72 LAW replacement that will actually hit what it's aimed at most of the time.
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Wow about time and long over due!!

I've read somewhere that the unit price is something closer to $5,000 per missile!
Wow the 'Industrial Military Complex' is not going to like that the Navy is happy with the 'Spike' being "developed in-house, and has a better advancement response time and significantly lower cost' :eek:

Regards
Pioneer
 
That 50k price could well be the average prototype costs. I saw some of them in various stages of construction when I went out to China Lake for a job interview several years ago and got to hold one. The guy showing us around said they built the first few using scrounged parts--the seeker imager came from a commercial digital video camera, the servos driving the fins came out of other commercial products. It was basically a high-end garage shop putting them together, with a couple engineers supporting.

My job interview was to work on projects like this, but the pay was half of what I was being offered elsewhere, with a higher cost of living. As cool as it was, I had to turn it down.
 
Read the comments below the story. There are several links that show the cost is actually $5,000 (ca. 2009), not $50,000, which is a typo. This changes everything.

Including the fact that I can probably afford one or two, like for home protection.
 
circle-5 said:
Read the comments below the story. There are several links that show the cost is actually $5,000 (ca. 2009), not $50,000, which is a typo. This changes everything.

Including the fact that I can probably afford one or two, like for home protection.
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I've said it before but I'm amazed somebody hasn't done that already. One could buy pretty much everything necessary for a guided missile/UCAV etc. right off the shelf.
 
People tend to get in trouble when they try it. Remember the guy in Australia who was trying to build a cruise missile as an experiment?
 
SOC said:
People tend to get in trouble when they try it. Remember the guy in Australia who was trying to build a cruise missile as an experiment?
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He must not have been very smart about it. (Or didn't consider that anybody might be watching.)
 
There is actually a book that tells you how to turn model rockets into guided missiles (or at least, to apply guidance to model rockets). Ten years ago, I suspect most model rocketry enthusiasts would happily have bought it, if only for interest's sake. These days, I think even the purchase would attract attention, let alone trying to build one.
 

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