Re: How Do You Sink A Carrier?
Someone mentioned using own carrier battle groups to sink enemy's battle group. That made me think... just how many nimitz class carriers w ships would it be needed to sink a lonely nimitz CBG? It seems to me carrier group is designed with defense in mind, then attack. Meaning it would require several US CBGs to sink just one of the same kind.
As far as simulteneous attack of many missiles to saturate defences - it would be possible only if missiles themselves communicate between themselves and slow down/accelerate/change formation so a vast number of them strikes at the very same time. Achieving that precision just by timing launches from platforms is next to impossible. Anyhow, it'd doable.
Relatively speaking, bottleneck of current sm-2/essm defence is illumination time/number of illuminators. Though they use time sharing for most of the missile's flight time, they still need some dedicated target illumination time before the impact on the target. Data on that varies, and is dependant on lots of things. For better or worse, infamous dr. Kopp likes to mention the figure of 'few seconds'. Lets use a not-so-conservative figure of 2 seconds between guidance is switched for another missile (target acquisition for the illuminator takes a moment, after all, so it could easely be 3 seconds, but lets stick with 2).
Burkes (and in practical terms Ticos too) use 3 illuminators when missiles approach their sides. 2 illuminators for rear while front differs, where burke can use just one illumnator, where Tico has two. Knowing Burkes are most numerous in missile defence role, lets use a figure of 3 missiles being guided simultaneously.
Unless we're talking about prelaunched defense missiles that travel to expected point where incoming missiles will breach the horizon (not really a viable tactic in my opinion), those defense missiles can be launched only when the search radar has detected them and started tracking them. Lets go with a conservative figure of 28 km away from the ship, as the point where missile gets launched. (horizon detection would happen a moment earlier, obviously).
ESSM makes a much better weapon than sm-2, not only cause of the cost effectiveness but also cause of greater maneouvrability, easely overcoming somewhat slower speed. lets use an average speed over flight time of 3600 m/s. Inocoming missile will get average speed of 3000 m/s.
Lets not complicate things - decoys and countermeasures are not in the game on either sides. Missiles are flying straight (dancers would certainly make illuminator's task harder, requiring longer time per missile attacked) and every missile hits. Interception would happen at around 15 km from the ship, with 5 more seconds for the attacking missiles to reach the ship. Basically, no more than 9 missiles can be intercepted that way. Even if we need just one second for illumination, that's little under 15 missiles. (less cause ESSM wont have time to intercept ones that are under 2km from the ship)
Do correct me but i think right now only a few of USN aaw destroyers and cruisers feature RAM for defense. Still, lets assume RAM is widespread and works as advertised. Problem is, even if we assume 100% hit rate, we dont know system's fire rate. is it one a second? more? less? 10 interceptions per system seems doable, making it by far more effective than ESSM, Sm-2 or phalanx.
So, a phalanx equipped ship could be expected to stop 13-18 missiles, with a RAM equipped one doing 29-34. In a decoy and countermeasure free enviroment, of course. There is no way to asses if decyos and countermeasures could would prevent hundreds of missiles to reach a ship. Assuming missiles arent attacking a burke but a carrier, and that at least 4 ships from CBGs group are in the path of incoming missiles - we get a 50-75 figure or 120-150 missiles. Not bad.
Someone mentioned using own carrier battle groups to sink enemy's battle group. That made me think... just how many nimitz class carriers w ships would it be needed to sink a lonely nimitz CBG? It seems to me carrier group is designed with defense in mind, then attack. Meaning it would require several US CBGs to sink just one of the same kind.
As far as simulteneous attack of many missiles to saturate defences - it would be possible only if missiles themselves communicate between themselves and slow down/accelerate/change formation so a vast number of them strikes at the very same time. Achieving that precision just by timing launches from platforms is next to impossible. Anyhow, it'd doable.
Relatively speaking, bottleneck of current sm-2/essm defence is illumination time/number of illuminators. Though they use time sharing for most of the missile's flight time, they still need some dedicated target illumination time before the impact on the target. Data on that varies, and is dependant on lots of things. For better or worse, infamous dr. Kopp likes to mention the figure of 'few seconds'. Lets use a not-so-conservative figure of 2 seconds between guidance is switched for another missile (target acquisition for the illuminator takes a moment, after all, so it could easely be 3 seconds, but lets stick with 2).
Burkes (and in practical terms Ticos too) use 3 illuminators when missiles approach their sides. 2 illuminators for rear while front differs, where burke can use just one illumnator, where Tico has two. Knowing Burkes are most numerous in missile defence role, lets use a figure of 3 missiles being guided simultaneously.
Unless we're talking about prelaunched defense missiles that travel to expected point where incoming missiles will breach the horizon (not really a viable tactic in my opinion), those defense missiles can be launched only when the search radar has detected them and started tracking them. Lets go with a conservative figure of 28 km away from the ship, as the point where missile gets launched. (horizon detection would happen a moment earlier, obviously).
ESSM makes a much better weapon than sm-2, not only cause of the cost effectiveness but also cause of greater maneouvrability, easely overcoming somewhat slower speed. lets use an average speed over flight time of 3600 m/s. Inocoming missile will get average speed of 3000 m/s.
Lets not complicate things - decoys and countermeasures are not in the game on either sides. Missiles are flying straight (dancers would certainly make illuminator's task harder, requiring longer time per missile attacked) and every missile hits. Interception would happen at around 15 km from the ship, with 5 more seconds for the attacking missiles to reach the ship. Basically, no more than 9 missiles can be intercepted that way. Even if we need just one second for illumination, that's little under 15 missiles. (less cause ESSM wont have time to intercept ones that are under 2km from the ship)
Do correct me but i think right now only a few of USN aaw destroyers and cruisers feature RAM for defense. Still, lets assume RAM is widespread and works as advertised. Problem is, even if we assume 100% hit rate, we dont know system's fire rate. is it one a second? more? less? 10 interceptions per system seems doable, making it by far more effective than ESSM, Sm-2 or phalanx.
So, a phalanx equipped ship could be expected to stop 13-18 missiles, with a RAM equipped one doing 29-34. In a decoy and countermeasure free enviroment, of course. There is no way to asses if decyos and countermeasures could would prevent hundreds of missiles to reach a ship. Assuming missiles arent attacking a burke but a carrier, and that at least 4 ships from CBGs group are in the path of incoming missiles - we get a 50-75 figure or 120-150 missiles. Not bad.
