Page 240 - NAVAL SCIENCE 3 TEXTBOOK

246 NAVAL SKILLS

and a ceiling of 110,000 feet. The ne\\'est version, the Standard-3 ER,
about the same size and weight as the St"lIldard-2 ER, has a range of
over 270 miles, a ceili ng in excess of 150 miJcs, and was developed
for lise as an ABM. An upgraded version of the Standard-2 ER, the
Si\-l-G ERA..!"! (extended range active missile), is slated to become
operational in 2010. it will have improved capilbilities against agile
cruise missiles and over-the-horizoll targets.
In February 2008 a Standard-3 ER was used to intercept and
blow up a falling l,OOO-pound National Recollnaissance Office
satellite some 130 miles above the North Pacific. Launched into a
pol<lr orbit at 17,000 miles per hour, the satellite t:liled soon after
orbital insertion, <lnd was threatening to impact possibly popu-
lated areas as its orbit degenerated. The S1\'1-3 missile, launched
from the cruiser Lake Erie (CG-70), successfully detonated Ilear
the school/bus- sized satellite, blowing it apart into some eighty
pieces, which then fell harmlessly into the Pacific.
The RIM-7 Sea Sparrow is a radar guided surface-to-air mis-
sile adapted frolll the etlriier air-to-air version for point detense for
surface combatants. The latest version, clUed the [ SSM (evolved
Sea Sparrow missile), is 12 teet long and weighs about 500 pounds.
It is used on only a few ship types including CVAs and LHAs in
the U.S. Navy, but is a primary air defense weapon aboard many
NATO surface warships. It provides excellent detensivc capabilities
against high perfo rmance aircraft and cruise missiles.

Navy Air-to-Surface Missiles

The Navy has several different types of air-to-surface missiles
This SM~3 Standard missile launched from the Aegis cruiser USS
Lake Erie (CG 70) successfully brought daVin an errant U.S. satellite (AG]\-1) ,md other guided ordnance designed to attack a wide range
high over the Pacific Ocean in February 2008. of surface targets, including armor, air defenses, ground transpor-
tation, and ships.
The AGM-G5 Maverick missile is llsed for close air support of
friendly ground forces, interdiction of enemy forces, and suppres-
sion of enemy weapon systems. It has two types of warheads. One
has a COl1t .. lCt fLlse in the nose so that it will detonate on impact,
and the other has a delayed fuse that allows the missile to pene-
trate well into hard targets before exploding. The AGM-88 HARM
(high-speed antimdiation) missile is designed to home in all and
destroy enemy mdars used to locate and track U.S. ,lircraft, mis-
siles, and ships. The AGM-114 Hellfire missile is a laser guided
subsonic missile intended mainly for launching by Navy Seahawk
helicopters against tanks or other types of enemy armored vehi-
cles. It Ciln also be lIsed as an air-to-air weapon against helicopters
or slow-moving fL'\ed-wing aircraft.
Another more recently developed air-to-surlilCe weapon is the
AGM- 154 joint stand-off weapon (JSOW). It is a large glide bomb
developed by a joint Navy- Air Force program to allow aircraft to
att,lCk surface targets while remaining at safe stand-off distances,
A Sea Sparrow surface~to~ai r missile launches from the aircraft thus greatly increasing aircraft survivability. The ISO\·V has a range
carrier USS Theodore Roosevell (CVN 71). (Nathan Laird)
of from 12 to 40 nautical miles, depending on the altitude at which