The Dual Mode Brimstone is an interesting development which has effectively put the UK ahead of the US in providing a missile with similar capabilities to the JAGM which has yet to be fully developed.
It is interesting though that the original version survived amid critism of cold war type equipment procurement. I don't really see the mmw version ever being used in a modern conflict. My understanding is that in Libya, only the DMS version has been used. I struggle to see the value of it's very sophisticated control system/sensor package etc when even in Libya, it is not used in a simple anti-armour role.
I have never quite fully understood how the weapon is guided, I understand that terminal guidance is acheived through its seeker but fail to see how mid course guidance is achieved. Perhaps someone could clarify this.
Anyhow, my understanding is that in the DMS Brimstone, the laser seeker does not replace the mmw seeker but actually coexists with it in the same missile. I dont see the need for the weapon to be dual-mode because the two guidance methods seem mutually exclusive to me rather than complimentary. I struggle to see how the missile could switch modes mid flight or use both modes at the same time. Surely it would be more cost effective to have two seperate weapons with two seperate seekers while maintaining commonality of having shared warhead, propulsion, airframe, control system etc.
I personally feel that the mmw version would make a very effective anti-ship missle against small vessels or so called small boat swarms. Apparently proposals have been made by MBDA to demonstrate such an ability with a few small tweeks to the missiles contol system.
What I would like to see therefore, is all existing mmw Brimstones to be converted to an antisurface weapon, therefore filling the requirement for the so called FASGW(Light). As for land based applications of the Brimstone, simply stick with a laser guided variant.
I am baffled by the amount of future projects and their ever changing names; SPEAR, FASGW, etc. Why not simply develop existing the existing Brimstone to fullfill FASGW(Light) and the smaller SPEAR category while making a larger very high speed missile to address both the FASGW (heavy) and the heavier SPEAR category. This missile would make an effecive replacement to the Storm Shadow also. I am not entirely sure whether FASGW(Heavy) was ever intended to carried by helicopters or by the JCA only but my proposal certainly makes the former impossible.
Going back to Brimstone (apologies for the digression), I think the existing warhead would be effective against a wide variety of the threats; a small boat, an armoured vehicle, antistructure etc and I don't really see the need for a variety of warheads of a modular warhead. The improvement I would like to see would be a feature that can reduce the blast in areas with the risk of civilian casualities. Perhaps such a feature could be selected before launch by the launch aircraft. Even better than this would be the use of a carbon fibre body to reduce shrapnel, but whether this can be achieved without seriously effecting the flight characteristics of the weapon remains to be seen.
Anyway, there you have just a few of my thoughts as to how the UK could address many solutions with just two missiles rather than creating a stupid amount of projects with a stupid amount of names, while promoting commonality. My proposal would also see an antisurface weapon that could be brought into service much sooner than existing propsals and would be a perfect compliment to the Lynx Wildcat.
It is interesting though that the original version survived amid critism of cold war type equipment procurement. I don't really see the mmw version ever being used in a modern conflict. My understanding is that in Libya, only the DMS version has been used. I struggle to see the value of it's very sophisticated control system/sensor package etc when even in Libya, it is not used in a simple anti-armour role.
I have never quite fully understood how the weapon is guided, I understand that terminal guidance is acheived through its seeker but fail to see how mid course guidance is achieved. Perhaps someone could clarify this.
Anyhow, my understanding is that in the DMS Brimstone, the laser seeker does not replace the mmw seeker but actually coexists with it in the same missile. I dont see the need for the weapon to be dual-mode because the two guidance methods seem mutually exclusive to me rather than complimentary. I struggle to see how the missile could switch modes mid flight or use both modes at the same time. Surely it would be more cost effective to have two seperate weapons with two seperate seekers while maintaining commonality of having shared warhead, propulsion, airframe, control system etc.
I personally feel that the mmw version would make a very effective anti-ship missle against small vessels or so called small boat swarms. Apparently proposals have been made by MBDA to demonstrate such an ability with a few small tweeks to the missiles contol system.
What I would like to see therefore, is all existing mmw Brimstones to be converted to an antisurface weapon, therefore filling the requirement for the so called FASGW(Light). As for land based applications of the Brimstone, simply stick with a laser guided variant.
I am baffled by the amount of future projects and their ever changing names; SPEAR, FASGW, etc. Why not simply develop existing the existing Brimstone to fullfill FASGW(Light) and the smaller SPEAR category while making a larger very high speed missile to address both the FASGW (heavy) and the heavier SPEAR category. This missile would make an effecive replacement to the Storm Shadow also. I am not entirely sure whether FASGW(Heavy) was ever intended to carried by helicopters or by the JCA only but my proposal certainly makes the former impossible.
Going back to Brimstone (apologies for the digression), I think the existing warhead would be effective against a wide variety of the threats; a small boat, an armoured vehicle, antistructure etc and I don't really see the need for a variety of warheads of a modular warhead. The improvement I would like to see would be a feature that can reduce the blast in areas with the risk of civilian casualities. Perhaps such a feature could be selected before launch by the launch aircraft. Even better than this would be the use of a carbon fibre body to reduce shrapnel, but whether this can be achieved without seriously effecting the flight characteristics of the weapon remains to be seen.
Anyway, there you have just a few of my thoughts as to how the UK could address many solutions with just two missiles rather than creating a stupid amount of projects with a stupid amount of names, while promoting commonality. My proposal would also see an antisurface weapon that could be brought into service much sooner than existing propsals and would be a perfect compliment to the Lynx Wildcat.