PATRIOT- Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept Of Target.


  The MIM-104 Patriot is the most advanced medium/long-range surface-to-air missile in current operational U.S. Army inventory, and is the only SAM to have intercepted ballistic missiles in combat. The Patriot system, complemented by the new PAC-3 missile, will remain the Army's main tactical air-defense system for some time in the future.
  Studies for an advanced surface-to-air missile to supplement and eventually replace the MIM-23 Hawk already began in 1961 under the FABMDS (Field Army Ballistic Missile Defense System) program. The name was later changed to AADS-70 (Army Air-Defense System - 1970), and finally in 1964 to SAM-D (Surface-to-Air Missile - Development). Specifications were vague and changed frequently, but always included not only the ability to counter aircraft threats of all types, but also an anti-TBM (Theater Ballistic Missiles, a.k.a. short-range ballistic missiles) capability. In May 1967, Raytheon was selected as prime contractor for SAM-D development, and firing trials of SAM-D test missiles began in November 1969. The engineering development phase began in 1973, but in January 1974, a major change in the requirements occurred. It was directed that SAM-D should use Track-Via-Missile (TVM) guidance, i.e. target tracking information is not received by the ground radar directly, but by the missile which transmits it to the ground control station. Because the missile is always nearer to the target than the ground radar, this method significantly enhances accuracy and the ability to discriminate decoys from the real threat. This new requirement of course significantly delayed the development, and full-scale development didn't start until January 1976, after TVM had been demonstrated in tests in 1975. Around that time, the official designation XMIM-104A was assigned, and in May 1976, SAM-D was named Patriot. Testing of the missile and the Patriot ground equipment continued through the late 1970s, and in October 1980, the first production contract for the MIM-104A Patriot missile was issued. In 1984, the Patriot finally reached Initial Operation Capability with its first U.S. Army units.
  The MIM-104A missile is powered by a single Thiokol TX-486-1 solid-fueled rocket motor, and armed with a high-explosive blast-fragmentation warhead. The missile is launched from canisters, four of which make up the M901 launching station transported on an M860 semi-trailer. In mid-course, the Patriot is inertially guided with command updates, and for the terminal phase a semi-active radar homing guidance with TVM is employed. The main item of the ground equipment is the AN/MPQ-53 G-band pulse-doppler phased-array multipurpose radar, which is controlled by the AN/MSQ-104 ECS (Engagement Control Station). The ECS is the central control agency for all missiles of a Patriot unit, and automatically coordinates the assignment of missiles to identified targets, and the launches of the individual missiles. The AN/MPQ-53 is used for tracking, IFF, and target-illumination purposes, and also includes the command uplink and TVM downlink channels. The TVM guidance method is particularly efficient in long-range and/or low-altitude engagements, when the ground radar can "see" much less of the energy reflected from the target than the MIM-104's monopulse seeker. Then the "radar image" in the missile's seeker can be used, together with the high computing power of the ECS, to discriminate decoys and calculate the interception path. At the interception point, the missile's warhead is detonated by a radar-proximity fuze.
  The MIM-104B, fielded in the late 1980s, is also known as the SOJC (Standoff Jammer Countermeasures) missile and uses a modified guidance and navigation hardware. The MIM-104B adds a surface-to-surface capability against ground-based radar jamming sources to the Patriot system. The missile can fly an optimized (lofted) trajectory towards the jammer, and use its seeker to select the strongest emitter for terminal homing. The anti-aircraft/anti-missile capability is the same as for the MIM-104A.
  The most important changes to the Patriot system were made by the PAC (Patriot Advanced Capability, originally Patriot Anti-TBM Capability) program. The interim PAC-1 modification, first flight tested against an MGM-52 Lance target missile in September 1986, incorporated only software changes to the search and track algorithms and the phased-array radar (the maximum elevation angle of the latter was increased from 45° to almost 90°). Because the Patriot missile itself was unchanged, no new MIM-104 designation was allocated. The first PAC-1 systems were fielded in July 1988.
  The PAC-2 upgrade includes further software changes, and an improved MIM-104C missile. The MIM-104C has a blast-fragmentation warhead with larger fragments (45 g compared to 2 g for the MIM-104A/B warhead) to increase lethality against ballistic missile warheads. It also has a new pulse-doppler proximity fuze with two beams, a narrow one for missiles, and a broader one for slower aircraft targets. The first test firing of an MIM-104C (against another Patriot missile!) occurred in November 1987, and the first PAC-2 systems were delivered to the field in late 1990. During Operation Desert Storm (ODS) in 1991, PAC-1 and PAC-2 systems were used against Iraqi "Al-Hussein" (modified SS-1 Scud) SRBMs. In most of the ODS engagements, two missiles were automatically fired at an incoming target. The success rate was not bad, but not as overwhelmingly good as the first reports suggested. Furthermore, the "Al-Hussein" was far from the state-of-the-art in missile and countermeasures technology.
  The ultimate PAC-3/Conf.3 includes radar upgrades to increase detection in high-clutter environments, an to improve discrimination of closely spaced objects (better decoy recognition). The most important feature of this new Patriot system, however, will be a completely new missile, a variant of the Lockheed-Martin ERINT (Extended Range Interceptor) commonly called PAC-3 (which is a bit confusing because the interim PAC-3 systems don't use this missile). The PAC-3 missile is highly optimized for the anti-missile role (employing a hit-to-kill capability enhanced by a fragmentation warhead), so that operational PAC-3 Patriot units will probably be equipped eventually with both MIM-104D and ERINT/PAC-3 missiles. The latter is significantly smaller than an MIM-104, so that 16 missiles instead of four can be carried in a single launch station. ERINT was first flight-tested in 1992, and selected as the ultimate PAC-3 missile in 1994. The PAC-3/ERINT integration tests took place from 1995 to 1997, and the missile is currently in LRIP (Low Rate Initial Production) status. The operational testing phase began in late 2001, and Initial Operational Capability is currently planned for 2003 (four years after the originally planned date). However, the operational tests in the first half of 2002 were only partially successful, and the decision for full-rate production, initially expected for mid-2002, may be postponed. The PAC-3/ERINT was also selected as the missile component of the joint US/European MEADS (Medium Extended Air Defense System).


