Sea Sparrow firing a first for RAN
HMAS Warramunga tests a complete success... She will undertake further trials on the Pacific range later this year

Exiting HMAS Warramunga’s vertical launch system the ESSM begins the run to altitude and the Kalkara towed drone. The missile recorded a hit and then proceeded to execute it’s self-destruct sequence perfectly.

In January HMAS Warramunga (CMDR Ian Middleton successfully fired the Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) against a towed target off the West Australian coast.

The Warramunga firing was the first outside the USA, the first from a manned ship using a non-Aegis combat system and the first to test the ESSM’s self-destruct capability. The firing followed a series of test firings from the US Navy’s Self Defence

Test Ship and a risk reduction firing from the USS Shoup last July.

More than four months went into planning and preparation for Warramunga to embark the missile with assistance from the RAN Test Evaluation Acceptance Authority (RANTEAA), RAN Range and Assessment Unit (RANRAU), Systems Command, ESSM Project staff and the Kalkara Flight.

The next big step was getting the missiles on board, in particular dealing with the weight of the Mk 25 Quad Pack, which contains four missiles. With the assistance of a portable 50 tonne crane the pack was successfully loaded into Warramunga’s Vertical Launch System (VLS) Module.

Preparations were made by RANRAU and DSTO to set up equipment to record every aspect of the firing. High-speed cine and still cameras were secured to record the launch while telemetry equipment was installed both on the ship and at the shore monitoring site to record data from the missile during its flight.

With a number of sea riders on board, including personnel from RANTAU, RANTEAA, SAAB and CEA and in the Western Australia Exercise Area (WAXA) tracking runs and firing drills were conducted and all systems were checked.

Then just after sunrise on Tuesday January 21, range clearance was conducted and the count down for the firing began. More tracking runs were conducted, systems confirmed as ready and the order was sent to the Kalkara flight to launch the target. Many of the crew not directly involved with the firing gathered on the flight deck to observe the firing first hand.

The Kalkara drone climbed to its designated height and once ready streamed the towed target. The operations room team identified the target and Kalkara, locked on and assigned ESSM to the incoming threat. As soon as the target was within range the PWO ordered “Engage Hostile with ESSM” and seconds later the missile was launched. The missile exited the launcher and pitched over perfectly towards the target; homing in and passing close enough to the target to ensure a “kill” was recorded. The missile then continued in flight and successfully proved the self-destruct capability. Celebrations were in order for all the crew of Warramunga and those involved in the ESSM project — the first firing of an ESSM by an RAN ship was a complete success.

• By SBLT Simon Franklin & CMDR Vaughn Rixon

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