Aerial drones fired by the Houthi are straining the ability of our Navy to protect the sea line of communication through the Red Sea. And Iran's massed drone and missile attack on Israel required lots of expensive defensive systems to smash up. Could a combination AWACs/missile truck plane provide a cheaper defense than expensive Standard missiles launched from surface ships?
We're expending expensive missiles that can't be reloaded at sea to knock down Houthi anti-ship drones and ballistic missiles. What if an enemy more capable than the Houthi fight our ships near their shores? And don't forget that if the Houthi keep shooting at us, one will eventually get through from error or bad luck--or just probability over a long enough period of time.
And the Iranian attack on Israel dramatically showed that massed drone and missile strikes are a threat to land targets, on top of the routine Russian use of such weapons against Ukraine.
The Kamikaze experience in World War II forced the Navy to adapt. The Navy needed advanced warning and lots of fighter planes and anti-aircraft weapons to knock down these human brain-directed cruise missiles. Electronic brains mean more of those cruise missile-type weapons can be fired.
America developed AWACS from the civilian 707 to create the most effective airborne early warning plane that could also control the air battle (our first early warning plane emerged in World War II using modified Avenger torpedo planes).
The Navy P-8 armed anti-submarine and patrol plane is based on the 737. It can search and strike.
I've addressed the idea of airborne missile trucks and wondered if the B-1 bomber could be used for air defense work--an AABONE.
Why not combine all of them on a civilian airliner? We're shrinking the electronics so that the early warning and control can be put in smaller planes. So there would be room for weapons, too. And they could be linked with other planes and with more conventional assets given that shooters and sensors can be separated.
For the Vampire ground-based anti-drone system, we have developed smaller air-to-air rockets--APKWS 70mm laser guided rockets--that are cheaper than the sophisticated air-to-air missiles:
These weigh only 15 kg (32 pounds) each and have a range of about a thousand meters when fired from the ground. Vampire can be used to detect and fire APKWS laser guided rockets at air and even ground targets. Any UAV, cruise missile or helicopter within range is vulnerable. Vampire is designed to be reconfigured, which is the kind of system Ukrainians prefer. The Fletcher launcher is designed to use the new, longer range APKWS rockets that gain additional range by having a larger rocket motor which makes the APKWS longer.
The rocket can go nearly 7 miles when fired from aircraft. A lot could be packed into a commercial airliner converted to an air defense aircraft, right? There could also be a smaller number of longer-range sophisticated air-to-air missiles carried.
Such a plane based on land air bases could provide protection for warships sailing close to shore where massed drones and rockets could be fired at the ships.
And they could be used as a mobile reserve to protect ground targets as well, which both Israel and Ukraine demonstrate is necessary. They'd certainly be cheaper than using fighter planes and lots of advanced missiles.
Call it A-Whacks.
I'll pause while you applaud. Really, I'm flattered. Don't. Stop. Okay, don't stop.
But the name will go nowhere. My brilliant suggestions have never gone anywhere.
Although of course the cost of attack drones versus defensive systems isn't the only cost-effectiveness angle. You have to consider the cost of what you are protecting. But a cheaper and more easily replenished weapon is an advantage in a long campaign.
And as long as I'm on this general topic. Could aerial drones be used for defending against incoming missiles? Funny enough, I discovered an earlier entry into that suggestion.
Anyway, the A-Whacks and point defense drones would all be part of a layered defense in depth that should also include knocking out the missile launchers on the ground before they are fired.
UPDATE: Timely:
The US Navy now has a shortage of air and space defense missiles, especially the SM-6 missiles that can be used against aircraft, ballistic missiles, other ships, and even low earth orbit satellites. These missiles were used at a high rate during the recent actions in the Red Sea to prevent Iran-backed Yemen Shia rebels from hitting commercial ships with Iranian missiles. SM-6 missiles were used to intercept the Iranian missiles fired at ships.
NOTE: The image was made from DALL-E.
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
NOTE: I'm adding updates on the Last Hamas War in this post.
