https://sofrep.com/105276/watch-missile-fails-to-clear-launch-tube-on-german-frigate/
Watch: Missile fails to clear launch tube on German Frigate
By
Alex Hollings 07.02.2018
#Military News Email
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Amid a slew of headlines regarding the ailing state of the German military, a mishap aboard the FGS Sachsen last week saw an American made SM-2 missile fail to clear its launch tube when fired, creating a spectacular fireball that injured two sailors and caused extensive damage to the ship.
The vessel,
accompanied by the German Frigate FGS Lubeck, was conducting routine training operations off the coast of Norway near the Arctic Circle when the crew attempted to fire a Standard Missile (SM) 2 Block IIIA from one of its on-board Mk.41 vertical launch system silos. For reasons that remain unclear, the missile failed to clear the launch tube, resulting is a spectacular fire as the engine burns out. It’s difficult to assess in the footage if the explosion is the result of the engine firing or if the ordnance itself exploded, but in either case, the fire was out after just seconds, but the damage was none the less extensive.
The German Navy has not provided any information thus far that could shed light on the cause of the failure, though in the footage, which was captured by sailors on the nearby FGS Lubeck, it seems clear that something prevented the missile from escaping its silo. Severe as the damage was, had the missile detonated internally, it could potentially have set off the frigates full suite of 32 missiles, resulting in catastrophic damage and likely the loss of the vessel. The Mark 41 silos were designed and built to function even after taking damage, thanks in large part to internal and external armor protections, but the 15-foot-long, 1,500-pound SM-2 could potentially pack enough punch to breach that protection, even without the kinetic force of an impact to help.
Gif produced from video posted on
Twitter by @JosephHDempsey
Instead, the bow of the vessel
received a severe scorching, as well as the outside of the bridge and the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) launcher. Two sailors were listed as having received “minor injuries” but no further information has been released regarding their duty status.
Damage to the FGS Sachsen’s bow. |
German Navy photo
The Standard Missile-2 (or SM-2) is a
Raytheon produced platform intended for use as an
anti-air weapon. Used in Navies around the world, Raytheon claims to have successfully tested the missile aboard ships 2,700 times. Raytheon had actually halted production of the somewhat dated platform back in 2013, but is the process of restarting manufacturing due to increased demand from American allies in nations like Japan, Span, and Germany.
An SM-2 also exploded during training when launched from the USS The Sullivans in July of 2015. The missile successfully made it out of the tube before detonating however, causing approximately $100,000 worth of damage.
Watch the video below to see the explosion (and to learn some creative German profanity):
Feature image screen capped from YouTube video
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https://www.popularmechanics.com/mi...rman-warship-was-scorched-by-its-own-missile/
A German Warship Was Scorched By Its Own Missile
The American-made SM-2 air defense missile failed to clear its own silo.
By
Kyle Mizokami
Jun 28, 2018
598
TwitterJosephHDempsey
A German air defense frigate was damaged in a missile-firing incident off the Norwegian coast last week. A SM-2 missile somehow became trapped in its launcher, and the resulting rocket exhaust inflicted serious damage to the ship’s bow. Two German Navy sailors were injured in the incident.
On June 21st the FGS
Sachsen, the first of
four Type 124 air defense frigates in German Navy service, was attempting to launch a Standard SM-2 air defense missile. The missile rocket motor ignited but the missile failed to clear the Mk.41 vertical launch system silo. An explosion was followed by a short, intense fire as the rocket motor burned. A video of the incident (along with some well-earned swearing in German)
was posted to Twitter.
The fire was mostly out within seconds, but the damage was extensive. Two crew members suffered minor injuries in the incident. It’s unknown why the missile stuck in the silo instead of leap skyward, but an investigation is certainly forthcoming. Each
SM-2 missile is about 15 feet long and weighs more than 1,500 pounds.
The
Sachsen class frigates are designed to intercept enemy missiles and aircraft, and are equipped with 32 Mark 41 vertical launch silos built into the bow, just in front of the bridge. It was there the launch took place, and photos show the exterior of the bridge suffered extensive scorching. The boxy Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) launcher in front of the silo field looks a little brown but otherwise doesn’t appear to have suffered too much.
