The United States was the first country to start research on cruise missiles, and has carried out relevant research since the 90s of the 20 th century, and is now in a leading position in the world in terms of the level of research and development, the maturity of technology, and the scale, quantity, type, and actual combat experience of equipment.
Various platform models are fully developed
The main models of U.S. cruise missiles include: forward air support munitions launched by 127 mm naval guns, "Quick Look" reconnaissance cruise missiles launched by 155 mm howitzers, artillery wide area reconnaissance missiles (WASP) launched by 155 mm howitzers, disposable multi-purpose artillery cruise missiles launched by tank guns, "Ram" cruise missiles launched by "Net Fire" non-direct-aim fire systems, "Lokas" autonomous attack munitions system, "Juggernaut" cruise missiles, " Low-cost sustained area control" small ammunition, man-portable "switchblade" cruise missiles, etc.
After the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the Ukrainian army used the "Switchblade 300" and "Switchblade 600" series of cruise missiles aided by the United States to strike at the most valuable targets such as Russian commanders, armored vehicles and mobile air defense facilities, and achieved good results, showing a new combat method in the field of unmanned intelligence, which has attracted great attention from all parties. Previously, this series of cruise missiles was deployed to the battlefield in Afghanistan in the second half of 2011 to help the US military deal with ambushes in Afghanistan.
Multi-bomb cooperative combat mode
In terms of combat mode, as early as 2016, the United States has launched a project called Multiple Simultaneous Engagement Technologies (MSET), which aims to achieve multi-missile cooperative combat capabilities by 2024, providing small expeditionary forces with higher single-aircraft accuracy and long-range lethality, so as to achieve freedom of maneuver and then decisively defeat the enemy. The project aims to develop a cooperative operating system for ground combat units that lack aerial firepower or long-range artillery support, so that cruise missiles can have cooperative combat capabilities. In 2018, the project already had the ability to synchronize six missiles, and it is planned to increase the number of synergies to more than 20 in the future.
Along with the project, a project called the Single Multiple Mission Attack Missile (SMAM) was launched, in which soldiers use a commercial tablet-based controller to operate the SMAM. The system's bidirectional data link provides full dynamic** for active target identification. Once the target is in the field of view, the operator uses the tracking frame to select the target. The image processing software then automatically locks on and guides the missile to strike at the target without operator intervention. The operator is able to go-around the missile and redirect it to another target, which makes it very effective in urban combat, helping it avoid collateral damage. Once these two projects are put into the battlefield, they will provide the ground forces of the US military with long-range precision strike capabilities against armored and high-value targets in combat scenarios with high demand for autonomous capabilities, while improving the survivability of soldiers.
Differences with Russia, as well as from Israel
It can be seen that the development idea of the US Army's cruise missile coincides with the current model of Ukraine's use of switchblade cruise missiles, so the use of Ukraine in the current Russian-Ukrainian conflict can also represent the combat thinking of the US military to a certain extent. The Ukrainian army relied on Western assistance for cruise missiles and achieved certain results under the disadvantage of air supremacy. Due to the air supremacy is basically in the hands of the Russian side, the air-ground fire support provided by traditional air forces such as the Ukrainian armed forces and fixed-wing aircraft is very limited. In March 2022, the White House announced that it would provide Ukraine with 100 "Switchblade" 300 cruise missiles, and since then it has provided several batches, the number has reached 400. Since then, the more powerful Switchblade 600 and Phoenix Ghost cruise missiles have been offered. However, the models of these cruise missiles are only tactical, and the positioning of cruise missiles in the US military's operational thinking is only that of individual soldiers, which is used for accurate damage in close combat, and a larger range of damage is generally replaced by Seahorse or other aerial firepower. As a result, the U.S. Army has previously emphasized that the technology is used in "close-quarters engagements where air fire support is insufficient" when developing MSET, which shows the U.S. military's reliance on aerial firepower.
Corresponding to this is Russia's cruise missile development and combat strategy. Although the Russian army also has tactical-grade cruise missiles similar to switchblade positioning, it also uses campaign-level cruise missiles such as the Shahed-136, and the warhead weighs about the same as a 155mm howitzer, roughly half the weight of the guided rocket warhead used by the American Seahorse rocket launcher. Despite the fact that the warhead of a conventional cruise missile weighs only about 1 10, it is powerful enough to hit most soft targets, such as self-propelled guns and lightly armored targets. Despite the fact that the warhead of a conventional cruise missile weighs only about 1 10, it is powerful enough to hit most soft targets, such as self-propelled guns and lightly armored targets.
Israel's Harop large cruise missile is equipped with a small-displacement piston propeller engine, which can stay in the air for up to nine hours and have a maximum range of 1,000 kilometers. The cruise missile played a decisive role in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, posing a constant air threat to the Armenian army with its 9-hour cruise time and anti-armor capabilities, as well as destroying air defense systems and armored vehicles in conventional mechanized conflicts. Harop can independently detect and strike at radar and other electromagnetic radiation source targets, and can also attack non-electromagnetic radiation source ground targets, with the ability to repeatedly attack and strong survivability, its function has surpassed the general sense of cruise missiles, reaching the intelligence level of medium and large UAVs. In addition, Israel also attaches great importance to the intelligence of a single bomb in the research and development of other single-soldier cruise missiles, so as to adapt to the characteristics of frequent geopolitical frictions in its surroundings, small scale of the battlefield, complex terrain, and short duration of conflicts. (Beijing Lande Information Technology***.)
References
1] dan gettinger. one way attack: how loitering munitions are shaping conflicts. [eb/ol]. thebulletin.org. june 5, 2023.
2] inder singh bisht. us army orders switchblade loitering munition for tank-killing role. [eb/ol]. thedefensepost.com. october 16, 2023.
3] sam skove army looks to field loitering munitions next year. [eb/ol]. defenseone.com. december 13, 2023.