Competing with SPYDER, the US shows off its "strange" SLAMRAAM version
The SPYDER air defense missile system developed by Israel is being seen as a model for bringing air-to-air missiles to the ground.
Currently, the SPYDER-SR/MR air defense missile systems produced by Israel's Rafael Defense Industries have attracted many orders worldwide, proving that the trend of using air-to-air missiles for ground-based deployment is consistent with military doctrine.
Faced with Israel's success, many other countries have also implemented similar solutions, typically the French VL-MICA complex with Mica IR and Mica RF bullets with similar features to Python 5 and Derby.
Not only that, the Americans also entered the market with the AIM-7 Sparrow, MIM-72 Chaparral and especially SLAMRAAM complexes.
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| SLAMRAAM self-propelled air defense missile system made in the US. |
SLAMRAAM (Surface-Launched AMRAAM) is an American medium-range surface-to-air missile system developed based on the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile.
The SLAMRAAM system has many variants integrated into different launch vehicles from fixed to mobile. When launched from the ground, the AIM-120 missile only has a range of 25 - 40 km compared to 55 - 180 km when launched from the air.
The most common variant of SLAMRAAM is CLAWS (also known as HUMRAAM) which includes a launcher carrying 4-5 AIM-120 missiles integrated on the HUMVEE armored vehicle or ZRK SLAMRAAM with AIM-120 missiles mounted on the FMTV medium tactical vehicle.
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| SLAMRAAM version equipped with 2 types of missiles AIM-120 and AIM-9 |
However, unlike VL-MICA or SPYDER, which are equipped with both types of missiles with active radar seekers and infrared seekers to customize for each specific case, the SLAMRAAM complex only uses the AIM-120 AMRAAM radar-guided missile, so its flexibility is quite limited.
The US has previously been loyal to separating the two types of missiles AIM-9 and AIM-120 for different air defense systems, while AIM-120 is the weapon of SLAMRAAM, AIM-9 is only equipped for the MIM-72 Chaparral complex.
But given the current trend, the US has been forced to integrate the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile into the SLAMRAAM system so that it has similar features to French or Israeli products.
The new generation of the US SLAMRAAM system with two types of ammunition, AIM-9 and AIM-120, allows users to consider using each type of ammunition for different types of targets with different mobility and combat conditions. This variant is expected to be a major competitor in the weapons market in the future.
