Punch from the water.

Navies have always had the power to influence land operations directly, but never before has there existed either the variety of weapons or their ability to strike into the very heart of even the greatest land power.

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Naval Surface Fire Support (NSFS) is the traditional means by which navies have supported armies and the firepower provided could be quite awesome. The most important factors in NSFS are weight of fire and range, the latter a major factor, for ships can rarely operate closer than ten kilometres off shore due to the combination of sandbanks, reefs and enemy fire.

Most warships have a gun armament of which the smallest suitable for NSFS is the Oto Melara 62 calibre 76 mm gun or 76/62 in Compact and Super Rapid versions with the former produced by United Defence as the Mk 75, while the latest version of the Mk 45 seen on this page features a 62-calibre barrel with extended range. These are some of the most common gun mountings in the world and may be regarded as the leading medium calibre general-purpose mounting. Their rate of fire is up to 85 and 120 rounds-per-minute respectively for the Compact/Mk 75 and the Super Rapid. But their rounds weigh less than 12.5 kilograms with a range of less than 16 kilometres, which restricts their NSFS effectiveness.

Truly effective NSFS in terms of weight of fire and accuracy is more effectively sought in what might be described as heavy calibre guns, i.e. those greater than 100 mm. The French and Russian Navies both adopted weapons in 100 mm; the French with a 55-calibre weapon and the Russians with their AK 100 in 70 calibres.

The French DCN 100 TR gun, based on a variety of mountings and used inter alia on the La Fayette class, fires a 13.5-kg round to 17.5 kilo-metres, while the Russian weapon fires a 15.6 kg round up to 20 kilometres at a rate of fire of 45 rounds/minute. The Russians have produced a lighter version of the AK 100 as the A-190E, which can fire 80 rounds/minute.

The British 4.5-inch (114 mm) Mk 8 Mod 0 mounting is the final development of a series with roots that extend back before the Second World War. This gun can fire a 21 kg round 22 kilometres at the rate of 25 rounds-per-minute while the updated Mod 1, with stealth gun shield and hydraulics replaced by electrical systems, can be used with the new High Effect/Extended Range round to reach out to 27 kilometres.

The truth is that the future of NSFS is with larger calibre weapons. The 5-inch (127 mm) 54-calibre weapon is the current top of the range model and is produced by both Oto Melara, as the Compatto (with a lightweight Alleggerito currently completing development), and United Defense as the Mk45. Where smaller weapons fire unitary rounds, in which the projectile and the charge are in a single unit, these guns fire semi-fixed ammunition--13.8 kilogramme projectiles with separate charges--to distances up to 23 kilometres. The most significant difference is the rate of fire; 16 to 20 rounds-per-minute for the Mk 45 and 45 for the Oto Melara mount.

These weapons are formidable assets in the NSFS role but that role is itself adapting to new circumstances. With the greater emphasis upon littoral operations ground forces are now seeking naval fire support for units up to 100 kilometres from the coast. The 75 to 100-kilometre goal is sought because at those ranges warships can conduct counter-battery fire until the ground forces' organic artillery can be brought ashore.

The Europeans and Americans are pursing this goal along two paths. Oto Melara is working on the Vulcano programme based upon a sub-calibre sabot round. The two-stage programme for both the Italian and Dutch navies is initially based upon an unguided projectile with only half the explosive of conventional projectiles but a barrel to increase range with conventional ammunition to 37 kilometres with the first of these mountings, the Mk 45 Mod 4, installed in the Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) in March 2001. Long-range ammunition is being developed for the new mounting. From Raytheon TI comes the rocket-propelled Extended Range Guided Munition (Ergm), a 50-kilogram projectile that is to reach between 100 and 120 kilometres.

This ammunition has suffered prolonged development problems but it is hoped low initial rate production will begin in 2005. Meanwhile, ATK is developing for 54-calibre weapons the Extended Range Munition (ERM), a guided projectile with aero-dynamic surfaces and which may also be used in 62-calibre mountings. Testing will begin in 2005 and in October the ERM and ERGM will have a comparative shoot-out.

