# India Sells Anti-ship Missile to Vietnam



## tomahawk6 (2 Jun 2016)

BrahMos deployed by the Vietnamese should be a wakeup call for China and I wouldnt be surprised if the PI were to buy some as well.This might blossom into a niche market for the Indian defense industry.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a21137/the-worlds-fastest-anti-ship-missile-vietnam/

This is the fastest low-altitude missile in the world. The missile has two stages. The first, consisting of a solid-fuel rocket, accelerates BrahMos to supersonic speeds. The second stage, a liquid-fueled ramjet, accelerates the weapon to Mach 2.8.

BrahMos flies as low 32 feet above the wavetops, making it what's known as a "sea skimmer." This, combined with its blistering speed, makes BrahMos very difficult to intercept: most warships will detect the missile only as it crests the horizon at a distance of 16 miles, giving them just 28 seconds to track and shoot down this hotrod of a missile. 

Nice video at the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUQmtWvbKq4


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## jollyjacktar (2 Jun 2016)

I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of it.


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## winnipegoo7 (2 Jun 2016)

It has an active seeker, so it can probably be defeated with jammers and decoys.


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## YZT580 (2 Jun 2016)

provided that you identify the correct countermeasures in the 28 second that you have.  It was fired from 250 miles away.  The receiving end could be in their bunks or at least enjoying a moment of peace and quiet.  To identify the threat, determine its nature and react successfully all within less than 28 seconds when you are probably in a totally passive mode is pushing the odds


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## Lumber (3 Jun 2016)

winnipegoo7 said:
			
		

> It has an active seeker, so it can probably be defeated with jammers and decoys.



Ever heard of home-on-jam, and chaff discrimination? The BrahMos was jointly developed with the Russians, remember.


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## Lumber (3 Jun 2016)

YZT580 said:
			
		

> provided that you identify the correct countermeasures in the 28 second that you have.  It was fired from 250 miles away.  The receiving end could be in their bunks or at least enjoying a moment of peace and quiet.  To identify the threat, determine its nature and react successfully all within less than 28 seconds when you are probably in a totally passive mode is pushing the odds



Without an active observation platform and a command data-link, you're not going to hit anything from 250nm away. This is why I've never been really impressed by the massive anti-ship missile ranges being claimed by some countries, and why I believe the US/NATO hasn't bothered to developed an ASM that has longer range than the Harpoon. Even travelling at mach 2.8, 250nm gives the target a fair amount of time to move out of the expected target area. The missile would arrive with it's intended target up to 2nm away. Even if it finds it, is it going to be able to manoeuvre toward a target at that speed?


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## winnipegoo7 (3 Jun 2016)

Lumber said:
			
		

> Ever heard of home-on-jam, and chaff discrimination? The BrahMos was jointly developed with the Russians, remember.



Lol, are you really a MARS officer? If so, you must be a Deck O, eh? Go read the warfare manual and learn a little about warfare! You should be embarrassed. 

There are techniques to counter home-on-jam and chaff isn't the only decoy.  

YZT580,

Usually anti-ship missiles are fired during a war, so hopefully the ship is at a high level of readiness.  I would argue that no platform is ever defendable if the sailors/airmen/soldiers aren't at a high level of readiness. Also, the Canadian navy sails with it's ops room and essential sensors manned 24/7.

And why do you assume the ship would be in 'passive' mode?
- that makes no sense at all
- and passive is likely how this missile would be detected. ESM of the launch platform? ESM of the missiles radar? EO/IR detection of the missile in flight? radar would probably be the last of the ships sensors to detect the missile. 

 .... and most modern ships have automatic modes that will id the threat, launch counter-measures / jam, and engage the threat automatically.


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## Lumber (3 Jun 2016)

winnipegoo7 said:
			
		

> Lol, are you really a MARS officer? If so, you must be a Deck O, eh? Go read the warfare manual and learn a little about warfare! You should be embarrassed.
> 
> There are techniques to counter home-on-jam and chaff isn't the only decoy.



AWWO, actually, and you don't need to be petulant about it. This is why I have a very in-depth knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the capabilities of anti-ship missiles, and of our anti-ship missile defence measures. You said that the BrahMos can "probably" be defeated by jammers and decoys, and what I'm telling you is that that is an unsafe assumption. 



			
				winnipegoo7 said:
			
		

> Usually anti-ship missiles are fired during a war, so hopefully the ship is at a high level of readiness.



Really? Only during war?

http://www.haaretz.com/news/soldier-killed-3-missing-after-navy-vessel-hit-off-beirut-coast-1.193112
"The Saar-5 class is equipped with very advanced defensive systems. However, these were not in operation at the time of attack, "



			
				winnipegoo7 said:
			
		

> Also, the Canadian navy sails with it's ops room and essential sensors manned 24/7.



Also wrong. What trade are you even? We sail all of the time with our ops room at minimum manning, and with many of our sensors switched-off. Sure, in a wartime scenario, it will be fully manned, but just like the INS Hanit, there are times when we wouldn't have all of our sensors up. Ever conducted a RAS?



			
				winnipegoo7 said:
			
		

> And why do you assume the ship would be in 'passive' mode?
> - that makes no sense at all



Actually, that makes perfect sense. One of the core doctrines of above water warfare is knowing when to go _active_. You want to be _passive_ for as long as possible, but too long and you're going to eat a missile, so it's a balancing game. The minute you go active, everyone knows where you are.


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