Wasp to Counter Warpac Forces

To stop this immense wall of armour a number of defensive anti-armour systems are employed by the West. Tank vs tank, man-portable weapons, land mines and finally, and most effectively, aircraft.

Aircraft though are vulnerable to a wide array of closely knit and cleverly integrated SAM batteries and ZSŪ mobile radar-guided cannons. Additionally, the Warpac forces can field twice as many tactical aircraft including more than 2500 MiG-21 and MIG-23 fighters to harass attacking NATO ground support aircraft. No doubt, providing only conventional weapons are used, the quality of the equipment and the superior training of Western pilots would eventually show through, though the operation a Soviet commander would be perceiving would be of no more than four to six days’ duration, sufficient time for the armoured juggernaut to overwhelm most of Western Europe.

If aircraft are the most effective overall weapon against massed armour then they are also the most vulnerable. To acquire targets accurately the attacking aircraft must not approach the target area too fast or too low, if it does, it may overshoot or not even bring its weapons to bear upon their intended targets. To fly slower and higher to achieve greater accuracy against mobile targets the attacker is exposing itself to a greater number of anti-aircraft systems. The problem is partially solved by using PGMs or Precision Guided Munitions, laser-guided smart weapons that have kill ratios of as high as 95%. Unfortunately, the targets still need to be actively designed and the smoke and haze of battle can often seriously depreciate the effectiveness of using laser guidance. In many cases therefore it is unavoidable to fly directly into the armoured columns to achieve any measure of success. The casualties would be high, probably in excess of 50% in many cases, and the true result of such actions would ultimately be counterproductive to NATO. Aircraft and highly skilled aircrew are simply too valuable to waste on such suicidal tactics.

A possible solution to this problem is currently well down the line though. Since 1980 Hughes Aircraft Company has been working in conjunction with the USAF’s anti-armour weapons system programme to develop an entirely new-concept weapon that will allow aircraft to attack tank formations without entering their support units’ lethal fire zone. Called Wasp, the system is based on a small missile that is fired from the launch aircraft beyond the visual range of the anticipated targets, the Wasp missile then heads into the target zone, loiters in search of an individual target and attacks. The beauty of the system though is that a single underwing pod can ripple launch up to twelve Wasp missiles, allowing tactical fighters the opportunity to destroy armoured formations at a safe distance while still retaining a measure of defensive weapons for the air defence role. A single F-16A can carry up to 24 Wasps, an A-10 up to 48 Wasps and an F-111F up to 48 also. Other NATO aircraft such as the Harrier, Alpha Jet, Tornado, Jaguar and Mirage 5 are also being cleared for Wasp.

The system itself is very simple. The missile is a conventional airframe missile featuring a cruciform wing and tail. It is equipped with a millimetre-wave (MMW) radar seeker and target-detecting/acquisition electronics with a lock-on-after-launch (LOAL) capability. It is preprogrammed to recognise and attack certain targets and to execute terminal flight manoeuvres so as to impact the more vulnerable areas of the acquired target. Tanks for instance are most vulnerable to vertical dive attacks upon their turrets. Target destruction is accomplished by a hit-to-kill shaped-charge warhead. Electronic Counter Counter Measures (ECCM) capabilities are incorporated in the electronics design to counter Soviet jamming efforts.

The beauty of Wasp though is that not only is it a fully autonomous launch and leave missile but it also comes as a completely self-contained pod. The missile is what is termed a ‘wooden’ round and requires no assembly, checkout, nor pre- mission maintenance. The pod, containing 12 Wasp rounds, is constructed of aluminium with a frangible nose and anti-drag tail fins. Essentially it looks a little different from a large underwing fuel tank. Interface functions between the missiles and the pod, and the pod and the aircraft are accomplished by the launch control electronics and reporting unit in the aft end of the pod. The pods are jettisoned after expenditure allowing the launch aircraft to completely ‘unload” and return to base with its own air-to-air missile capability intact in the event of it encountering hostile aircraft on the return leg of the mission. In this way the attacking aircraft does not always require escorts in the traditional manner, freeing top cover aircraft such as the F-15 Eagle to specialise in the air-superiority role.

The WASP programme is divided into three phases. Validation, full Scale Development (FDS) and Production. The Validation phase commenced in 1980 and ran through till early this year and included captive flight tests and single-missile launches from F-16A aircraft. The FDS portion of the programme runs through till 1986 at which time series production will commence. The production phase will include deliveries of production quantities of tactical missiles and pod launchers. In addition, the missiles and pod-launchers will be integrated with; flight-tested on; and qualification launches performed from F-16, A-10, F-111F, F-4, A-7D and a number of allied NATO aircraft. It is planned that the Wasp system will be fully operational and entering service by 1987.

The Wasp delivery concept provides maximum protection for the launch aircrew from enemy defences. The aircrew can navigate at a very low level to a predetermined launch point without having to see the target. The missile(s) with automatic search, track, and lock on-after-launch capabilities needs no further help from the aircrew after launch to find and destroy the targets.

Each Wasp missile is assigned a specific attack mode prior to launch. At launch and after the end-of-motor burn, the missile will climb or descend to a search altitude and look for targets. The Wasp digital processor will control all flight and target search, acquisition and tracking functions. The sustainer motors will be ignited when required to sustain minimum flight speed. After confirmation of lock on, the missile will perform a diving attack on the target. The contact fuse will arm the warhead and detonate the warhead instantly on impact, thereby providing the lethal energy to destroy the target.

Hughes engineers have been captive flight testing the all-important Wasp seeker since July 1981. During the highly successful tests, the seeker was mounted under the fuselage of a Sabreliner 40 research aircraft. The crew flew the aircraft over the test areas at representative speeds and altitudes, leaving the sighting of targets entirely to the millimetre wave seeker. Typical results were that during a number of passes of a multiple target area the seeker locked on to different targets on each successive pass, thus simulating individual Wasps during a typical swarm attack.

The results achieved to date are extremely encouraging. Indeed they will certainly necessitate a re-think of Soviet armoured tactics in view of the autonomous characteristics of the Wasp missiles and their surprise attack value in hitting Soviet armoured columns when perhaps they least expect it.

Such a weapon, and indeed its core seeker technology, could well influence any invasion scenario whether it be by sea or by land forces traversing terrain. One wonders, just as an academic point of interest, what would have been left of the British San Carlos invasion fleet if Argentinian aircraft had been able to launch such a missile well outside the effective range of the fleet’s SAMs. Certainly, a single Wasp is not big enough to sink a frigate-sized vessel, but it can certainly cause much damage, particularly if pre-targeted on the known ‘soft’ areas of the ship.

Technology is permitting the use of ever more effective, simple and accurate weapons that do not need, in the long term, super-powers to own and operate them. Certainly though, if the balloon goes up in Europe, a lot of pilots will live to fly another day through the employment of missiles such as Wasp.