USN COLD-WAR MISSILES; the SIAM
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is sponsoring the development of technology for the Self-Initiating Anti-aircraft Missile (SIAM) for use from a submerged submarine against an ASW fixed-wing aircraft or helicopter. The weapon would be launched from special tubes in the submarine and home on the attack. The towed acoustic arrays now used by submarines could detect low-flying aircraft to initiate SIAM launch.
The concept is not new, with one earlier U.S. Navy experiment using variants of the Sidewinder missile being dubbed “Subwinder.” The Royal Navy and Vickers have developed the SLAM (Submarine-Launched Air Missile) in which the submarine surfaces or at least broaches its sail to extend a six-tube Blowpipe missile launcher. The SIAM concept calls for a missile launch while the submarine remains completely submerged.
Ford Aerospace was contracted by DARPA to demonstrate the feasibility of the concept. During the Ford work, test vehicles were successfully launched against QH-50 drone helicopters. The future of this project was not yet been determined. The following characteristics are tentative:
Weight: approx. 150lbs
Length: approx. 8ft 4in (2.5m)
Span: 5 ¾ in (147mm)
Diameter: 5 ¾ in (147mm)
Propulsion: Solid-propellant rocket
Guidance: radar and infrared homing
Warhead: conventional
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The reason that the American Army does so well in wartime, is that war is chaos, and the American Army practices chaos on a daily basis.
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