Sea Eagle (missile)

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Sea Eagle
History

Type	Anti-shipping missile
Nationality	UK
Era	{{{era}}}
Launch platform	Fixed and rotary wing aircraft
Target	Shipping
Builder	BAe
Date of design	{{{date}}}
Production period	1982 -
Service duration	1985 -
Operators	UK, India, Saudi Arabia, Chile(?)
Variants	None
Number built	{{{num_built}}}
Specifications
Type	Air-to-surface
Diameter	{{{diameter}}}
Wing span	1.2 m
Length	4.14 m
Weight	600 kg
Propulsion	Turbojet
Steering	Control surface
Guidance	Inertial, with active radar
Speed	Mach 0.8 +
Range	110 km
Ceiling	{{{ceiling}}}
Payload
Warhead	230 kg
Trigger	{{{fuze}}}

The BAe Sea Eagle is a medium weight, 'fire-and-forget', sea-skimming anti-ship missile designed and built by BAe Dynamics (now MBDA) in service with the Indian Navy.

It is designed to sink or disable ships up to the size of aircraft carriers in the face of jamming and other countermeasures including decoys.

1 History
2 Design
3 Specifications
4 Operators
5 Variants
6 External links
7 See also

[edit] History

Sea Eagle came from a project ("P3T") started in 1973 for a successor to the TV-guided AJ.168 version of the Martel missile, on which the airfarme of Sea Eagle is based, to meet Naval/Air Staff Target (NAST) 1226. The Marconi (now Selex)active nose radar of Sea Eagle is derived from a British submarine-launched version of Martel dubbed USGW, development of which was abandoned in the mid-1970s in favour of Sub-Harpoon. Design of the Sea Eagle began in 1976, with full scale development initiated in 1979. Production of the finished production weapon began in 1982, with test firings up to 1984 and service introduction the following year. The RAF Buccaneer was the first aircraft to carry a Sea Eagle in active service. This was followed by the Royal Navy's Sea Harrier, as well as the Tornado GR.1B in the RAF (replacing Buccaneers) and Saudi Air Force. The Indian Navy also equipped its Sea Harrier FRS Mk.51 as well as Jaguar IM with the missile, as well as twenty Sea King Mk.42B helicopters, using a version with two booster rockets either side of the rear fuselage. Indian Ilyushin Il-38 maritime patrol aircraft are also equipped with the rocket-boosted version of the missile, carried on unusual side-fuselage pylons aft of each wing. It has also been reported that India has sought to equip its Tupolev Tu-142 fleet with the missile. The Chilean Air Force has fitted its A-36M Halcon (Casa 101 Aviojet) with the missile, but it is unclear if this combination entered service. The BAe Hawk trainer/light fighter has carried the missile on trials.

[edit] Design

Sea Eagle is powered by a paraffin-fuelled Microturbo TRI-60 turbojet and travels at speeds of Mach 0.85 (1,040 km/h, 645 mph) throughout its 110 kilometre (68 mile) range. Once launched the Sea Eagle is completely autonomous, with the flight and target seeking completely controlled by the on-board computer system which functions according to programmable options covering a large set of cruise, search and attack options, including a simple, pre-programmed 'point and shoot' mode that allows it to be carried by basic aircraft without radar, using targetting information from external sources. Other modes integrate with more sophisticated weapon systems and sensors and allow Sea Eagle to be programmed during flight by the parent aircraft using targetting data from the aircraft's on board radar sensors. 'Dog leg' routes can be programmed into the missile's computer to allow a salvo of missiles to arrive from different directions, saturating the target's defences. An inertial navigation system is used to give the missile an over-the-horizon capability. A C-band radar altimeter allows the missile to fly at very low level, minimising the range at which a ship can detect it. The J-band active radar target seeker can detect targets up to 30km away, allowing a mid-course update of target position through a 'pop up' manouevre if required.

The main wings are triangular, arranged in a cruciform configuration. Smaller wings of similar shape and configuration provide steering. The engine intake is under the fuselage - whilst carried by an aircraft this is covered by an aerodynamic fairing which is blown clear at launch. The missile is fitted with a semi armour piercing warhead.

[edit] Specifications

Wingspan : 1.2 meters (3 feet 11 inches)
Length : 4.14 meters (13 feet 7 inches)
Weight : 600 kilograms (1,320 pounds)
Warhead : 230 kilograms (510 pounds)
Speed : Mach 0.85 (645 mph)
Range : 110 kilometers (68 miles / 60 nautical miles)
Flight time : 400 seconds (6 min 40 seconds)

[edit] Operators

[edit] United Kingdom

Blackburn Buccaneer - 2 or 4 missiles (retired)
Tornado GR.1B - 2 or 4 missiles (retired)
Sea Harrier FRS.1/FA.2 - 2 missiles (retired)

[edit] India

Sea Harrier FRS Mk.51 - 2 missiles
Sea King Mk.42B - 2 missiles
Jaguar IM -1 missile
Ilyushin Il-38 - 2 missiles
Tupolev Tu-142 - ? missiles

[edit] Saudi Arabia

Tornado IDS - 2 or 4 missiles (retired?)

[edit] Chile(?)

A-36M Halcon (Casa 101 Aviojet)

[edit] Variants

A variant of the missile designed to be launched from boxes mounted on ships was tested, using the same rocket boosters as applied to the helicopter launched version, but lost out to the American Harpoon missile in a 1985 competition to arm the Royal Navy's Type 23 frigates. This version was also intended to have been used in shore-based batteries. A variant which would have had an imaging infrared seeker-head and a data link to allow the launch platform to update the missile in flight was studied around 1990; this latter version was dubbed "Golden Eagle" and would have had a penetrator warhead to allow attacks on land-based hardened targets. This variant was not built. A proposed update of Sea Eagle in the mid-1990s with a dual-band seeker and improved systems was abandoned.