Vertical Launching System
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"VLS" redirects here; for the British satirist and critic often referred to as such, see Victor Lewis-Smith
A Vertical Launching System (VLS) is a type of missile-firing system used aboard the submarines and surface vessels of several navies around the world.
Derived from the launch systems developed for ballistic missiles aboard SSBNs, a VLS forms a scaled-down equivalent for launching cruise missiles such as the Tomahawk, surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), and the Standard missile. The system enables SSNs (nuclear-powered attack submarines) to carry more weapons in addition to their torpedo tubes. More significantly, VLSs allow both submarines and surface combatants to have more weapons ready for firing at a given time than with other launching systems. The drawback to a VLS is that, unlike torpedo tubes, it cannot be reloaded at sea without significant support from ships such as a submarine tender or a trip to a submarine base.
VLSs have found a role in Aegis-equipped surface ships on Arleigh Burke, Kongo, and KDX-III class destroyers, Ticonderoga class cruisers, and Alvaro de Bazán and Fridtjof Nansen class frigates. They have also been implemented on non-Aegis classes, such as the US Navy's Spruance class of destroyers, the Royal Navy's Type 23 frigates, the Royal Australian Navy's Anzac class frigates (and is currently being retro-fitted to four of its Adelaide class frigates), the Republic of Korea Navy's KDX II class destroyers, the People's Liberation Army Navy's Lanzhou class destroyer and the Indian Navy's Talwar (Krivak III) class frigates.
Hot launch and cold launch
Western VLSs have the missile cells arranged in a grid with one lid per cell and are "hot launch" systems, i.e. the engine ignites within the cell during the launch, and thus requiring complex exhaust piping for flames and gas, while Russia produces both grid systems and a revolver design with more than one missile per lid, and the People's Republic of China uses a circular "cold launch" system that ejects the missile from the launch tube before igniting the engine.The advantage the hot-launch system has over the cold-launch system is that it utilises the missile's own engine to propel the missile out of the launching cell, and this reduces the weight, the size, maintenance requirement, and the initial production cost of the system. The cold-launch system, in contrast, needs power sources other than that of the missile's own to propel it out of the cell, so additional space, weight, maintenance and cost are added.
The advantage of the cold-launch system is in its safety: should the missile engine malfunctioned while the warhead is armed to detonate during firing, the hot-launch system would be doomed, but the cold-launch system can still eject the missile out of the cell and eliminate or reduce the threat. For this reason, Russian VLS is often designed with a slanted angle instead of being perpendicular so that when the malfunctioned missile is ejected, it would fall into the water instead of landing on the deck. Another advantage of the cold-launch system is in its low life cycle cost of the launching tubes: since the engine starts within the tube in a hot-launch system during launches, the tubes of the hot-launch system can only sustain a limited number of launches, after which the tube must be replaced. A cold-launch system, in contrast, can last much longer because the tubes are not subject to the extreme heat blasts like that of the hot-launch system, because in the cold-launch system, the engine does not start until after the missile was ejected out of the tube.
International VLS System types
Europe
SYLVER
The SYLVER vertical launching system manufactured by DCN is being deployed on a wide range of European naval vessels, and like most western designs, it is a hot-launch system. Like the USA Mk 41 VLS, the Sylver VLS incorporates a shared flame and gas exhaust system, i.e. several launching cells share a single flame and gas exhaust system.The primary application of the launcher has been the MBDA Aster missile. The SYLVER, together with the Aster, is the primary component of the PAAMS naval anti-air warfare system to be fitted to British Type 45 destroyers and French and Italian Horizon class frigates. France's Charles de Gaulle nuclear aircraft carrier is fitted with four 8-cell SYLVER launchers carrying the MBDA Aster 15.
The French Navy has initiated studies to convert the SCALP EG missile to be capable of launch from the SYLVER. This missile, the SCALP Naval, would give France a land attack capability in the mould of the U.S. Tomahawk missile. It would also be attractive to the Royal Navy.
Sea Wolf
The Royal Navy utilises the GWS 27 version of the Seawolf SAM aboard its Type 23 frigates. This is a 32 cell VLS mounted on the foredeck just behind the 4.5in gun. This system, like all other western designs, is a hot-launch system. Unlike the Mk 41 VLS of USA, Sea Wolf VLS has a different flame and gas exhaust system in that each individual cell has its own flame and gas exhaust system: each cell contains four flame and gas exhause pipes which are arranged between the control surfaces of the Sea Wolf SAM, and as a result, the Sea Wolf VLS is only limited to launch Sea Wolf SAM, and thus less versatile than the Mk 41 VLS of USA or the French Sylver VLS.United States of America
The current generation of American-produced VLS system is known as the Mk 41 Vertical Launch System. It is capable of carrying an extremely wide range of missiles, including the Sea Sparrow naval self defense, short range SAM, SM-2 medium range/long range SAM, VLASROC anti-submarine missile with Mk-46 torpedo as warhead, very similar to the ASROC, and the Tomahawk Cruise Missile (long range anti-ship/strike). There are also plans to increase the number of missiles it is capable of carrying.
For American surface ships, VLS replaced the Armored Box Launcher system and the Mark-26 twin-arm missile launcher system that were previously used by United States Navy ships to fire missiles. All US Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyers and most Ticonderoga class guided missile cruisers utilize VLS-type launchers. Because of the practicality of the Mark 41 VLS, other US surface ships that had Armored Box Launchers or other horizontal firing systems have been retrofitted with VLS systems. In addition to surface ships, all Virginia-class submarines and USS Providence and later Los Angeles-class submarines have had VLS systems installed.
Russia
The Soviet/Russian SA-N-6 Grumble fitted to the Ushakov-class and the Slava-class uses a revolver-style VLS. The SA-N-6 Grumble VLS utilises cold launch method by adopting a coal-gas ignition system: the coal-gas within the ignition chamber directly below the cell ignites and thus sets the piston into motion, resulting in the SAM being ejected out of the cell. The system adopts a revolver design in which a cell contains 8 launching tubes, each containing a single missile, so that during the launch, the cell has to be rotated into the position in order to launch the SAM that is to be fired.The shorter-ranged SA-N-9 Gauntlet is another VLS missile, used on the Ushakov-class and the Kuznetsov-class aviation cruiser
People's Republic of China
PLAN Type 052C Lanzhou class destroyer (DDG) was the first Chinese ships to have VLS, which is the improvement of the Russian SA-N-6 SAM VLS, using the same coal-gas ignition method. The Chinese VLS eliminates the revolver design by providing a lid for every launching tube, which is capable of independently firing the missile inside because each has a coal-gas ignition chamber directly below. The result is simplified maintenance, decreased size, weight, and cost according to the Chinese claim. Due to the elimination of the revolver machanism, the power consumption is also reduced in comparison to the Russian revolver design according to the same claim.External links
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