Housecarl Aerospace Protection and Interception System
| Housecarl Aerospace Protection and Interception System (HAPIS) | |
|---|---|
 HAPIS launcher under testing | |
| Type | C-RAM and short range air defence system |
| Place of origin | Velikoslavia |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2015–present |
| Used by | Grand Armed Forces of Velikoslavia |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Wrenskold Advanced Technology Holdings Vushok Group |
| Designed | 2008 |
| Manufacturer | Wrenskold Advanced Technology Holdings Vushok Group |
| Unit cost | $30 million per battery |
| Produced | 2015–present |
| No. built | 15 batteries deployed |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 110 kg (240 lb) |
| Length | 4 m (13 ft 1 in) |
| Diameter | 150 mm (5.9 in) |
Detonation mechanism | Proximity fuze |
| Speed | Mach 2.2 |
Launch platform | Three/four launchers, each carrying 20 interceptors. |
The Housecarl Aerospace Protection and Interception System (HAPIS) is an Velikoslav mobile all-weather air defense system developed by Wrenskold Advanced Technology Holdings and the Vushok Group. The system is designed to intercept and destroy rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 4 to 150 kilometers away in order to offer a layer of protection for population centers, key military targets, and industrial sites. From 2015-2021, Velikoslavia commissioned fifteen launchers to protect Zarinsk from potential strikes from Ostrozava. On July 5, 2015, the system successfully intercepted several projectiles fired at the Zemel Rocketry Testing Range outside of Zarinsk.
In 2022, the Central Procurement Board placed an order for ten more batteries and released a ten year procurement structure in which major cities on the borders with Ludvosiya would receive HAPIS systems, with secondary priority targets on the border with Usezoya and Nekulturnya. A special order was made for a system to protect the Dodecagon, the Velikoslav military command center, in late 2022. In mid 2023, several new developments of the system were announced, including a testbed for energy based weapons and an upgrade to the range of the system for naval deployment on large surface vessels.
Background
Development plans for the Housecarl system go all the way back to the 1990ss, when Lord-Marshal Sidgard Söderborg began to petition the Central Procurement Board for the commissioning of a new interceptor system designed to protect high value targets from Ludvosiyan rockets and cruise missiles, should full scale war occur. Early experiences in the Great Republican War with rockets sparked early discussions on using rockets as point defense systems to intercept other rockets. This had largely remained theoretical until 2001, when Lord-Marshal Sidgard Söderborg acquired the backing of Wrenskold Advanced Technology Holdings, which had been independently developing the Club-6 medium altitude interceptor specifically for use against cruise missiles. The Lord-Marshal's proposal was to utilize the Club-6 system, supported by an upgraded version of the Vitex Modular Launch Platform that was developed by the Vushok Group in 1998 in an attempt to produce a compact launcher for medium altitude surface to air missiles. It was determined in 2001 that a modular launcher, capable of utilizing six different sized munitions (Club-1 through Club-6) would be the best route, permitting the system to intercept multiple different types of threats on the fly.
Specifications
The Housecarl system is designed to offer solutions to counter multiple threats and is capable of operating in all weather conditions and at any time of day or night. Rather than intercept high altitude aircraft or larger ballistic missiles, the system was visualized as a response to the far more common lower altitude threats and ground based rockets and artillery. There are three primary components of the HAPIS system, all of which are required for its full operation.
- Detection & Tracking Radar: - a 3D radar designed for guidance, tracking, and detection. Generally a variant of the Seraph series 3D radars. It detects the projectile launch and tracks its trajectory once it is in range of the system. The Seraph calculates the impact point according to the reported data, and uses this information to determine whether the target constitutes a threat. Only when that threat is determined, an interceptor missile is fired to destroy the incoming projectile before it reaches the predicted impact area. The system can also sync with other air defense systems and utilize them for better data at greater ranges, should it become necessary. The detection and tracking radar is generally only installed on mobile systems, since stationary systems rely on larger and more capable air defense radars.
