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The radar-guided, rapid-firing Mk. 15 Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CIWS, pron. "see-whiz") can fire between 3,000-4,500 20mm rounds per minute, either autonomously or under manual command, as a last-ditch defense against incoming missiles and other targets. Phalanx uses closed-loop spotting with advanced radar and computer technology to locate, identify and direct a stream of armor piercing bullets to the target during its final approach (see video: MPEG | AVI, with hat tips to the good folks at Digg.com).
Phalanx CIWS is currently installed on approximately 187 US Navy ships and is in use by 20 foreign navies - and 1 Army. The latest development is a large contract that includes over $100 million in funding to buy land versions, originally built as a possible counter to mortar attacks. It would appear that the recent "rocket war" in Lebanon is having an impact.... Defense Industry Daily brings you up to speed.
Isn't that the system that kept shooting at our own helicopters during the Iran-Iraq war?
Did they finally work the bugs out?
Was this first deployed in the Falklands Isle. war between UK & Argentina in early 80s?
1) Short range. The maximum effective range against anti-ship missiles is less than 2km, against mortar shells and artillery rockets it would likly be shorter.
Effective height coverage is probably less than 1km. This means they can only protect against missiles that would actually hit within their effective radius. You couldnt place them like a 'fence' along a border and expect them to take out the artillery fire passing over them.
2) Collateral damage. The bullets dont carry fuses that can self-destruct them before they come back down again.
A new round could be developed but that still leaves problem 1).
Missiles have the accuracy and range to hit incomming shells, but they tend to be far too expensive. The enemy has 10,000 katyusha rockets for less than a few hundred dollars each. To counter that you need at least 10,000 Sea Wolf class SAMs plus launchers. We're talking billions of dollars here.
Guns are cheap but they have trouble hitting and usually too short range. A guided beam-riding 20mm-40mm round would go a good way towards solving the accuracy, and would also be way cheaper than a full-fledged SAM. Less rounds needed for a kill and self-destruct fuses also means less collateral damage on the ground. This is the second best solution.
Best solution possible today and near future would be an improved THEL.
Ursus Maritimus
The Phalanx gun's short range is just fine when protecting something the size of a base. It can also serve in this capacity for other high value targets. Inability to offer city-wide coverage does not equal uselessness.
The ammo problem is also being addressed, and was part of the land-based system's development.
Meanwhile, THEL has become Skyguard.
Winston,
I don't think the Royal Navy had Phalanx during the Falklands, at least I saw no reports of any Exocets engaged by Phalanx.
Using land based Phalanx to protect Israel's petrochemical facilities from Hezbollah rocket attack seems a very good idea to me.
Yes, you just have to make sure that the hydrocracker unit is well out the field of fire and then it's all right.
I'm of the opinion that Phalanx might make a stop gap measure that adds some protection but its fairly short effective range will mean that there will be a lot of bases and facilities that can't be well covered or require multiple R2D2's to cover.
Well Phalanx didnt showed ok in every time it faced the enemy. The Stark incident and in Israeli Corvete that was hit. I know that some reports says that the systems were off but that leads to another failure of current anti-missile systems.
"2) Collateral damage. The bullets dont carry fuses that can self-destruct them before they come back down again.
A new round could be developed but that still leaves problem 1)."
The Phalanx "bullets" arent explosive they are subcaliber rounds that destroy by kinetic energy.
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This news is just whishfull thinking. A 120 mm mortar can shot 10 rounds minute a 81/82mm can do in 20īs per minute, a simple Grad system can have 40 rockets in it's launcher at 3-4 sec between launches... No chance at all even if it works ok that it will be able to hit half of them.
Also it's range means is only able to protect a ship sized target.