BRIEFING: SeaRAM combines the Ku-band high-resolution search-and-track radar of the MK 15 Phalanx Close-in Weapon System (CIWS) Block 1B Baseline 2 and the thermal imager of the Block 1B with the extended range, high maneuverability and accuracy of the RIM-116A RAM system. The SeaRAM system replaces the CIWS 20mm gun with an 11-round RAM launching guide, enabling the system to engage higher speed, more maneuverable anti-ship cruise missiles and surface targets at longer ranges. The benefits of SeaRAM include eliminating or simplifying combat-system integration, providing firm track ranges that support maximum range RAM engagements and achieving rapid reaction time by coupling high-rate sensors into the RAM launcher. SeaRAM has been installed on the Independence-class LCSs.
BRIEFING: The SEQ- 3 is a prototype directed-energy weapon system that uses a solid-state laser to disable or destroy aerial and surface targets such as unmanned aerial vehicles and fast attack craft. The laser is controlled at a single console.
The 30-kilowatt SEQ- 3 was developed as a Quick-Reaction Capability by the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The laser was tested at sea in 2012 onboard the destroyer USS Dewey. ONR’s Solid-State Laser Maturity Program is developing more capable directed-energy weapons through industry teams led by Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems and Raytheon. One design will be selected in 2015 for demonstration in 2016. The Navy plans to install the weapons on littoral combat ships, destroyers and other ships in 2016.
The SEQ- 3 was installed in mid-2014 on the forward superstructure of the Navy’s interim Afloat Forward Staging Base ship USS Ponce, based in the Persian Gulf.
BRIEFING: The 5-inch/54-caliber Mk45 Mod 2 gun mount is a lightweight, single-barrel, fully automatic gun system that provides surface ships with a weapon for firing 70-pound projectiles at surface craft, low-altitude aircraft and shore targets. It serves as the main gun battery aboard destroyers and cruisers. The battle stations of the six-man gun-mount crew are below the weather deck. In a tactical emergency, one crew member can activate the mount and rapidly aim and fire up to 20 conventional rounds. The Mk45 gun mount also has been manufactured for the Australian, Turkish, Hellenic, New Zealand and Thai navies.
The U.S. Navy developed modifications to the Mk45 Mod 2 gun — a 5-inch/62-caliber Mk45 Mod 4 gun — designed to meet emerging requirements for highly accurate, longer-range fires by employing the Extended-Range Guided Munition (EX 171 ERGM). The ERGM, designed by Raytheon to reach ranges up to 63 nautical miles, was canceled in 2008 because of development problems. In 2008, the Navy, in conjunction with Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK), completed a demonstration of the rocket-powered Ballistic Trajectory Extended-Range Munition, which reached ranges in excess of 50 miles.
A 5-inch version of the Long-Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) is being developed to give the Mk45 the ability to strike targets at ranges that exceed 50 nautical miles. The Mod 4 gun is being installed on the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers from DDG 81 forward. In addition, Mk45 guns onboard some Ticonderoga-class cruisers are being modified to the Mod 4 configuration under the Cruiser Modernization Program.