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Quite a little cottage industry now, repackaging existing\u00a0 missiles as Surface to Air Missiles (SAMs) to make them more portable and\/or more available to Ukraine. The battlefield is a lot different now –\u00a0 the airspace is an “if it flies, it dies” zone occupied by multiple drones and counterdrone equipment.<\/p>\n
We now have our first look at the containerized Gravehawk surface-to-air missile system, which uses repurposed Soviet-era heat-seeking R-73 air-to-air missiles as interceptors, that the United Kingdom and Denmark have developed for Ukraine.<\/p>\n
The entire SAM system fits in a standard shipping container, carries a pair of converted R-73 AAMs, and can be quickly deployed off the back of a flatbed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Contrast that with a traditional system, one or more radars, multiple different launchers – this is a self-contained units whose entirety fits onto a truck. The launch control unit looks like it fits in an American Tourister. Not as high-altitude capable as some of the systems our guys faced in Vietnam, perhaps (built as an airborne heat-seaker similar to our Sidewinder, the R-73, aka AA-11 ‘Archer’s max range is less than 20 miles) but exceedingly plentiful in former-bloc NATO inventories. Heck, Ukraine uses them today on its fighters.\u00a0 Available…and cheap.<\/p>\n
It took a U.K. Ministry of Defense element called Taskforce Kindred and an unspecified group of private contractors approximately 18 months and six million pounds (almost $7.5 million based on the rate of conversion at the time of writing) to develop Gravehawk, according to Forces News<\/em>. The unit cost is around one million pounds ($1.24 million).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Now, as a ground-launched system it would not be piggybacking on the aircraft’s speed and range so estimates of its range drop down to less than 10 miles – but it’s infra-red sensors can detect targets up to 40 degrees off the missile’s track. Couple it with a helmet-mounted sight, that goes up to 70 degrees.\u00a0 Look straight ahead, hold out your arms at about 45 degrees to your line of sight – anything in that zone.<\/p>\n
There is also a clear relationship between Gravehawk and another FrankenSAM the United Kingdom previously supplied to Ukraine that uses the AIM-132 Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM) as its interceptor and that was mounted on a 6\u00d76 Supacat High Mobility Transporter (HMT). Both systems notably appear to use similar, if not identical sensor systems.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The Supacat system has an identifiable launcher to target. The Gravehawk, unless operating, looks like a shipping container. Plus, it’s IR sensors are passive in nature so counter-battery systems have a harder time without active radar to target.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, \u201cthe Ukrainians initially didn\u2019t want Gravehawk, instead they wanted more air-to-air missiles and F-16 Fighting Falcons,\u201d according to Forces News<\/em>. \u201cBut having seen it in action they are now apparently sold on it \u2013 and want lots more.\u201d\u00a0 The War Zone<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Who knows, maybe in future we will see Gravehawk use ASRAAMs and Sidewinders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"