Armies have largely standardised upon 155 mm (6.1-inch) ammunition and the introduction of similar gun systems has been the Holy Grail of naval gunners for some 20 years. United Defense is developing the Advanced Gun System (AGS) for the DD(X) and CG(X), the 62-calibre gun being contained in an external stealth container until used. It will fire 113.4-kilo-gram conventional and guided ammunition up to 185 kilo-metres but at 300 tonnes the AGS is too large and too heavy for most warships, although a lighter version is being considered.

European manufacturers have considered navalising a turret from a self-propelled gun system but only Rheinmetall's PzH 2000 has gone beyond the concept stage. As

the Monarc (Modular Naval Artillery Concept) this 52-calibre mounting has been installed in a frigate to demonstrate the concept and development is continuing. At some 20 tonnes (excluding the below-deck equipment) it is a more practical solution for most navies than AGS and with conventional ammunition will have a range of 36.5 kilometres. As with all proposals based upon self-propelled guns this will require the development of a modified charge system.

Another example of a land-to-sea transition was recently provided by Patria in Finland, which has installed its twin-120 mm barrel Amos mortar turret straight onto a Docksvarvet fast patrol boat and tested it. The land-based Amos turret has been selected by Finland, is being evaluated by Sweden and has been shortlisted in the United States for the Future Combat System in co-operation with AAI.

An alternative proposal from BAE Systems RO Defence, incorporated in a package to upgrade the Royal Navy's remaining Mk 8 Mod 0 range of 70 kilometres. The second stage (Vulcano II) will be a new guided sub-calibre projectile with aerodynamic surfaces to provide a range of more than 115 kilometres. Plans also exist to provide a 64-calibre barrel for the Alleggerito mounting to support the Vulcano II.

The United States is also adopting a twin track approach to upgrading the gun then the ammunition. The first stage has been to introduce a 62-calibre mountings, is to convert the Mk 8 to accept initially a 39-calibre 155 mm gun and then a 52-calibre one. The 155TMF (Third generation Maritime Fire support) would involve a new gun shield for higher firing angles and some modification in the ammunition handling system but the basic Mk 8 mounting is compatible with the 155 mm gun.

Missiles

To strike command as well as production centres deep in hostile territory the missile is the most effective means of attack from the sea. These missiles, which are usually sub-sonic, need to augment their inertial guidance systems with some form of terrain comparison sub-system as well as an electro-optical or millimetric wave sensor to confirm the accuracy of the mission and for bomb damage assessment. Guidance is increasingly being augmented with some form of satellite navigation system receiver. These missiles also need a dedicated mission planning system with access to extremely accurate 3D mapping data.

Originally designed to be launched from submarine torpedo tubes and conventional vertical launcher cells, the Raytheon Tomahawk is the doyen of these weapons and the new version, Block IV (formerly Tactical Tomahawk), was accepted into service with the US Navy in October 2004. The Tomahawk weighs 1202 kilograms and approaches the target by hugging the terrain. The Block IV is designed to be substantially cheaper than its predecessors, replaces a turbo-fan with a turbo-jet, but retains a 454-kilogram unitary or submunition warhead depending upon the perceived mission.

Successor systems are being considered and an even lower cost Affordable Missile with a 750 to 1100-kilometre range using commercial-off-the-shelf products is being developed by Titan.

Europe's equivalent of the Tomahawk will be MBDA's Scalp Naval, a reconfigured version of the Scalp/Storm Shadow air-launched missile. A risk-reduction study will be completed in May 2005 with a full-scale engineering development and initial production contract anticipated in 2006. The missile is expected to enter service in the French Fremm AVT in 2011 and in Barracuda submarines by 2013. There are hopes of selling the weapon to the Royal Navy for the FSC, to the Italian Navy for the general-purpose Fremm and to the Spanish Navy for the S-80A submarines.

The missile will weigh about 1300 kilograms and will have a range of some 1000 kilometres, although consideration is being given to incremental improvements including higher energy fuel and a new engine. Another improvement might be the provision of a two-way datalink to re-target the missile in flight. No warhead has been selected but penetrators to pierce 'hard' targets seem the primary candidate.

