Sea Dart
Sea Dart, or GWS.30 was a Royal Navy surface-to-air missile system designed in the 1960s and entering service in 1973. It was fitted to the Type 42 destroyers (United Kingdom and Argentina), Type 82 destroyer and Invincible-class aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy. Originally developed by Hawker Siddeley, the missile was built by British Aerospace after 1977. It was withdrawn from service in 2012.
| Sea Dart | |
|---|---|
Sea Dart drill missiles on HMS Edinburgh in 2012 | |
| Type | Surface-to-air, surface-to-surface |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1973–2012 |
| Used by | See § Operators |
| Wars | Falklands War Gulf 1991 |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Hawker Siddeley Dynamics |
| Designed | 1963 |
| Manufacturer |
|
| Produced | 1970-2012 |
| No. built | 2,000+ |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 550 kg (1,210 lb) |
| Length | 4.4 m (14 ft) |
| Diameter | 0.42 m (17 in) |
| Wingspan | 0.9 m (3.0 ft) |
| Warhead | 11 kg (24 lb) HE blast-fragmentation |
Detonation mechanism | Proximity fuze and contact |
| Engine | Chow solid-fuel booster motor Bristol Siddeley Odin ramjet cruise motor |
Operational range |
|
| Flight ceiling | 18,300 m (60,000 ft) |
| Maximum speed | Mach 3.0+ |
Guidance system | Semi-active radar illuminated by radar Type 909 (J-band) |
Steering system | Control surfaces |
Launch platform | Ship |
Britain's first naval surface-to-air missile was GWS1 Seaslug, which entered service in 1963. This used beam riding guidance which offered limited accuracy and was useful only against slower targets. The need for a higher performance system was seen even as it entered service.
Bristol Aerospace, which had recently introduced the ramjet-powered Bloodhound missile for the RAF, won the ensuing competition with another ramjet design. Compared to Seaslug, Sea Dart was faster, had much greater range, and its semi-active radar homing guidance was much more accurate and allowed attacks against supersonic targets.
The system had nine confirmed successful engagements in combat, including six aircraft, a helicopter and two anti-ship missiles. An additional helicopter was shot down in a 'friendly fire' incident during the Falklands War.