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Surface Vessel Weapon System Blue Spear 5G SSM |
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| 10/26 |
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Blue Spear is an advanced and versatile 5th generation Surface to
Surface Missile that performs long range precision strikes against
ship and land targets in complex scenarios and all weather
conditions. In 2020, Israel's IAI and Singapore's ST Engineering started a 50/50 joint venture company called Proteus Advanced Systems to develop, produce and market an improved Gabriel V variant called the Blue Spear missile system. The missile is produced in a factory in Singapore and has both sea and land attack capabilities with enhanced maneuverability for littoral and cluttered environments. The warhead employs an active radar-homing seeker, accurate INS-based navigation capabilities, beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) capability, two-way datalink for in-flight course correction or retargetting (("fire and update"), and a robust GPS system which is immune to GPS disruptions and maximal accuracy target acquisition. For land attack missions, the Blue Spear has a terrain-following capability without the need for INS / GPS satellites guidance, with terminal homing being aided by an active radar seeker. The system is equipped with a variety of deception means to achieve its mission and cope with the different battle-field challenges. ST Engineering's role in the Blue Spear's development includes the design, development and production of major subsystems like the booster motor and warhead. An 8x8 truck-mounted variant was made for the Estonian Defence Forces was delivered in 2021. The missile has a hardened casing for the radar seeker, guidance system and warhead which would allow increased survivability against close-in weapon systems (CIWS) gun rounds and air-defence artillery. It has a maximum range of 290 km (flight profile not mentioned). The cost of each missile is about $5 million. As part of the class's mid-life upgrade from 2028, ST Engineering will install the Blue Spear missile on the Republic of Singapore Navy's six Formidable class frigates as a replacement for the American Harpoon missile. Blue Spear has also been chosen for the Victory class MRCV. Janes has reported that the locally produced Singaporean non-export model of the Blue Spear has a striking range of 320 km. There could also be other variations to other specifications such as warhead size, electronics, speed, etc. Specifications: Weight: ? Length: 5.5 meters excluding booster Diameter: 45 cm Wingspan: ? Warhead: 150 kg high-explosive insensitive warhead Operational range: 156 NM (290 km) Speed: high sub-sonic speed (Mach 0.85) Flight altitude: 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) Guidance system: Fire and Forget (FAF) and Fire and Update (FAU) modes Inertial Navigation System (INS), Global Positioning System GPS, Active Radar Seeker, Two-way Data Link source: wikipedia, IAI |
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   Blue Spear 5G anti-ship missile system (SSM) - land based, on truck  Estonian MoD infographic |
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