Article

2003-10-21 Korea

Japan Suspects N. Korea Fired 2 Missiles

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Posted by Steve White 2003-10-21 1:46:06 AM|| || Front Page|| [2 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 I don't remember ever hearing of a silkworm sucessfully hitting a ship that it was aimed at but they are awful big and fly low. Wasn't the missile that hit the mall in Kuwaitt a silkworm?

Posted by Super Hose 2003-10-21 11:20:42 AM|| 2003-10-21 11:20:42 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 Yeah it was a silkworm SH. However, ships are moving targets, unlike a bridge near a mall.

Posted by Charles 2003-10-21 12:19:23 PM|| 2003-10-21 12:19:23 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 Charles, I don't know that a Silkworm could even hit a ship at anchor. It's like launching an unguided VW bug full of dynamite at an enemy.

I may be wrong about this, but if they were effective weapons, sales would be higher. I speculate that they are low fliers this giving them advantage over Scuds with respect to Patriot interception.

I wonder what the Iraqis were trying to hit. I will fear teh Silkworm when I see the video of one slamming into the side of a ship that is underway. Maybe Kim will provide the evidence of his highly sucessful test.

Posted by Super Hose 2003-10-21 12:52:28 PM|| 2003-10-21 12:52:28 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 silkworm hitting a ship - falklands/malvinas conflict maybe?

Posted by flash91 2003-10-21 12:59:09 PM|| 2003-10-21 12:59:09 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 Regards the test and assuming it was a success, which is a stretch, we'll just anchor our TLAM platforms 70 or 80 or 170 or 180 miles off the coast. Makes little difference, no?

Posted by .com 2003-10-21 1:07:52 PM|| 2003-10-21 1:07:52 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 I believe the Silkworm is a derivative of the
Styx... an early Soviet anti-ship missle. It indeed hit a ship at anchor.... an Israeli destroyer no less... The Indians also had some success with it against fixed harbor installations in Karachi in the last war. But mind you this was the real Soviet McCoy.

Posted by Shipman 2003-10-21 1:12:53 PM|| 2003-10-21 1:12:53 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 As I recall, Iran had Silkworms on it's coast in GWI and the US Navy was QUITE concerned about them - maybe an artifact of the lack of searoom to maneuver in the Gulf?

Posted by Mercutio 2003-10-21 1:34:22 PM|| 2003-10-21 1:34:22 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 Yeah - the Gulf is relatively small and very shallow. In the case of NorK, this is not a problem.

Posted by .com 2003-10-21 2:09:44 PM|| 2003-10-21 2:09:44 PM|| Front Page Top

#9 The major worry with the Silkworm sites in Iran was that they are located near teh straights of Hormuz between Iran and Oman - a chokepoint. Not a big deal for the Navy ships, but at the time my ship was escorting "American-flagged" tankers out of Kuwaitt through the straights. It wears on the nears to be parked next to a floating supertanker in a missile engagement zone.

Posted by Super Hose 2003-10-21 3:09:02 PM|| 2003-10-21 3:09:02 PM|| Front Page Top

#10 Supe... thanks for the clarification.

Was it no big deal for the Navy ships because of point defenses or lack of accuracy on the part of the Silkworm? Given the news that came out in GWI, I, and a lot of non-military types were under the impression that the Silkworm was a badass piece of hardware.

Posted by Mercutio 2003-10-21 5:15:36 PM|| 2003-10-21 5:15:36 PM|| Front Page Top

#11 The missles used in the Falklands were Exocet missles.

Posted by redclay 2003-10-21 5:36:54 PM|| [http://www.deadjournal.com/users/redclay/] 2003-10-21 5:36:54 PM|| Front Page Top

#12 I believe the Silkworm is a derivative of the
Styx... an early Soviet anti-ship missle. It indeed hit a ship at anchor.... an Israeli destroyer no less... The Indians also had some success with it against fixed harbor installations in Karachi in the last war. But mind you this was the real Soviet McCoy.
I think the Indians also took out a Pakistani frigate & a minesweeper with Styx missiles. IIRC at least one tanker was hit by Iranian Seersuckers (longer range version of Silkworm aka HY-2) during the Iran-Iraq war & during GW1 an Iraqi TELAR fired an apparently defective Seersucker at the USS Missouri. HY-2 packs quite a punch (~400 kg warhead) but they're old & lumbering & if I was buying anti-ship missiles today I'd probably go for something like Yakhont or Sunburn, something fast that can do the old terminal weave malarkey.

Posted by Dave 2003-10-21 6:48:07 PM|| 2003-10-21 6:48:07 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 Mercutio, my trip to the gulf was during the period just before Iraq invaded Kuwaitt. Things had smoothed out considerably along the Iranian coast at the time and the US was attempting to reduce our naval presence in the gulf. The Iranians were behaving because we had whacked them pretty well.

We were aware of the silkworm sites but naievely thought that all the countries in the gulf were interested in continuing the status quo.

I believe Dave is correct about the Silkworm being an offshoot of the Styx. They are big, but I don't believe they have sophisticated guidance. They might be able to hit a tanker, but their guidance system is probably still based on a 70's Soviet design.

The French Exocet missiles are much smaller , but would worry me much more. They fly low to a programmed area and then search for, acquire and attack whatever they lock onto in the area - before you can react.

You might knockout a cruise missile like an Exocet, Harpoon or Tomahawk, but probably only if your defense systems are in automatic mode. Ships have systems that can react in automatically in way very simular to the Patriot batteries.

US Navy ships don't often sail with weapons systems in automatic. That's why the Stark ate two Exocet missiles from an Iraqi plane during the Iran-Iraq War.

If the NK is shooting Exocets, then we need to get teh word out to the American public.

Posted by Steve D 2003-10-21 7:38:10 PM|| 2003-10-21 7:38:10 PM|| Front Page Top

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