AN/SPG-62, the name alone can easily be mistaken for a Soviet-made bazooka, but in fact it is a fire-controlled radar that is heavily equipped by the U.S. Navy and used in conjunction with the RIM-66 series of missiles.

Specifically, the function of this thing is to irradiate a specific frequency of electromagnetic signals on the incoming target under the instructions of the "Aegis" system, and then the RIM-66H "Standard" missile guided by the semi-active radar can follow the target echo all the way forward until it is successfully intercepted or misses the target; This kind of process has to go through every "standard" that takes off, but the RIM-66H with the radio command correction function does not need to receive the AN/SPG-62 radiation signal in the middle of the flight, and this engagement mode is probably similar to that of the R-27R and AIM-7P, and the air defense interception capability of the "Aegis" system is improved in a certain range.

At the very least, if the mid-course command correction is adopted, each RIM-66H in the air only needs to get radio commands, and the instructions do not need to contain precise target parameters, which is easy to do for automated air defense systems, and there is no upper limit to the number of missiles in the air.

Because of this, in the face of the swarming Soviet air-launched anti-ship missiles, even the extremely high-speed Kh-15, the US Navy is not without the ability to parry, the AN/SPY-1C radar can clearly see these big guys roaring and flying at tens of thousands of meters, and batches of target elements are quickly sent to the computer; When the missile approaches the firing range of the "Standard" II, the system will shoot at least one or even two RIM-66Hs in advance, so that when the "Returning Rifle" flies into the range of the ship-to-air missile. The "standard" of a counter-attack is just right to strike in the air.

In the face of high-speed incoming Russian anti-ship missiles. The air defense system of the United States is under great pressure. The operation of launching missiles ahead of schedule may seem simple, but it places high demands on the integrated operational command and control system.

At the very least, anyone can think of one thing, since there are so many missiles flying in the air, even if the number of spare ammunition of the RIM-66H is not considered, in terms of interception efficiency, it is best for each "Aegis" warship to play a role and fire at its assigned targets.

Otherwise, on the battlefield where the situation is changing rapidly. It is inevitable that some mistakes will be made, some of them will be assigned to many "standards", and some will not be taken care of at all.

The U.S. Navy may not care about interception efficiency and the like, but if a few "return guns" are missed at once, it is likely to pose a serious threat to the aircraft carrier battle group of the United States, so at this time, all air defense warships of the whole fleet are fighting in a complete air defense command system, frequently contacting each other, confirming their assigned strike sectors, and then choosing the opportunity to launch the RIM-66H according to the situation of the incoming missile.

In large-scale naval and air battles, especially in the face of a large number of anti-ship missiles at once, the "Aegis" built by the Americans with a lot of money is probably the largest and tightest defense system on the earth. However, it soon became clear that even such a high-tech and very expensive system was expensive. The Kh-15 was still a little weak in front of the flying Kh-15.

In the long history of human warfare, the contest between spear and shield, generally speaking, the former will always have some kind of advantage, which has probably become a universal truth.

The same is probably the case with the Kh-15 and the "Standard", the showdown that broke out on the ocean.

NATO's solid-rocket engine anti-ship missile, known as the AS-16 "Horse Gun", is nearly five meters long, and its own flight speed is fast enough and the power of the warhead is not ambiguous at all, which is a threat to the heavy aircraft carriers of the US Navy that cannot be ignored; On the other hand, if there is a simple "return to the gun" and "standard" offensive and defensive simulations, as the Americans did when they tested the "Aegis" system, then the latter will still be able to perform their duties in most cases and intercept the roaring torch from a dangerous distance.

A sharp spear gun that flies at Mach 3 and can even rival the APFSDS when sprinting at the end of the stage, at first glance, the threat to the battleship is extremely high, but because of the extremely fast speed, the corresponding maneuverability is not too ideal, and it is still easy to be intercepted by a fleet air missile like the RIM-66H in the middle of the flight.

The probability of intercepting missiles with missiles is generally not very high, but for the "Standard" II, the probability of killing a single missile against a typical target is about 70 percent, and if two missiles are launched one after another, it can reach more than 90 percent, and during the flight of the Kh-15 for hundreds of kilometers, even taking into account the range of the RIM-66H, theoretically speaking, the Americans can have at least four or five interception opportunities.

There were so many opportunities to intercept that, it seemed, it seemed that the efforts of the Red Navy bombers were in vain, but in fact it was not at all.

