ALARM
Notes:
This is the antiradiation missile most normally carried by European
aircraft. It was first used in combat in the 1991 Gulf War and proved very
effective in the Gulf War and the Twilight War.
The missile has a loiter capability; if it loses its target, the missile
will climb to 12,000 meters, deploy a parachute, and slowly descend over the
last known location of the target, waiting for more radar emissions.
It can also home in on the last known location of its target, achieving a
hit that way.
Weapon |
Difficulty |
Guidance |
Weight |
Price |
ALARM |
Easy |
Antiradiation |
200 kg |
$32290 |
Weapon |
Speed |
Round |
Min Range |
Max Range |
Damage |
Pen |
ALARM |
5100 |
HE-FRAG |
400 |
40000 |
C80
B130 |
28C |
MDBA Brimstone
Notes: The
Brimstone is an air-launched antiarmor missile, originally designed for use by
RAF attack aircraft. It was quickly
discovered that the Brimstone was not much bigger then, though heavier, than a
Hellfire, and it was okayed for use on British, Saudi, and German Helicopters.
MDBA is also studying the Brimstone for use on UAVs and from surface launchers,
particularly from ships. The US,
France, India, and Indonesia have also expressed interest in the Brimstone.
First combat use was by the RAF in Libya.
Brimstone 1
The Brimstone
uses a millimetric radar wave for guidance, though a later version can home in
on a laser source in high-ECM environments or in places where the ground weather
is bad. The warhead is a tandem
HEAT warhead that is designed not only to defeat armor, but for use against
fortifications, particularly those made of reinforced concrete. Brimstone can be
fired in ripples for use against columns of vehicles or especially hard targets.
Once locked on and launched, the Brimstone goes into fire-and-forget
mode, and if the target is in the Brimstone software aboard the launching
vehicle or so designated by the WSO, the Brimstone can on its own pick out the
most vulnerable spot on a vehicle or fortification.
As many as 24 Brimstones may be in the air and controlled by one
designating aircraft, and targets may be changed after launch by a guiding
aircraft.
Being much heavier
than the Hellfire, only three Brimstones may be mounted on an MER (though four
will fit in an F-35B’s weapons bays, along with a Meteor AAM).
Brimstones have been tested by the US with launches from an MQ-9 Reaper
UAV, with one Brimstone under each wing instead of the normal complement of two
Hellfires per wing.
Dual-Mode Brimstone
The original
impetus for the Dual-Mode Brimstone was the rules of engagement imposed on
aerial ordnance in Afghanistan.
There was often close proximity between Taliban forces and civilians, and
Taliban males and civilian males usually dressed the same way and were likewise
armed. The Afghanistan ROE requires
that there be a “man in the loop” – an operator which can guide the missile or
destroy it in flight if necessary.
For the Brimstone, this required the addition of a laser seeker, so the gunner
could know when a missile should be destroyed short of its target or sent flying
off in an arbitrary direction. The
designator need not be the aircraft to fired the missile, or even an aircraft;;
individual soldiers can carry a designator, or FISTV vehicles or other vehicles
with designators may be used. The
MMW seeker may be used at the same time as the laser seeker, to essentially
double the chances to hit; when used in dual mode, this version of the Brimstone
has a +3 to hit, above any other bonuses.
Brimstone 2
Brimstone 2,
also known as SPEAR 2 (Selective Precision
Effects At Range) and FAHW (Future Attack Helicopter Weapon), increases
the safety to ground crews and ground fire by the use of incentive rocket
propellant and insensitive warhead explosives.
It has an improved MMW seeker and retains the laser seek mode. The
warhead and seeker are designed to be modular, so that merely warheads need to
be changed instead of the entire missile, and the seeker can be updated as they
become available. The standard warhead is supplemented with an AT/Antimateriel
warhead, able to be effective against vehicles, buildings, fortifications, and
troops in the open. The Brimstone 2
can be given a straight-in (LOS) trajectory, a top-down trajectory, and a
high-low trajectory. The warhead
can also use airburst, delayed detonation (with KEP capability), and proximity
fuzing. Brimstone 2 began service in 2016, and has been used by Qatari and Saudi
aircraft in combat. The RAF is
expected to begin combat use of Brimstone 2 in Syria and Iraq against ISIS in
2020.
Brimstone 3
Still in the
testing phase, the Brimstone 3 is a ground-mounted launcher for three Brimstone
missiles, with the launcher being equipped with an MMW radar and a laser
designator.
Sea Spear
Also known as
the Naval-Launched Brimstone (though it can also be launched from aircraft).
The Sea Spear is, however, designed for use against small-boat swarms and
it’s chief warhead is a Flechette warhead.
It has been demonstrated hitting a 6-meter boat in Sea State 3, moving at
30 knots. It has also been tested
against a squadron of full-speed Fast Boats, eliminating them. MDBA says that
the Sea Spear is just out of development and is ready for sale.
SPEAR 3
Still in
testing, the SPEAR 3 Brimstone is a standoff attack weapon designed to be used
attack targets 360 kilometers away.
This is done with a rocket launch motor and a turbojet sustainer. It will fly at
high subsonic speeds, and will use a wing kit.
Guidance is by a multimode seeker, but using a combination of INS and
GPS. SPEAR 3 capability will be integrated in the software package of the RAF’s
F-35Bs in the British Block 4 upgrades, and British Typhoons will also be
upgraded to carry SPEAR 3.
The SPEAR EW is
an ARM version of the SPEAR 3, to be used against enemy radars, communication
nodes, and possibly even radar-homing missiles and SAMs.
Work is being done to allow the SPEAR EW to be effective against large
radar-using aircraft like AWACS aircraft.
Like the SPEAR 3, the SPEAR EW is still in its testing phase.
Weapon |
Difficulty |
Guidance |
Weight |
Price |
Brimstone 1 |
Average |
MMR/FF |
48.5 kg |
$67985 |
Dual-Mode Brimstone |
Average* |
MMR/Laser/FF |
48.6 kg |
$68485 |
Brimstone 2 |
Easy |
MMR/Laser/FF |
50 kg |
$89925 |
Sea Spear |
Easy |
INS/MMW/Laser |
60 kg |
$90028 |
SPEAR 3 |
Easy |
INS/GPS |
100 kg |
$90600 |
SPEAR EW |
Easy |
Anti-Radiation |
100 kg |
$93350 |
Weapon |
Speed |
Round |
Min Range |
Max Range |
Damage |
Pen |
Brimstone 1/Dual-Mode Brimstone |
2250 |
HEAT-FRAG |
200 |
20000 |
C55
B83 |
104C/207C |
Brimstone 2 (Airburst Mode) |
2250 |
KEP/HEAT-FRAG |
200 |
40000 |
C64
B110 |
20C |
Brimstone 2 (Antiarmor Mode) |
2250 |
KEP/HEAT-FRAG |
200 |
40000 |
C49
B100 |
105C/209C |
Brimstone 2 (Delayed Mode) |
2250 |
KEP/HEAT-FRAG |
200 |
40000 |
C49
B100 |
116C/209C |
Sea Spear (Flechette Warhead) |
2250 |
Flechette |
100 |
20000 |
D: 90 Degrees,
100 m |
1-Nil |
Sea Spear (Antiarmor/Ship Mode) |
2250 |
HEAT/FRAG |
100 |
20000 |
C55 B100 |
116C/209C |
SPEAR 3 |
1207 |
HEAT/FRAG |
500 |
360 km |
C55 B100 |
116C/209C |
SPEAR EW |
1207 |
HEAT/FRAG |
300 |
360 km |
C64
B120 |
20C |