Re:The Rise of Hypersonic Weapons
by lambdadmitry on Friday October 14, 2016 @09:54AM
(#12708054)
I'll crosspost the link here, too: [0]
In short, over-the-horizon radars are not exactly precise. AFAIK no OTH radar to date can be used to provide a firing solution, they all are warning/detection radars. They can also be jammed or destroyed, as they are huge and can't be moved or hidden easily. Finally, it's not enough to provide an initial targeting, you also need to guide the missile during its flight as carrier moves and evades. This is a huge problem, given that any signal can and will be jammed.
I think you underestimate how silent the carrier can be.
In short, over-the-horizon radars are not exactly precise. AFAIK no OTH radar to date can be used to provide a firing solution, they all are warning/detection radars. They can also be jammed or destroyed, as they are huge and can't be moved or hidden easily. Finally, it's not enough to provide an initial targeting, you also need to guide the missile during its flight as carrier moves and evades. This is a huge problem, given that any signal can and will be jammed.
I think you underestimate how silent the carrier can be.
[0]: http://lexingtoninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/aircraft-ca...