In case you haven't seen this, the Navy has begun testing Raytheon's Griffin mini-missiles for use in defending its ships against swarms of explosive-laden, fast-moving small boats. Yes, the Griffin is already being used in combat with great success by the Marines aboard their KC-130 Harvest Hawks that are pinch-hitting as gunships. As you know, the sea service is planning on installing theGriffin aboard the Littoral Combat Ships to, well, protect them against swarms of small boats, among other things.
Here's Raytheon's announcement of the successful tests:
he U.S. Navy proved the ability of Raytheon Company's Griffin B missile to engage rapidly moving small boats during a recent live-fire demonstration."This demonstration shows the Griffin missile's effectiveness in engaging the type of small, fast-moving boats used by swarming threats and pirates," said Harry Schulte, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems' Air Warfare Systems product line. "Griffin is fully developed, in production, lightweight, precise, and can be easily integrated on a wide variety of vessels, making it an excellent weapon for near-term threats."
During the demonstration, which took place late in the first quarter of 2012, three Griffins were fired from a sea-based launcher at three separate speeding-boat targets more than 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) away. The weapons were guided by laser, and scored direct hits on the target, achieving all demonstration objectives.
About the Griffin
The Griffin missile is in production and integrated on the C-130 Harvest Hawk. The combat-proven Griffin A is an aft-eject missile designed for employment from non-conventional platforms such as the C-130 aircraft. Griffin B is a forward-firing missile that launches from rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft and ground-launch applications.The Griffin enables the warfighter to engage targets via a user interface and guide the weapon to the target using GPS coordinates or laser designation. To maximize lethality, the user can choose to engage the target with height of burst, point detonation or fuze delay.
- Griffin is 43 inches long, weighs 33 pounds and has a 13-pound warhead.
- Griffin has been fired from C-130 platforms and, most recently, from a modified RAM launcher.
- Griffin has a proven track record of successful rapid integration.
