Navy Fires New Ship-Defense Missile

by Kris Osborn

Weapons system called SeaRAM from aboard one of the service’s Littoral Combat Ships, company officials said.

During the live-fire test, a SeaRAM missile successfully intercepted a drone target off the coast of California, Navy and Raytheon officials explained.

The SeaRAM system builds upon the infrastructure and radar of the Close-in-Weapons-System, or CIWS.  CIWS’ Phalanx weapon fires a 20mm cannon at close-in threats such as small boats.  The SeaRAM is part of a layered ship-defense system designed to identify and destroy longer-range approaching enemy threats, such as anti-ship missiles, drones, small boats and helicopters.

Navy officials tell Scout Warrior they are very enthusiastic about SeaRAM, as it is the kind of weapon that enables ships to operate in a higher-threat environment.

“SeaRAM is a truly impressive system, and the recent test aboard LCS 4 demonstrates the ship’s ability to fight and win in a contested area. That test, during which the system engaged and destroyed an aerial drone, represented the first shipboard engagement using the new system and was the result of a long-term planning, performance assessment, and modeling and simulation effort,” Chris Johnson, spokesman for Naval Sea Systems Command, told Scout Warrior.  

Unlike the CIWS weapons which, as an area-defense weapon, uses a 20mm cannon to shoot down threats close to a ship, seaRAM fires a Rolling Airframe Missile from an 11-missile battery, Raytheon offcials explained.

The CIWS ship self-defense weapon can fire 4,500 rounds per minute.