RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile

RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile
A RIM-116 being launched from USS New Orleans in 2013.
Type	Close-in weapon system
Place of origin	Germany and United States
Service history
In service	1992–present
Used by	§ Operators
Production history
Designer	General Dynamics (now Raytheon) and Diehl BGT Defence
Designed	1976
Manufacturer	General Dynamics (now Raytheon) and Diehl Defence
Unit cost	US$998,000 (FY2014)[1] US$905,330 (FY2021) (average)
Produced	1985–present
Variants	§ Variants
Specifications
Mass	5,777 kg (12,736 lb) (launcher) 73.5 kilograms (162 lb 1 oz) (missile)
Length	2.79 m (9 ft 2 in) (missile)
Diameter	127 mm (5 in) (Block 1 missile) 159 mm (6.25 in) (Block 2 missile)
Wingspan	434 mm (17.1 in)
Warhead	Blast fragmentation warhead
Warhead weight	11.3 kg (24 lb 15 oz)
Engine	Hercules/Bermite Mk. 36 Solid-fuel rocket
Propellant	Solid
Operational range	9 km (5.6 mi)
Maximum speed	In excess of Mach 2 (1,500 mph; 2,500 km/h)
Guidance system	Three modes: passive radio frequency/infrared homing, infrared only, or infrared dual mode enabled (radio frequency and infrared homing)
Accuracy	Over 95%
Launch platform	Mk 144 Guided Missile Launcher (GML) of the Mk 49 Guided Missile Launching System (GMLS)

The RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) is a small, lightweight, infrared homing surface-to-air missile in use by the German, Japanese, Greek, Turkish, South Korean, Saudi Arabian, Egyptian, Mexican, UAE, and United States navies. It was originally intended and used primarily as a point-defense weapon against anti-ship missiles. As its name indicates, RAM rolls as it flies. The missile must roll during flight because the RF tracking system uses a two-antenna interferometer that can measure phase interference of the electromagnetic wave in one plane only. The rolling interferometer permits the antennas to look at all planes of incoming energy. In addition, because the missile rolls, only one pair of steering canards is required.^[2] As of 2005^[update], it is the only U.S. Navy missile to operate in this manner.^[3]

The Rolling Airframe Missiles, together with the Mk 49 Guided Missile Launching System (GMLS) and support equipment, make up the RAM Mk 31 Guided Missile Weapon System (GMWS). The Mk-144 Guided Missile Launcher (GML) unit weighs 5,777 kilograms (12,736 lb) and stores 21 missiles. The original weapon cannot employ its own sensors prior to firing, so it must be integrated with a ship's combat system, which directs the launcher at targets. On U.S. ships, it is integrated with the AN/SWY-2 Ship Defense Surface Missile System (SDSMS) and Ship Self-Defense System (SSDS) Mk 1 or Mk 2-based combat systems. SeaRAM, a launcher variant equipped with independent sensors derived from the Vulcan Phalanx CIWS, is being installed on Littoral Combat Ships and certain Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.