RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile

For the earlier weapon named Ram, see Ram (rocket).

RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile
A RIM-116 being launched from USS New Orleans in 2013
TypeClose-in weapon system
Place of originGermany and United States
Service history
In service1992–present
Used by§ Operators
Production history
DesignerGeneral Dynamics (now Raytheon) and Diehl BGT Defence
Designed1976
ManufacturerGeneral Dynamics (now Raytheon) and Diehl Defence
Unit cost
  • US$998,000 (FY2014)[1]
  • US$905,330 (FY2021) (average)
Produced1985–present
Variants§ Variants
Specifications
Mass
  • 5,777 kg (12,736 lb) (launcher)
  • 73.5 kilograms (162 lb 1 oz) (missile)
Length2.79 m (9 ft 2 in) (missile)
Diameter
  • 127 mm (5 in) (Block 1 missile)
  • 159 mm (6.25 in) (Block 2 missile)
Wingspan434 mm (17.1 in)
WarheadBlast fragmentation warhead
Warhead weight11.3 kg (24 lb 15 oz)
EngineHercules/Bermite Mk. 36 Solid-fuel rocket
PropellantSolid
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)
AccuracyOver 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, 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.

  1. ^ "United States Department Of Defense Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Request Program Acquisition Cost By Weapon System" (pdf). Office Of The Under Secretary Of Defense. March 2014. p. 63. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 March 2023.
  2. ^ Elko, Emily C.; Howard, James W.; Kochansk, Richard C.; Nguyen, Thu-Phuong T.; Sanders, William M. "Rolling Airframe Missile: Development, Test, Evaluation, and Integration" (PDF). Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest, Volume 22, Number 4 (2001). Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 January 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  3. ^ Norman Polmar (2005). Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet. The Naval Institute. p. 519.