SPEAR - Selectable Precision Effects At Range

zjz said:
Work is also continuing on the development of other members of the Spear 3 family. Spear Glide is an unpowered variant that McCullagh said is a low-cost utility weapon. Although Spear Glide shares the same airframe with Spear 3, MBDA has performed a “full redesign of the internals” to use common, off-the-shelf components that make it “much easier and cheaper to manufacture.” It lacks the millimetric seeker of the standard Spear 3 but retains the semi-active laser- and image-based navigation. It also has a larger warhead, as it no longer carries an engine or fuel. The price point for Spear Glide, McCullagh said, is comparable with other glide weapons.
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So its sounding more and more like SpearGlide is a response to MRUSW. It never really made sense to put the full SPEAR guidance package on SpearGlide anyway.

I'm sure they've mentioned hard target penetration before as well, possibly via a shrouded warhead.

As for price....I'm pretty sure when they say 'other glide weapons'....they're not talking SDB1, although it would be great if they were....more like SDBII or Red Kite...
 
timmymagic said:
As for price....I'm pretty sure when they say 'other glide weapons'....they're not talking SDB1, although it would be great if they were....more like SDBII or Red Kite...
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Maybe they mean JSOW? :oops:

Hopefully not a HGV
 
TomS said:
At which point we're back the SPEAR 3 except it doesn't fit 4 to a launcher.
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Not exactly, a boosted SpearGlide would have a larger warhead but a more limited flight profile than the SPEAR 3.

An air launched boosted SpearGlide also wouldn’t need as large a rocket as a ground launched variant.

If it’s “cheap” a boosted SpearGlide or maybe an artillery shell style bleed base could work well for lower, slower launch platforms.

Hopefully the GCAP/Tempest will fit 16 - 24 into its internal weapons bays to act as aerial artillery when the ground environment is too dangerous for traditional artillery to last long.
 
SteveO said:
Not exactly, a boosted SpearGlide would have a larger warhead but a more limited flight profile than the SPEAR 3.
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And is larger because for the boost you need some propulsion which you can't fit if SpearGlide already uses its entire volume for the larger warhead meaning its bigger
 
kqcke for you said:
And is larger because for the boost you need some propulsion which you can't fit if SpearGlide already uses its entire volume for the larger warhead meaning its bigger
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Not necessarily, probably a bit of space where the engine would have gone. The warhead could be a bit smaller on a boosted variant too. There are a lot of possible variants if SpearGlide is a guided payload tube.
I’m just speculating anyway, not trying to convince anyone.
 
A rocket boosted version of Spear already exists.
Brimstone
 
The thing Spear 3 covers any possible need for a powered weapon of that caliber.
SpearGlide is an extension which brings more payload at lower cost, increased economics and more punch than Spear 3. Any powered Version of SpearGlide is either mutch worse than Spear 3 or mutch larger. Of course one could do a medium trade of but (these numbers are examples) but anything between 7kg or 48kg like doesn't give the benefit. Any target that needs the larger 48kg likey doesn't benefit from the small increase in range while anything above 7kg might as well be targeted by the 48kg SpearGlide.
 
kqcke for you said:
The thing Spear 3 covers any possible need for a powered weapon of that caliber.
SpearGlide is an extension which brings more payload at lower cost, increased economics and more punch than Spear 3. Any powered Version of SpearGlide is either mutch worse than Spear 3 or mutch larger. Of course one could do a medium trade of but (these numbers are examples) but anything between 7kg or 48kg like doesn't give the benefit. Any target that needs the larger 48kg likey doesn't benefit from the small increase in range while anything above 7kg might as well be targeted by the 48kg SpearGlide.
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The Brimstone 3 warhead is c9kg IIRC. Realistically that will kill any moving target that you want to hit.

Brimstone 3 - Smaller but powered with range up to 60km from fast air (moving target is likely to be c45km)
SpearGlide - Larger penetrating warhead, cheaper than Spear, 110km against fixed, 75km against moving
Spear - Smaller warhead than SpearGlide but range of 230km+...more expensive though...
Spear-EW - No warhead, but range massively extended to 450km+

Possible to also have an Air Launched LPS - a Spear-ER....you could carry 2 per weapons bay in F-35....same warhead as SpearGlide, same engine as Spear/Spear-EW...but range of 450km+.

Apart from that I don't think there would be much point trying to squeeze more out of the Spear/Brimstone family in the air at least...unless you could use the Spear mold line to create an air launched electric or IC powered prop/ducted fan platform to provide greater loiter as a strike or recon/BDA tool (or perhaps even for EW).
 
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timmymagic said:
Apart from that I don't think there would be much point trying to squeeze more out of the Spear/Brimstone family in the air at least...unless you could use the Spear mold line to create an air launched electric or IC powered prop/ducted fan platform to provide greater loiter as a strike or recon/BDA tool (or perhaps even for EW).
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I'd say a recon/BDA tool would be good for the stretch. Load 4 SPEARs and 1 is the BDA for the mission. Or load 8 (I think Typhoon can carry 8x SPEAR), and 1 is the BDA.

An EW tool would need either large batteries and/or a large generator, and those would both impact range compared to a recon/BDA.
 

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