The Russian equivalent from the Klub family is the 3M54E1 missile which is derived from the Russian Navy's Tomahawk equivalent; the 3M70 Vulkan (SS-N-21 'Sampson'). This is a 1750-kilogram weapon with a range of 300 kilometres and 450-kilogram high explosive war-head. It may be launched from surface (Klub-N) or sub-surface (Klub-S) combatants.

The Klub family is actually marketed as an anti-shipping system, and certainly the 3M54E version appears to be designed to meet this requirement.

But Klub illustrates the fact that the distinction between land-attack and anti-ship missiles is becoming increasingly blurred.

Several anti-ship missile systems currently being marketed have been given the ability to attack targets in the seeker-complex coastal-water environment with its myriad sensor returns from both land and sea. The first into service is the Boeing Harpoon Block II; a 690-kilogram weapon available new or as an upgrade. With a guidance package that exploits the Joint Direct Attack Munition (Jdam) technology and satellite navigation it can deliver a 224-kilogram warhead up to 125 kilometres. It remains primarily an anti-ship weapon whose enhancements allow it to strike targets even tied up pier-side but it may also be used against land targets near the sea.

The guidance package is inadequate for ground-hugging approaches and it still relies upon an improved radar seeker which forces the missile to adopt a course clear of natural obstacles and makes it vulnerable to missile defences. But a limited land-attack capability remains valuable and further enhancements to the missile under consideration include a two-way datalink that would allow the weapon to be controlled from a manned aircraft patrolling nearby.

The substantially enhanced MBDA Exocet Block III will have a similar capability to Harpoon Block II and replaces the traditional rocket motor with a turbojet that extends the range to 180 kilometres. The Block III, which will enter service with the La Fayette class frigates in 2007, is 100 kg lighter than the 870-kilogram Block II weapon. The warhead will be the same 165-kilogram pay-load as in earlier weapons, but the new missile will be compatible with the weapon control and launcher systems of earlier Exocets.

IMI in Israel is currently introducing the surface-launched Ddilah-SL, which mainly differs from its air-launched counterpart in its having a booster. This cruise missile's primary role is also anti-ship, but has a man-in-the-loop capability that enables it to be redirected on clearly identifiable coastal targets. It has a launch-climb-dive range of about 140 nautical miles, but will more typically perform a climb-loiter-dive flight profile out to a range of about 80 nautical miles.

The Indo-Russian PJ-10 BrahMos, which is scheduled to enter service with the Indian Navy in 2005, is a 3000-kilogram supersonic (Mach 2.8) weapon which has also been designed for the anti-ship role but is also capable of being used for land attack. Powered by a ramjet and with radar guidance it has a range of 300 kilometres and is a descendent of the P-700 Granit (SS-N-19 Shipwreck) and NPO Mashinostroyenia SS-N-26 Yakhont. India is known also to be developing a submarine-launched land-attack missile as Sagrika with a range of 300 kilometres but there are few details available.

An alternative seeker technology to radar is found in electro-optics and Kongsberg Defence's Nyt Sjolmalsmissil (NSM) with imaging infrared seeker also offers a limited land attack capability, which qualified it as a contender for the German K130 corvette main armament. The 412-kilogram missile features a 120-kilometre range and a 120-kilogram warhead, but because it was designed for use within archipelagos it has a better terrain-following capability than most missiles. It will equip the Norwegian Nanscn class frigates and some fast attack craft.

It was beaten for the K130 order by the Saab Bofors RBS 15, which has a radar seeker but was designed for a similar form of operations as the NSM and has similar capabilities. A dedicated land attack version has been considered for some time and during the autumn development has reportedly begun. Although initially air-launched the manufacturers are looking at sea-launched versions with dual-mode seeker consisting of low probability of intercept radar and an imaging infrared sensor.

Both China and Taiwan are reported to be developing land-attack missiles, and at the 2004 Berlin Air Show, Raytheon proposed a land-attack version of its Netfires battlefield missile system. The genie is well out of the bottle and there is not the slightest doubt that over the next two decades every navy worth its salt will acquire some form of land-attack missile capability.