- Battle Management & Weapon Control - A flexible portion of the system. Often built into the local command center for static defensive emplacements. Mobile systems have a command truck that is built for the purpose.
- Missile Firing Unit: The Vitex Modular Launch Platform, which can be installed in a stationary position or towed, depending on the specification of the ordered system.
Ammunition
- CLUB-A - CLUB-A configuration has three different interceptor missiles that can be loaded in the launcher, called Club-1, Club-2, and Club-3. CLUB-A projectiles are generally designed for smaller and faster projectiles such as artillery shells and have somewhat shorter ranges than the larger options. They counteract this by being significantly faster, however and Club-1 can provide near point defense levels of interception, since the launcher can hold many more CLUB-A devices than CLUB-B. CLub-1 and Club-2 weapons are ideal against smaller drones.
- CLUB-B - CLUB-B configuration launchers also have three different munitions options, Club-4, Club-5, and Club-6. These weapons are designed for larger targets such as cruise missiles, and low to medium range aircraft. Launchers configured for these munitions have a smaller load capacity, but can bring down larger targets. Club-5 weapons are ideal against strike drones, helicopters, and other larger targets.
Counter-UAV
A prime directive of the Housecarl system is usage against UAVs. The core operation of the system requires effectively no modifications to engage UAVs and multiple Club weapons can successfully do so. Rather than use an expensive Surface-to-air missile, the HAPIS offers a lower cost option for formations to deal with UAVs. Proposals for fully mobile versions of the launchers on motorized platforms have for wide area point defense have already been proposed with Block III systems. In 2018, WATH released a video of a test unit destroying UAV targets of multiple different sizes and at different altitudes to showcase the system's capability.
Deployment
Housecarl systems are slated to be deployed around key targets which are considered under threat from potential enemies or critical infrastructural nerve centers. Discussions are already underway for several new units to be deployed around cities such as Valinorsk, which is a critical warm water port and a nerve center of economic activity in the east. In order to reduce cost, static systems are being tied into local air defense networks and making use of existing sensors to provide target detection and tracking. Utilizing this method reduces procurement, installation, and maintenance costs by as much as 30%. Currently, there are 15 active units and four active batteries with four more planned by 2027.
Vulnerabilities
The Housecarl system can potentially be overcome by swarms of many missiles that exceed its intercept capability or by sheer numbers of attacking missiles during a campaign if not enough interceptors are available to counter them. Also, the cost of each interception can be relatively high compared to what the system is intercepting in the case of artillery shells and dummy rockets. These are among the reasons encouraging the development of a beam energy weapon to complement HAPIS, which is cheap to fire, has unlimited "ammunition", and is effective at short range. It has been noted that the system may be significantly less effective against very short-distance saturation strikes. Potentially opting to fire rockets at low trajectories may make them much harder to intercept.
Variants
Block I
- HAPIS-A Zarinsk Battery- First battery(4) of launchers with a Seraph MMR-1 ground-based mobile 3D AESA multi-mission radar, deployed and tested in Zarinsk. Several months of testing went on between the summer of 2015 and the winter of 2016 to assess the ideal launcher configuration. Approved for deployment and interception operations in February of 2016 with half of the launchers in Club-A configuration and half in Club-B.
- HAPIS-B Kollavik Battery - Second battery(4) of launchers set up around the perimeter of the Old City in Kollavik to protect key government buildings such as the Dodecagon and Velikograd Palace in the event of an enemy strike.
- HAPIS-C Levograv Battery - Third battery(4) of launchers to protect the key port facilities in Levograv and the naval base there.
Block II
- HAPIS-D Mobile Battery - Mobile battery of three launchers not presently deployed with a formation. Serves as the primary testing battery for the system and has an upgraded Seraph MMR-3 radar unit. Designed to be deployed to threatened regions to support ground forces.
- HAPIS-E(L) Mobile Battery - Battery composed of two regular rocket launchers and two new energy based weapons being developed. Currently on track to be deployed by 2025.
Operators
Velikoslavia - 4 batteries