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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Royal Navy trials new missile to target small boats in wake of tensions with Iran
2019-07-20
[Telegraph] The Royal Navy has trialled a new missile to target small boats in the wake of tensions with Iran.

HMS Sutherland, a Devonport-based Type 23 Frigate, fired four new Martlet missiles at a fast-moving speedboat off the Welsh coast to see whether the weapon could be launched from a ship as well as a helicopter.

The target boat took a direct hit in the Irish Sea.
That's near the stern
Carrying a 3kg warhead, the missiles can accelerate rapidly up to one-and-a-half times the speed of sound and are guided to their target by following a laser beam fired from the ship or other assets nearby.

Designed to be fired by Wildcat helicopters, the Martlet – also known as the Lightweight Multi-role Missile - is undergoing trials prior to coming into service.
Posted by:Skidmark

#7  How about a couple of boats towing a wire between them?
Posted by: gorb   2019-07-20 21:49  

#6  Pour "get the shitbags' attention"
Posted by: M. Murcek   2019-07-20 17:32  

#5  If they actually have any shipyards or dry docks totally destroy those too.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2019-07-20 17:30  

#4  Just sink the entire iranian navy now. The usual suspects will bitch but will also be shown to be powerless.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2019-07-20 17:29  

#3  Difficult tech problem. That's why it's so considerate of the Persians to volunteer for the beta test.
Posted by: Mercutio   2019-07-20 16:04  

#2   guided to their target by following a laser beam fired from the ship or other assets nearby.

Trying to keep a laser pointer on a little boat moving at high speed, bouncing along on the waves... sounds challenging. I would naively think some sort of electro-optical guidance would be handy for fire-and-forget. Especially against a swarm of boats.
Posted by: SteveS   2019-07-20 12:43  

#1  
They can't be less useless than the 50Cal machine guns I see on you tube firing away in practice using sppedboats for targets.
Posted by: Roger Smith   2019-07-20 12:33  

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