Standard Missile Discussion

[Not James Stockdale]

Honestly surprised that there wasn't an idea bout having a Sabot deal for the Mk57 that allows Mk41s to fit.

At least I never heard of one but will not surprise me if it was planned when there was to be 32 Zumwalts and died with that

What do you mean by a "sabot"? The Mk 57 is able to shoot the same missiles as the Mk 41. I don't know if they use different launch canisters than the Mk 41.

 

[CastleBravo]

What do you mean by a "sabot"? The Mk 57 is able to shoot the same missiles as the Mk 41. I don't know if they use different launch canisters than the Mk 41.

That's the problem, it is a different size canister which means a different supply chain. Any new VLS system should be designed to accept Mk 41 canister sizes. Mk 57 might have gone some where if there was some sort of adapter that allowed a standard 25" Mk 41 canister to fit inside the Mk 57 rather than requiring missiles to be loaded into Mk 57 specific canisters.

 

[MadRat]

Mk 57 needs no water system, so if anything a new Mk 41 should accept Mk 57 compatible containers.

 

[Scott Kenny]

Australia whips together a hybrid air defense weapon

Not sure SM2s are any cheaper than Patriots.

Zumwalt's PVLS needs further development for frigates and destroyers. The current form has room for 7.9 meter weapons, which is a substantial space. PVLS is a great evolution and should have a variant for shorter missiles. Maybe RTX should do sort of an SM-3L (L = Lite) to cut down reliance on SM-2 variations and counter NMM. SM-3L would be specifically designed around a shorter PVLS system for smaller vessels. The shorter PVLS could house a single SM-3L, two SM-2, or a quad pack of ESSM. But of course RTX would lobby for only SM-3L to simplify logistics for the Navy.

Combined response.

Mk57 is a dead end. There are too many mk41s to try to accommodate any other size.

Mk57 has a very specific use case: sticking ~20 cells down the length of the helo deck on each side, while leaving space in the center for your towed arrays.

Alternatively, a redesigned version that uses Mk41 cells directly and is obviously Self-Defense length.

 

[MadRat]

They already have Mk 48 VLS cells mounted (utilizing the self-defense length cannisters) down the length of the helo deck on each side on foreign vessels.

Karel Dorman class is an example. navalanalyses.com/2014/11/karel-doorman-m-class-frigates-of.html