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For other meanings, see Exocet (disambiguation).
Exocet

Type Medium-range anti-ship missile
Service history
In service 1979
Production history
Manufacturer MBDA's division Aérospatiale
Specifications
Weight 670 kg
Length 4. Anti-ship missiles are a Missile designed for use against Ships Most anti-ship missiles are of the Sea-skimming type and use a combination of MBDA is a missile manufacturer with operations in France, Germany, Italy and Britain. Aérospatiale was a French Aerospace manufacturer that primarily built both civilian and military Aircraft and Rockets The company was created in 1970 7 m
Diameter 34. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International 8 cm
Warhead 165 kg
Engine solid propellant engine
Wingspan 1. A propellant is a material that is used to move ("propel" an object 1 m
Operational
range		 70-180 km
Flight altitude 2 m
Speed 315 m/s
Guidance
system		 Inertial and active radar
Launch
platform		 multi-platform:
  • MM38 surface-launched
  • AM39 air-launched
  • SM39 submarine-launched
  • MM40 surface-launched

The Exocet is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, and airplanes. The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Anti-ship missiles are a Missile designed for use against Ships Most anti-ship missiles are of the Sea-skimming type and use a combination of Several hundred were fired in combat during the 1980s.

Contents

Etymology

The name comes from a French word for flying fish (Exocoetidae). The Exocoetidae or flying fish are a marine Fish family comprising about 50 Species grouped in 7 to 9 genera. However the origin of the word is one of:

Description

The Exocet is built by MBDA, a European missile company. MBDA is a missile manufacturer with operations in France, Germany, Italy and Britain. Development began in 1967 as a ship-launched missile named MM 38. The air-launched Exocet was developed in 1974 and entered service with the French Navy five years later. The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale ( National Navy) and often called La Royale ( The Royal Navy) is the maritime arm

The missile is designed to hit large warships. A warship is a Ship that is built and primarily intended for Combat. It is guided inertially in mid-flight, and turns on active radar late in its flight to find and hit its target. An Inertial Navigation System (INS is a Navigation aid that uses a Computer and motion sensors to continuously track the position orientation and Velocity Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic waves to identify the range altitude direction or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as Aircraft, ships Its solid propellant engine gives the Exocet a maximum range of 70 km. A solid rocket or a solid-fuel rocket is a Rocket with a motor that uses solid propellants ( Fuel / Oxidizer) The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand The submarine-launched version places the missile and a Naval booster motor within a launch capsule. A launch capsule is used to propel a Submarine-launched missile to the Ocean surface

The Exocet has been manufactured in a number of versions, including:

The newest MM40 version (MM40 block 3) has an improved range of 180 km through the use of a turbojet engine, and includes four air-intakes to provide continuous airflow to the engine during high-G manoeuvres.

The chief competitor to the Exocet is the U. S. -built Harpoon, the Chinese Yingji series, the Swedish built RBS15. The Harpoon is an all-weather over-the-horizon, Anti-ship missile system developed and manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Integrated The Yingji-82 or YJ-82 (鹰击-82 literally "Eagle Strike" NATO reporting name: CSS-N-8 Saccade) is a Chinese The RBS-15 (Robotsystem 15 is a long-range Fire-and-forget surface-to-surface and air-to-surface, Anti-ship missile.

History

Exocet missile impact
Exocet missile impact
Exocet launch
Exocet launch

Falklands Conflict

In 1982, during the Falklands War, Exocets became famous worldwide when Argentine Navy Super Etendard warplanes used one to sink the British Royal Navy's destroyer HMS Sheffield on 4 May, and 2 to sink the 15,000 tonne merchant ship ship Atlantic Conveyor on 25 May. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) The Falklands War (Guerra de las Malvinas/Guerra del Atlántico Sur also called the Falklands Conflict/Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic ( Armada de la República Argentina — ARA is the Navy WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) The sinking of HMS Sheffield British version At approximately 10 A Events 1256 - The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV History The Atlantic Conveyor was a 14950 tonne roll-on roll-off Container ship owned by Cunard. Events 1085 - Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo Spain back from the Moors. An MM38 Exocet transferred from the Argentine destroyer ARA Guerrico to a land-based truck [1] that damaged HMS Glamorgan on June 12. Falklands War campaign At the start of the Falklands campaign (2 April 1982 Glamorgan was already at sea off Gibraltar about to take part in exercises she Events 1381 - Peasants' Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath.

Argentina claimed that an Exocet-armed Super Etendard attack on May 30 damaged HMS Invincible. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Events 1416 - The Council of Constance, called by the Emperor Sigismund a supporter of Antipope John XXIII burns Jerome of Prague following History Invincible was built at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering. This claim is widely regarded as entirely unfounded, not least due to the continued operation of undamaged Invincible in the campaign. It should be noted that during the conflict the Argentinian military Government claimed incorrectly several times to have damaged several ships (with multiple previous claims for having damaged or sunk the carriers Invincible and the Hermes, the two most important British warships) and shot down Sea Harriers, due to some combination of the natural confusion of battle and propaganda purposes.