Even now, flying over the sky in groups, one by one the dark gray Kh-15 missiles with bright tail flames are approaching, only about 200 kilometers away from the center point of the aircraft carrier battle group, the "Aegis" system judged that the missiles can be launched, and one by one the "Standard" II flew away from the launch unit with smoke and dust, and flew towards the distant sky without the slightest hesitation.

Although the distance of the incoming missiles was still far away, the "Ticonderoga" and "Burke" classes did not skimp on ammunition at all, and thick smoke rose from the "Aegis" battleships clustered around the three aircraft carriers; in just a short period of more than 10 seconds, the MK-41, which is good at firing at a rapid pace, frequently fired its might, and dozens of RIM-66Hs were fired out from nine air defense ships at once.

"Spectacular" may seem like a bit of a awkward word, but it's true.

Seeing the manhole covers of the front and rear launch units on each warship opening frequently, and the gray-white "standard" missiles piercing the sky like fireworks, no one among the onlookers could count how many missiles the US Navy had fired, but as long as they fired, the shadow of the Russian heavy anti-ship missiles seemed to fade a little.

The threat in front of them disappeared for the time being, and the generals in the command center were happy, but they were also a little apprehensive.

This kind of apprehension is only a vague feeling for many people, but in the face of so many Russian air-to-ship missiles, Air Colonel Walsh and Lieutenant General William Pratt and others fell silent.

It's not hard to pinpoint the origin of the feeling, but it's much more difficult to really think through the dilemma.

The Red Navy and the U.S. Navy, the winners and losers of a sea and air battle, are now landing on the Kh-15s that are roaring and rushing.

In the face of so many anti-ship missiles - the actual number will be about 130 pieces, even if you have a seemingly indestructible AEGIS in your hand, you can calmly toss and turn in the missile fire?

No, absolutely not!

The lieutenant general did not conduct any in-depth research on the combat performance of the "Hui Ma Gun" missile, and he did not have such a leisurely time in his career, but Pratt did look through the information of the RIM-66H missile, the MK-1 combat command system, and other modules, and he was very clear about the air defense engagement mode of the "Aegis" warship, and since he still met the enemy in this way, the defeat of the United States side was inevitable.

The reason is simple, how many fire channels will a "Ticonderoga" class air defense cruiser have?

It's a question that the AN/SPY-1C on board the warship can't answer, but it's easy for U.S. Navy commanders who specialize in their profession to figure it out, and then there's a shudder that ensues.

During the whole engagement, the RIM-66H does not need radar irradiation when it first flies away from the launch unit, but at the end of the flight, it must rely on the irradiation of the AN/SPG-62 fire control radar to complete the homing; To put it simply, each RIM-66H that is aimed at the target must have a corresponding radar beam to guide it, so that an AN/SPG-62 is a fire channel.

However, by virtue of the superiority in electronic technology, the Americans' AN/SPG-62 fire control radar can guide four "Standard" II missiles "at the same time," and the number of fire channels has become four times the number of radars -- of course, these four "Standard" II missiles cannot really meet the enemy at the same time, and can only meet with the target one after another, and the radar can only provide irradiation for the four airborne missiles in turn through the time-sharing mode, which puts forward some requirements for the combat mode of the air defense system and even the incoming targets, and the former is easy to meet. The latter can only be a matter of luck.

The U.S. Navy warships patrolling around the aircraft carrier are equipped with four AN/SPG-62s on the Ticonderoga class and three on the Arleigh Burke-class.

In this way, all nine "Aegis" air defense ships were assembled -- excluding the "Ticonderoga" retained by the fleet, the number of available fire channels in the hands of the Americans was a total of 128, which was a considerable number, at least, no less than the whizzing "return rifles"; theoretically speaking, each incoming AS-16 could be assigned a fire channel, and then encountered a head-on interception by the "Standard" II.

That's probably the calculation on paper, but at this moment, what is happening in the sky is not at all in this rhythm.

The missiles flew at a rapid pace, and the "return guns" that were striking at high speed were very conspicuous on the radar display screen of the "Aegis" system, and the distance was rapidly reduced from 300 kilometers to a distance of 300 kilometers.

The threat is constantly approaching, and there are more and more "Standard" II missiles on US warships that are dragging smoke straight into the sky, and the interception operation of the United States aircraft carrier battle group was very smooth at the beginning, and the fully automatic air defense system is responsible for assigning targets to each "Aegis" ship, and as for the specific calculation of each cluster of targets, and even the launch and guidance of the RIM-66H, it is completed by the "Aegis" nodes on the air defense network. (To be continued......)