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Naval Forces News - USA |
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Littoral
Combat Ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) Conducts Live Fire Test of Guns and
SeaRAM |
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Littoral
Combat Ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) successfully tracked and neutralized
both single and multiple fast inshore attack craft during live-fire
testing off the coast of California July 18-22. It also demonstrated
the ability to counter incoming anti-ship missiles when it successfully
executed the first even at-sea demonstration of the SeaRAM Point-Defense
Weapon System on August 14. |
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 PACIFIC OCEAN (April 23, 2014) The littoral combat ships USS Independence (LCS 2), back, and USS Coronado (LCS 4) are underway in the Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Keith DeVinney/Released) |
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The
ship’s crew and embarked surface warfare (SUW) mission package
(MP) detachment conducted test events using the ship’s core weapons
system — the Mk 110 57mm gun—and the embarked SUW MP Mk
46 30mm gun weapon systems (GWS) against a “swarm raid”
of representative fast inshore attack craft. In a swarm raid, multiple
enemy ships attempt to attack a ship using large numbers of smaller
craft. The test validated the accuracy and capability of the ship’s weapons systems against representative attack craft in an operationally realistic scenario. This test is part of a larger series of test and trial events which will culminate this fall in the Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) of the Independence-variant LCS operating with a surface warfare mission package. IOT&E is a major developmental milestone for defense systems, confirming a system is operationally effective as designed and built. The Navy completed Freedom-variant testing last fall aboard USS Fort Worth (LCS 3). |
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USS Coronado LCS 4 30mm and 57mm Live Fire Test against Swarm Raid. US
Navy video |
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“After
extensive testing, the Mk 110 serves as a powerful deterrent capability
in protection of both the USS Coronado’s crew and those of her sister
littoral combat ships,” said the ship’s commanding officer,
Cmdr. Peter Kim. “The Mk 110 paired with the surface warfare mission
package expands the ship’s ability to defend against threats faced
in a global environment and testing further proves these weapons systems
are highly-capable and versatile against multiple representative fast
attack craft.” The Mk 110 is an adaptable weapons system capable of firing up to four rounds per second. The gun is also capable of using programmable, proximity-fuzed smart ammunition, which features six selectable modes of fire. The Mk 50 gun mission modules are designed to destroy enemy small boats by direct fire, complementing the ship’s 57mm gun by covering a different attack range and angle. Enclosed in the MK 50 Mod 0 GMM structure, is the MK 44 Mod 2 30mm automatic gun in a MK 46 turret. The gun can be fired in single shot, five-round bursts, and unlimited length bursts at a rate of 200 rounds per minute. To optimize accuracy against small, high-speed targets, the gun system uses a forward-looking infrared sensor, a low light television camera, and laser range finder with a closed-loop tracking system. |
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USS Coronado LCS 4 live fires SeaRAM for the first time. US Navy video |
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On
August 14, LCS Crew 204 successfully executed the first ever at-sea demonstration
of the SeaRAM Point-Defense Weapon System. Coronado's Combat Systems Team
shot down a BQM-74E utilizing the RIM-116 Blk1A/SeaRAM missile off Pt.
Mugu. This test validates the LCS-2 Variant's Core self-defense capability
and further demonstrates the ship's effectiveness against high-end missile
threats. Intended to enlarge Phalanx's keep-out range against evolving anti-ship missiles, rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft and other threats, SeaRAM uses advanced Phalanx Block 1B sensors and replaces the gun with an 11-round Rolling Airframe Missile guide. SeaRAM is aboard the USS Independence (LCS 2) and USS Coronado (LCS 4), and will soon be in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Link to Independence class Littoral Combat Ship technical datasheet |
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