The Exocet that struck Sheffield impacted on 2 deck, 8 feet (2. 4 m) above the waterline, near to the forward engine room, cracking the hull open roughly 4 feet (1. 2 m) by 10 feet (3 m). It appears that the warhead did not explode. Accounts suggest that the initial impact of the missile immediately destroyed the ship's onboard electricity generating systems and fractured the water main, preventing the anti-fire mechanisms from operating effectively, and thereby dooming the ship to be consumed by the raging fire. Although the loss of Sheffield was a major shock to the British, the missile used earned itself a curious kind of respect, and the word “Exocet” passed into British colloquial usage to denote, “a devastating attack. ” It is still occasionally heard, and as of 2007, remains widely understood. The crew of Sheffield and members of the British Task Force were of the opinion that the missile had exploded, but the official report from the RN Board of Inquiry now available (2007) on the Internet states that from the evidence available the warhead did not explode. The damage caused was due to the large kinetic energy of the missile and the presence of unused missile fuel which ignited on impact. The kinetic energy of an object is the extra Energy which it possesses due to its motion

The Exocet that struck Glamorgan failed to explode, but the unburnt rocket fuel caused a significant fire. It is likely that Glamorgan was saved from complete destruction by the prompt action of the officers and men at the helm. The wheel of a Ship is the modern method of adjusting the angle of the Rudder, in turn changing the direction of the Boat or Ship. With less than a minute's warning that a missile was incoming, they ordered maximum revolutions and maximum wheel towards the missile. When the missile struck the ship was heeled far over to port and instead of striking the side the missile hit the coaming and was deflected upwards. Port is the nautical term (used on Boats and Ships) that refers to the left side of a ship as perceived by a person on board the ship and Coaming is any vertical surface on a ship designed to deflect or prevent entry of water The dent caused by the impact was clearly visible when Glamorgan was being refitted in late 1982.

In the years after the Falklands War it was revealed that the British government and intelligence agencies were extremely concerned by the perceived inadequacy of the British navy’s anti-missile defences against the Exocet and the missile’s potential to tip the naval war decisively in favour of the Argentine forces. The Secret Intelligence Service ( SIS) colloquially known as MI6 is the United Kingdom 's external Intelligence agency. In London, a nightmare scenario was being envisioned in which one or both of the UK force’s two aircraft carriers (HMS Invincible and HMS Hermes) would be destroyed or incapacitated by an Exocet attack. History Invincible was built at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering. Construction and modifications She was laid down by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness during WW II as HMS Elephant. Under such circumstances, military analysts considered that the British would have had much more difficulty in mounting an attack to recapture the Falklands. To counter the threat posed by the Exocet, a major intelligence operation was initiated to prevent the Argentine Navy from acquiring more Exocets. The operation included British intelligence agents claiming to be arms dealers able to supply quantities of Exocets to Argentina, diverting Argentina from pursuing genuine sources which could only supply a few missiles. France denied deliveries of recently-purchased AM39 to Peru in the belief that they would be given to Argentina. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America.

Middle East

USS Stark hit by two Exocets
USS Stark hit by two Exocets

Iraq fired an estimated 200 air-launched Exocets against Iranian shipping during the Iran-Iraq War with varying levels of success. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Tankers and other civilian shipping were often hit, but a large percentage failed to explode. US and UK EOD teams recovered several warheads and even some complete missiles from target ships.

On May 17, 1987, the pilot of an Iraqi Mirage F-1 allegedly mistook the U.S. Navy Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate USS Stark for an Iranian tanker and fired two Exocets at the warship. Events 1521 - Edward Stafford 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for Treason. Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Ships The ships were designed by Maine shipyard Bath Iron Works in partnership with New York-based naval architects Gibbs & Cox. Hanzo missed identifiershiptablefatestatus --> Missile attack Stark was deployed to the Middle East Force in 1984 and 1987 Both hit, but only one exploded. The first penetrated the port-side hull; it failed to detonate, but spewed flaming rocket fuel in its path. The second entered at almost the same point, and left a 3-by-4-metre gash then exploded in crew quarters. Thirty-seven sailors were killed and twenty-one were injured. Stark was heavily damaged, but saved by the crew and sent back for repairs. The errant pilot was reportedly executed for his error, which of course made him unavailable for an inquiry into the attack.

Trivia

In the late 1970's a civilian in Falmouth, Cornwall, England inadvertently recreated part of the Exocet's navigation system in his "Lokata Watchman", a small-boat navigation system. Falmouth (Aberfal is a town Civil parish and Port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, UK. The Lokata Company (pronounced low-kay-tah, "locator" was formed in the late 1970s in Falmouth, Cornwall, UK [2]

Operators

MM38 Exocet missiles on board German Navy S74 Nerz, Type 143A Gepard class fast attack craft
MM38 Exocet missiles on board German Navy S74 Nerz, Type 143A Gepard class fast attack craft
AM39 under a Dassault Rafale
AM39 under a Dassault Rafale

Current operators

Former operators

References

  1. ^ (Spanish) An interview with ARA CL (R) Ing. Julio Pérez, chief designer of Exocet truck-based launcher
  2. ^ [http://www.dsearleuk.force9.co.uk/ David Searle Electronics

External links

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