Spike, Felix, Hydra and Griffin - boom!

[Bluehawk]

Ever more clever ways to turn bad guys and their stuff into protoplasm.

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Remote-controller Predator and Reaper drones armed with Hellfire missiles have proved extremely effective in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. But if the Hellfire missile has a problem, it's the cost: about $100,000 every time you pull the trigger* . Can we do the same job cheaper and better?

My article in this month's Defense Technology International (starts on page 54) looks at weapons options for unmanned aircraft. Weight is a big driver; you can only hang two of the hundred-pound Hellfire missiles on a Predator, and the missile is too big for smaller drones. Cost is a factor too, and there are a lot of competitors in the drive to produce smaller, cheaper guided missiles.

Raytheon's new Griffin missile is a typical example of the development in this area. It's been assembled using component from previous missile programs for a rapid solution, and it's small enough that you can swap each Hellfire for three laser-guided Griffins.

Another approach is to upgrade the existing 2.75" rockets commonly used on helicopters with laser guidance kits to create instant, low-cost laser-guided missiles with a minimum of effort.

Unfortunately, it's taken twelve years so far to develop the Advanced Precision kill Weapon System (APKWS II) based on the existing Hydra rocket. But there are a number of other contenders working on this idea too and we may get a $10,000, 35-pound Hellfire-substitute soon.

However, in order to make make something significantly smaller and cheaper than existing weapons, you have to start from scratch -- that's what Steve Felix of the Naval Air Warfare Center did. He is Program Manager for the Spike missile which is described as the smallest guided missile in the world. Originally designed to as a portable, shoulder-fired weapon, it's been adapted for unmanned aircraft.

Spike weighs just five pounds, but it's a formidable weapon. The guidance system is highly original; in one mode it uses an electro-optical seeker, basically a video camera. Lock on before launch and it follows the target -- even something agile like a motorbike. In another mode for night operation, the seeker can be set to home in on a laser spot, turning Spike into a laser-guided missile.

In a test firing in February, Spike engaged a remote-controlled van with a crossing speed of twenty miles an hour, at a range of a mile and a half. You can see the effects in the photo. Although the warhead weighs less than two pounds, high precision increases its lethality. It's designed to penetrate the target before detonating, so it could be used to target the window of a specific room in a building rather than demolishing whe whole thing like larger weapons.

(Using smaller warheads should reduce collateral damage which is a huge issue in the current campaign. For example, it now seems the U.S. air strikes on August 22nd may have killed more civilians than previously admitted. )

Spike is being built to a budget: Felix's target is $5,000 a round. That would make it about 95% cheaper than the Hellfire. While Spike may not be suitable for taking out heavy tanks (Hellfire's original brief), it looks like a useful tool for the sort of missions currently being undertaken. And at that weight and price, you can carry a lot more bangs for your buck.

Spike looks to be a trend setter. As the DTI article explains, even tinier missiles are in the pipeline from both the Air Force and Army. Watch out for small drones with smaller missiles in ever-increasing numbers.

* See the Air Force's current missile shopping list (warning, big PDF) -- the FY2008 budget has 642 of them for $63,585,000
(Photo: Naval Air Warfare Center )