MIM-104A/B

Length   : 5.31 m (17 ft 5 in)
Finspan: 84 cm (33 in)
Diameter: 41 cm (16 in)
Weight: 900 kg (2000 lb)
Speed:  Mach 5
Ceiling:  24000 m (80000 ft)
Range:  70 km (43 miles)
Propulsion: Thiokol TX-486-1 solid-fueled rocket

Dosta jak sistem ali su imali ipak teskoca oko gadjanja ciljeva u prvom ratu protiv Iraka.

Imali su dosta, dosta poteskoca.Cak se govori da su imali jako mali ucinak tokom rata, tacnije, da su jedva imali neki uspesan pogodak.

Pa to sve stoji, ali je tada u upotrebi bio sistem Patriot PAC-2. Danas je u upotrebi poboljsana verzija PAC-3., koja mislim da nije do sada borbeno upotrebljavana.
Vecina ovde misli da su ruski sistemi iz familije S-300 daleko bolji od americkog Patriot sistema, ali ruski sistem do sada nikada nije upotrebljen u pravim ratnim uslovima, vec samo na vojnim vezbama. Ako S-300/400 nekada bude bio upotrebljen u ratu, onda ce se videti dali je i koliko efikasan.
Jedno je sigurno, nijedan PVO sistem koji je do sada napravljen, ne moze da pruzi 100% zastitu vazdusnog prostora.

Po istrazivanju nezavisne komisije koje je izvrseno posle zalivskog rata 1991,doslo se do neverovatnog podatka da sistem Patriot nije uspeo da unisti ni jedan Scad projektil.

Ја чуо исту информацију. Али сам чуо и да су Скадови једни од најједноставнијих балистичких пројектила!

Ja cuo isto!!! Americki strucnjaci ( ne Rusi ili Nijemci, Francuzi ili nasi ) tvrdili su da je kompletan Patriot sistem neefikasan, u jednoj reportazi koju sam vidio na njemackoj tv.

Oko svega se bila digla velika frka u SAD pa je sam razvoj novih sistema Patriot doso u pitanje.Da u igri nisu bile ogromne pare i lobiranje ko zna kako bi se sve zavrsilo.