Sidewinder first gives gunners a buzz
In a world-first, Australian Army soldiers fired one of the most battle-tested and lethal air-to-air missiles from a national advanced surface-to-air missile system (NASAMS) Hawkei high-mobility launcher at Woomera Test Range in May.
CAPTION: Soldiers from the 16th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, load Sidewinder missiles on a NASAMS High-Mobility Launcher at Woomera Test Range, South Australia. Story and photos by Corporal Jacob Joseph.
Australia is one of only three countries to have fired an AIM-9 Sidewinder from NASAMS and the only one to fire it from a high-mobility launcher (HML).
The launcher, from 16th Regiment, was a modified Hawkei protected mobility vehicle-light, capable of carrying up to six Sidewinders or AIM-120 Advance Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM).
The Sidewinder is more manoeuvrable in the air compared to an AMRAAM but has a shorter range.
CAPTION: NASAMS High-Mobility Launcher loaded with a Sidewinder missile during a live-fire certification activity at Woomera Test Range, South Australia.
The activity was also the first time both canister and high-mobility launchers fired at the same target, in what is called “ripple fire”.
The successful test came after the regiment conducted Army’s first NASAMS live-fire using an AIM-120 AMRAAM in 2023.
It was a first for many of the regiment’s soldiers at Woomera, the culmination of 18 months of training.
CAPTION: NASAMS High-Mobility Launcher fires a Sidewinder missile at Woomera Test Range, South Australia.
111 Battery HML detachment commander Bombardier Luke Dunbar said his young team had trained to operate NASAMS from day one at the Adelaide ground-based air defence unit.
“There were smiles from ear to ear,” Bombardier Dunbar said when the first missile went off.
Described as ground-breaking and state-of-the-art by the soldiers involved, each NASAMS troop can comprise a combination of HML and canister launchers controlled through a fire distribution centre (FDC).
Inside the FDC, tactical control officers and assistants track targets travelling many kilometres away.
CAPTION: NASAMS High-Mobility Launcher fires a Sidewinder missile at Woomera Test Range, South Australia.
Speed, altitude and pattern of flight help operators determine the type of target, be it an enemy cruise missile, unmanned system, or jet. The system will recommend the best munition and launcher to engage with.
Following the successful live-fire, 16th Regiment can mix and match AMRAAM and Sidewinder missiles in canister or high-mobility launchers to give ground-based air defenders more options.
111 Battery Commander Major Fernando Tula Recinos said the capability lifted the regiment’s profile at the strategic and tactical level.
“Our peers in different units are asking us what we can bring to the table and how to integrate us into their plans,” Major Tula Recinos said.
CAPTION: NASAMS canister launcher and Hawkei High-Mobility Launcher perform a ripple fire serial with Sidewinder missiles at Woomera Test Range, South Australia.
.
.
.
.
