Page 10 - LIMA 2023 - DAY 2 | DAILY NEWS

PRIZED ASSETS
P R I Z E D A S SE T S

CHINA’S GROWING NAVAL MIGHT AND RUSSIAN

AGGRESSION AGAINST UKRAINE HAVE SPURRED

AN INCREASE IN DEMAND FOR ANTI-SHIP MISSILES.

The ongoing Russian aggression against with China conducted by the Center for which makes the Long-Range Anti-Ship
Ukraine has provided multiple instances Strategic International Studies (CSIS), in Missile (LRASM) and the Joint Air to
that prove how integral anti-ship missiles which 450 Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), has
are to the plans of militaries, especially (LRASM) and 400 Harpoon anti-ship opened a second production line to meet
in an era marked by nations assiduously missiles were among the missiles used, the increased demand for the missiles.
ramping up naval power. concluded that the U.S. would run out of the The company intends to double produc-
LRASM quickly, within the first few days of tion, from about 500 combined LRASM and
In April last year, Ukraine caught the world’s the war, while trying to stop the invasion. JASSM missiles, to over 1,000. According
attention it launched two home-made to budget justification documents, the Navy
Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles to sink the Still in Demand intends to buy 585 LRASM missiles in fiscal

Russian Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva. The demand for the tried and trusted 2024-2028, bringing the total number to
In June, the Ukrainian Navy struck another Harpoon isn’t slowing down. In April, the 833.
Russian vessel - the Vasily Bekh - near the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command signed
Snake Island in the Black Sea. The rescue a US$1.17 billion contract with Boeing Lockheed is also working on integrating the
vessel, which was reportedly transporting that involves delivering 400 mobile, land- LRASM, which is currently fielded on the
personnel, weapons, and ammunition to launched Harpoon anti-ship missiles to B-1B and F/A-18E/F, with the F-35 and the
the island, was hit twice by Boeing-made Taiwan, to help it counter the Chinese Navy’s P-8 Poseidon. Lockheed Martin is
Harpoon anti-ship missiles. Russia retal- threat. Taiwan is no stranger to the now exploring using HIMARS mobile-mis-
iated through missile strikes on the port Harpoon, having previously purchased the sile launchers to launch LRASMs; the
city of Odesa, an attack focused on taking ship-launched versions of the missile. In pairing is likely to prove effective in a range
out Western-donated anti-ship missiles that March 2022, Boeing won a US$498 million of scenarios, including conventional and
had thwarted an amphibious landing by its contract to supply Taiwan with a Harpoon asymmetric warfare.
troops in the region. In March this year, the Coastal Defence System launch equipment.
Russian navy flexed its muscle again, firing “By expanding LRASM’s platforms and
two Moskit supersonic anti-ship cruise mis- The Harpoon, in service with the armed capabilities, we are continuing to generate
siles at a mock target in the Sea of Japan. forces of more than 30 countries since flexible solutions for our U.S. and inter-
1977 and capable of executing both land- national partners to substantially deter
Ukraine’s success in keeping Russia at strike and anti-ship missions, has been conflicts” says Lisbeth Vogelpohl, LRASM
bay by deploying them is just one of the upgraded over the years. However, with the Programme Director.
reasons why anti-ship missiles have been growing complexities of modern warfare,
in great demand among militaries. With several navies around the world have initi- Proving Its Worth
China’s growing naval power and overall ated action to replace it with missiles that The Navy has another formidable anti-
military might intensifying regional ten- are stealthier and faster, and more suited ship weapon in its arsenal – the Standard
sions in the Indo Pacific region, there is a to the demands of the modern battlefield. Missile-6 (SM-6). According to Raytheon,
sense of urgency among countries in the the SM-6 is the only weapon that can
region to enhance military capabilities. LRASM Demand Grows perform anti-air warfare, ballistic mis-
The U.S. is also keen on keeping the Asian In the U.S., defence manufacturers are sile Defence and anti-surface warfare
powerhouse in check and stopping it from working to plug the demand vs supply gap missions. Although its main role is not
invading Taiwan. A three-week wargame of anti-ship missiles. Lockheed Martin, as an anti-ship missile, the Navy has on
10 MAY-24-2023 WWW.GBP.COM.SG/DAILY NEWS