EVALUATE THE CIWS FOR GROUND FORCES MISSILE AND ARTILLERY DEFENSE
Carlton Meyer
From Vietnam to the Gulf, the cry; "Incoming!!!" has meant to run to the nearest shelter and hope you are not hit. Until we were able to intercept some SCUD Surface-to-Surface Ballistic Missiles (SSBMs) using older model Patriot SAMs in the Gulf War, there was no stopping enemy artillery and rockets from landing. Iowa class battleships could be modified inexpensively to fire 9 huge 16" guns at a time with air-bursting fragmention warheads to destroy incoming missiles at medium altitudes while offshore of deployed U.S. troops. Instead, the United States is spending billions of dollars on just missiles for high-altitude missile defense to protect our troops from theater-level SSB missiles (TBMs) but nothing to destroy artillery shells, multiple launch rockets (MLRs) and tactical missiles that will kill far more troops in future conflicts, which can also carry chemical, biological and nuclear warheads as well. Dozens of countries today are buying or making their own MLR systems in light of the success our own tracked M270 MLRS system had in the Gulf where it was called "steel rain". Many are mounted on trucks like our own air-deliverable HIMARS MLR is.
Shooting down an artillery shell a thousand meters overhead is much easier than shooting down a MACH 3+ missile in outer space, but you need a high rate of fire cannon to do it--the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery (ADA) branch has retired its M163 Vulcan tracked and towed 20mm Gatling gun systems, replacing them with Avenger HMMWVs with Stinger SAMs and a short range .50 cal HMG unable to do more than defeat aircraft. Other Armies like Canada, Russia and Germany have retained gun ADA systems. Artillery has been decisive at the battles of Dien Bien Phu, the fall of South Vietnam in 1975 and Angola in 1976. Shells landing killed GEN Buckner on Okinawa and Legendary modern U.S. Army Ranger founder, BG William O. Darby in Italy. Unfortunately, no one is developing a defense. Artillery that is not stopped is still the "King of Battle".
21st Century Weapons
e-mail May 1998
The CIWS has already been developed and fielded by the Navy for shipboard use. The Navy should try operating CIWS from landing craft anchored just offshore to protect ships from shore-based missiles and artillery systems. Simple experiments can be conducted by firing artillery shells in front a frigate to see how the CIWS reacts. The system may need counter-battery radar software. Fortunately, there are billions of dollars in anti-missile funds which can bankroll this program.
Like the ancient Phalanx which this gun system is named a true defense needs to have all parts or "shields" linked together so there are no openings to exploit: for low-level missile defense this is what we need.
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