BAe Dynamics Sea Dart Surface to Air missile

Developed by Hawker Siddeley Dynamics as GWS-30 Ship borne SAM, under the codename CF.299 from 1962, Sea Dart arose from the SIGS study. SIGS stood for "Small ships Integrated Guided Weapons System". Sea Dart is a successful Mach 3.5 design that entered service with the Royal Navy on Type 21 and 22 destroyers in the 1970s. Later installed on the Invincible class carriers, but removed in the late 1990s. Used successfully in the Falklands to intercept high altitude aircraft at long range, forcing strike aircraft to attack at low altitude.

Mounted in pairs on trainable launchers, Sea Dart is boosted by a Chow solid rocket booster, but uses a Rolls-Royce (nee Bristol Siddeley Engines Ltd) Odin ramjet sustainer engine, which is integrated into the airframe. Sea Dart was to be capable of being handled like naval gun ammunition Sea Dart is fired from a trainable, launcher with automated loading allowing a high rate of fire. Its compact size (the boost fins on the Chow fold out on launch) and kerosene fuel allows it to be stored aboard ships for long periods with minimal maintenance.

 Land Dart was intended to replace the Army's Thunderbird force in the early 1960s, but was later proposed to replace Bloodhound in the 70s, but did not proceed beyond paper studies. The photo at left shows a model of a mobile containerised Lightweight Sea Dart / land Dart beside a drill round of Sea Dart. The seeker is fitted in the intake centrebody, and the four antennae around the intake lip.

A further project for Sea Dart was Guardian, which was a land based SAM project, again to replace Bloodhound. Guardian was to use a Plessey GF75 Panther surveillance radar.

This exhibit is on display at the Bristol Collection at Kemble Airfield.



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