Twitter
As bad as the incident looks, it could have been a lot worse. The explosion and fire could have spread to other missiles in the silo field but did not. The Mark 41 launcher is armored and designed to work even after the ship suffers damage in combat, a factor that almost certainly limited the damage in this incident.
In July 2015 a SM-2 missile
exploded shortly after being launched by the guided missile destroyer USS The
Sullivans. There were no injuries in the incident.
https://www.businessinsider.sg/miss...german-navy-frigate-sachsen-2018-6/?r=UK&IR=T
A missile misfired and scorched the deck of a German navy frigate
Christopher Woody,
Business Insider US
June 28, 2018
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German navy frigate Sachsen after a missile-launch malfunction, June 2018.
German navy
- A missile fired by German navy frigate Sachsen earlier this month failed to exit the tube, scorching the deck.
- Two crew members were injured, and the ship has returned to homeport.
- The German military has had a number of issues in recent years, including equipment shortages and failures.
A missile malfunction aboard German navy frigate FGS Sachsen on June 21 scorched the ship’s deck and injured two sailors.
The Sachsen, an air-defense frigate, was sailing with sub-hunting frigate Lubeck in a test and practice area near the Arctic Circle in Norwegian waters, according to the German navy.
The Sachsen attempted to fire a Standard Missile 2, or SM-2, from the vertical launch system located in front of the ship’s bridge. The missile did not make it out of the launcher, however, and its rocket burned down while still on board the ship, damaging the deck and injuring two crew members.
“We were standing in front of a glistening and glowing hot wall of fire,” the ship’s captain, Thomas Hacken, said in a German navy
release.
Sachsen class frigates are
outfitted with 32 Mark 41 vertical launch tubes built into the forward section of the ship. Each SM-2 is about 15 feet long and weighs over 1,500 pounds.
It was not immediately clear why the missile malfunctioned; it had been checked and appeared in “perfect condition,” the German navy said. Another of the same type of missile had been successfully launched beforehand.
While the ship’s deck and bridge were damaged, the effects were likely limited by the design of the Mark 41 launcher, which is armored,
according to Popular Mechanics.
The two ships sailed into the Norwegian port of Harstad on June 22 before
returning to their homeport in the German city of Wilhelmshaven on the North Sea.
Damage on the vertical launch system aboard the German navy frigate Sachsen, June 2018.
German navy
“We have to practice realistically, so that we are ready for action in case of emergency, also for the national and alliance defense,” Vice Adm. Andreas Krause, navy inspector, said in the release. Despite the risks, Krause said, “our crews are highly motivated and ready to do their best.”
Germany’s military has hit a number of
setbacks in recent years, like equipment
shortages and
failures. Dwindling military expertise and a lack of strategic direction for the armed forces
have contributed to these problems.
The navy has been no exception. The first Baden-Württemberg frigate, a program thought up in 2005, was delivered in 2016, but the navy
has refused to commission it, largely because the centerpiece computer system didn’t pass necessary tests.
At the end of 2017, it was reported that all six of the German navy’s submarines were
out of action – four because they were being serviced in shipyards with the other two waiting for berths.
http://www.newsweek.com/german-navy-fail-watch-missile-explode-aboard-frigate-during-launch-999737
World
German Navy Fail: Watch Missile Explode Aboard Frigate During Launch
By
David Brennan On 6/28/18 at 11:13 AM
Missile Explodes During German Frigate Training Exercise
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World Germany Navy Missile
The German navy suffered an embarrassing and perilous training accident on June 21, when a failed missile launch ended up showering one of its frigates with sparks and debris.
The FGS
Sachsen was operating off the coast of Norway when the mishap occurred,
USNI News reported. Two sailors were lightly injured—but as video of the accident shows, it could have been much worse.
Footage shot from another ship, likely the FGS
Lübeck, which accompanied
Sachsen on the exercise, showed the front portion of the frigate bathed in flames and smoke as the missile exploded immediately after leaving its launcher. Sailors filming the accident can be heard cursing in shock as a loud bang echoes across the waves.
An SM-2 missile explodes on launch from the German frigate FGS Sachsen off the coast of Norway, on June 21. Two sailors were lightly injured, but it could have been much worse. USNI