Ikara
The Australian-designed Ikara missile was a ship-launched anti-submarine missile, named after an Australian Aboriginal word for a "throwing stick". It launched an acoustical homing torpedo to a range of 10 km, allowing fast-reaction attacks against submarines at ranges that would otherwise require the launching ship to close for attack, placing itself at risk. Also, by flying through the air to the general area of the target, the engagement time was dramatically reduced, giving the target less time to respond.
Ikara was powered by a two-stage in-line solid-fuel Murawa rocket engine developed by Bristol Aerojet Ltd in the UK and was guided by radio command link until it reached the vicinity of the submarine, determined by the ship's sonar contact, where it would first jettison the rear ventral fin and torpedo rear covering and then release its Mk 44 or Mk 46 acoustically-guided ASW torpedo. The torpedo payload would descend by parachute while the missile itself was programmed to splashdown some distance away to avoid interference with the acoustic torpedo's seeker head. The torpedo would then begin either a circular- or snake-search pattern to find and lock-on a submarine contact.
The variant fitted to some of the Royal Navy's Leander class frigates differed in several respects from the original Australian version designed to operate in the Pacific. The Royal Navy required changes to the frequencies used, to enable Ikara to be used in the NATO area, where different electronic warfare conditions and international frequency agreements had to be taken into account. The Australian-built analogue computer system was incompatible with the ADA digital battle-control computers being fitted into RN ships, and this was also changed.
The UK-manufactured version of the Mk 44 torpedo also differed from the US-built version purchased by the Australians for their Ikara missiles. The British also required the missile payload to be changeable aboard ship to permit different payload combinations to be used, including a Nuclear Depth Bomb (NDB) option, and this, together with the different ship internal layouts required further changes to the missile, storage and handling arrangements.
Ikara was fitted to all of the RAN's River-class frigates and Perth-class guided-missile destroyers. It was also operated by the Brazilian Navy, Chilean Navy, Royal Navy, and Royal New Zealand Navy. It was phased out in the early 1990s.
Seen in the Cold War Hall at the RAF Museum's Cosford site in Staffordshire.
Ikara
The Australian-designed Ikara missile was a ship-launched anti-submarine missile, named after an Australian Aboriginal word for a "throwing stick". It launched an acoustical homing torpedo to a range of 10 km, allowing fast-reaction attacks against submarines at ranges that would otherwise require the launching ship to close for attack, placing itself at risk. Also, by flying through the air to the general area of the target, the engagement time was dramatically reduced, giving the target less time to respond.
Ikara was powered by a two-stage in-line solid-fuel Murawa rocket engine developed by Bristol Aerojet Ltd in the UK and was guided by radio command link until it reached the vicinity of the submarine, determined by the ship's sonar contact, where it would first jettison the rear ventral fin and torpedo rear covering and then release its Mk 44 or Mk 46 acoustically-guided ASW torpedo. The torpedo payload would descend by parachute while the missile itself was programmed to splashdown some distance away to avoid interference with the acoustic torpedo's seeker head. The torpedo would then begin either a circular- or snake-search pattern to find and lock-on a submarine contact.
The variant fitted to some of the Royal Navy's Leander class frigates differed in several respects from the original Australian version designed to operate in the Pacific. The Royal Navy required changes to the frequencies used, to enable Ikara to be used in the NATO area, where different electronic warfare conditions and international frequency agreements had to be taken into account. The Australian-built analogue computer system was incompatible with the ADA digital battle-control computers being fitted into RN ships, and this was also changed.
The UK-manufactured version of the Mk 44 torpedo also differed from the US-built version purchased by the Australians for their Ikara missiles. The British also required the missile payload to be changeable aboard ship to permit different payload combinations to be used, including a Nuclear Depth Bomb (NDB) option, and this, together with the different ship internal layouts required further changes to the missile, storage and handling arrangements.
Ikara was fitted to all of the RAN's River-class frigates and Perth-class guided-missile destroyers. It was also operated by the Brazilian Navy, Chilean Navy, Royal Navy, and Royal New Zealand Navy. It was phased out in the early 1990s.
Seen in the Cold War Hall at the RAF Museum's Cosford site in Staffordshire.