Information AboutGoalkeeper Ciws |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT GOALKEEPER CIWS | |
| naval anti-aircraft guns | |
| rotary cannons | |
| close-in weapon systems | |
| military robots | |
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Goalkeeper is a Dutch Close-in Weapon System , the purpose of which is to defend a Ship against incoming Missile s and ballistic shells. The system consists of an Autocannon and an advanced Radar which tracks incoming fire, determines its trajectory, then aims the gun and fires in a matter of seconds. The system is fully automatic, needing no human input once activated. The name comes from the Soccer position. The system is made by Thales Navy Netherlands, and over 50 have been produced. The system can also be deployed to protect Airfield s. __NOTOC__ DEVELOPMENT Development of the system began in 1975 with Signaal (now Thales Nederland ) working with General Electric , who supplied the GAU-8 gun. A prototype, the EX-83 was first demonstrated to the Royal Netherlands Navy in 1979. The system entered service with the Royal Netherlands Navy in 1980. Goalkeeper is fitted in two Royal Navy vessels; HMS Illustrious and HMS Invincible . DESCRIPTION The system first acquires a target using the 2D X-Band search radar, which can track up to 18 targets at once. The engagement radar is then slewed to the heading indicated by the search radar. The engagement radar operates in both X-Band and Ka-Band , this enables the engagement radar to use the search radars signal to find the target quickly without additional searching, also data from the X-Band and Ku-Band return signals can be compared to increase resistance to ECM and clutter. The engagement radar is also backed up by an optical system. The GAU-8/A Avenger 30 mm gun, as used by the A-10 Thunderbolt II was selected for the system, primarily because although the muzzle velocity and range are similar to the M61 Vulcan the projectiles are much heavier (430 grams compared to 100 grams). This is critical because Supersonic missiles that are damaged may still have enough momentum to hit the ship—the only way to ensure the protection of the ship is either detonate the warhead of the missile or obliterate the missile. The systems reaction time to a Mach 2 sea-skimming missile from automatic detection to kill is reported to be 5.5 seconds with the engagement starting at a range of 1500 m and ending with a kill at 300 m. The Chinese appear to have developed a very similar weapon, possibly a copy, called the '' Type 730 ''. SPECIFICATIONS
COMPARISON TO PHALANX The Phalanx CIWS system is another system that is widely used in the same role, there are several key differences between the two systems:
USERS Royal Netherlands Navy , British Royal Navy , South Korean Navy . EXTERNAL LINKS
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