From Tony Buttler’s British Secret Projects, Hypersonics, Ramjets and Missiles
From the early 1970’s HSD had been pursuing the development of a dogfight AAM call QC.434. A successor to Taildog; suffice to say it became the subject of a naval air defence study called SHIELD.
Ship Installed Equipment for Low-air Defence (SHIELD), was an HSD study for a SAM system to protect small ships from low-altitude threats, particularly sea-skimming missiles. The Admiralty had produced Naval Staff Target NST.6452 as a Sea Cat replacement for ships too small to carry GWS.25 Sea Wolf and even for vessels as small as 200 tons.
The initial research comprised a passive IR detection system called Montana with box launchers holding modified QC.434 missiles. Modifications included increasing the IR seeker sensitivity by a factor of five. The system worked automatically, with the launchers slaved to the incoming threat prior to the launch of the missile. Later proposals included vertical launch, particularly relevant when QC.434 already possessed thrust vector control. The passive detection system was to be based on the Montana surveillance system developed for warships by ASWE. SHIELD went no further than project studies, as an alternative close-in defence system would carry the day in the post-Falkland War era.
QC.434 seems to have had a length of around 2.7m and a diameter of around 16.5cm, does anyone know what kind of range was expected from the air-launched version and what was hoped for the sea-launched version?
How many missiles would have been in the box launcher?
Does anyone know why studies went no further – Sea Wolf, Phalanx?
From the early 1970’s HSD had been pursuing the development of a dogfight AAM call QC.434. A successor to Taildog; suffice to say it became the subject of a naval air defence study called SHIELD.
Ship Installed Equipment for Low-air Defence (SHIELD), was an HSD study for a SAM system to protect small ships from low-altitude threats, particularly sea-skimming missiles. The Admiralty had produced Naval Staff Target NST.6452 as a Sea Cat replacement for ships too small to carry GWS.25 Sea Wolf and even for vessels as small as 200 tons.
The initial research comprised a passive IR detection system called Montana with box launchers holding modified QC.434 missiles. Modifications included increasing the IR seeker sensitivity by a factor of five. The system worked automatically, with the launchers slaved to the incoming threat prior to the launch of the missile. Later proposals included vertical launch, particularly relevant when QC.434 already possessed thrust vector control. The passive detection system was to be based on the Montana surveillance system developed for warships by ASWE. SHIELD went no further than project studies, as an alternative close-in defence system would carry the day in the post-Falkland War era.
QC.434 seems to have had a length of around 2.7m and a diameter of around 16.5cm, does anyone know what kind of range was expected from the air-launched version and what was hoped for the sea-launched version?
How many missiles would have been in the box launcher?
Does anyone know why studies went no further – Sea Wolf, Phalanx?
