SMS-160 Toufan
| SMS-160 Toufan | |
|---|---|
| File:Sms-160-1.jpg A SMS-160 on a transport trailer. | |
| Type | Anti-ship missile |
| Place of origin |  Riysa |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1983-present |
| Used by | Riysa |
| Production history | |
| Designer | ISBR Design Bureau |
| Designed | 1973-1983 |
| Manufacturer | Riysian High Command |
| Unit cost | £L 1,200,000 |
| Produced | 1983-present |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 3500 kg |
| Length | 8.4 m |
| Diameter | 0.75 m |
| Warhead | 840 kg semi-armor piercing high explosive or 200 kt nuclear |
| Engine | Turbojet with solid-fuel booster stage |
Operational range | 160 km |
| Speed | 339 m/s |
Guidance system | GPS-augmented inertial, terminal active radar seeker |
The SMS-160 Toufan (Arabic: طوفان, English: Flood) is a heavy subsonic anti-ship missile developed by Riysa. It is notable for being the first indigenously designed anti-ship missile in Riysa. It was designed as a replacement for the P-15 Termit in Riysian service on Navy missile boats and coastal defense units.
History
Description
Engine and Airframe
The Toufan is primarily powered by a Azami "Muqaddam" turbojet, outputting around 1.2 tonnes of thrust, allowing it to maintain a transonic speed of around Mach 0.9 during flight towards the target. The Muqaddam turbojet was the first turbojet developed in Riysa specifically for use in guided missiles, with the Azami Rocketry Institute (MAS) later becoming the main design bureau of cruise missile engines for the Riysian High Command.
Backing up the turbojet are two pairs of solid-fuel booster rockets, which provide the initial thrust during launch and boost the missile up to its cruising altitude, detaching once the turbojet is engaged. Due to the rockets, for a short period of time after launch, the missile travels at supersonic speeds, though this isn't maintained due to limitations on the turbojet. Between the booster rockets and fuel for the turbojet, the Toufan can travel up to 160 kilometers away from its launcher. Flight time to that maximum distance is around 8 minutes.
The frame of the Toufan is very conventional, made out of simple steel. The SMS-160A uses some titanium alloy instead, reducing the weight of the missile by half a tonne to 3,000 kilograms.
Warhead
The warhead is an 840 kilogram semi-armor piercing warhead containing nearly 500 kilograms of explosive filler, with a time-delay fuse for the missile to explode inside in the target. The heavy weight of the warhead ensures that nearly any ship hit by the Toufan will be sunk.
Guidance and Seeker
The Toufan is guided by an inertial navigation system for most of its flight path, switching to the NRaS Risas (رصاص , "Lead") active radar seeker during the terminal attack phase. The Risas seeker has a maximum range of 20 kilometers against its target, and operates in the S-band.
The "A" midlife upgrade further added an Azraq two-color infrared seeker, not unlike those found on some MANPADS, to increase resistance to electronic countermeasures. When working together, the Toufan can easily steer to and hit its targets even while being subjected to defensive ECM.
Flight path
The Toufan flies a lo-lo flight path after launch, maintaining a flight altitude of roughly 60 meters from launch to the terminal phase - about 3.5 kilometers away from the target. This is maintained with a Tayyar-1 radio altimeter, with a maximum altitude of 7000 meters, but was replaced in the A upgrade with a Tayyar-L laser altimeter.
During the terminal phase, the Toufan dives, aiming at or near the ship's waterline, to maximize the damage caused by the impact and explosion. This sudden change in course also acts as sort of evasive maneuver to increase survivability, and the dive increases the missile's velocity to the transonic range, allowing it to close the distance in a matter of seconds.
Due to the continually low height flown by the Toufan, the defending ship has only a minute or less of warning time, from detection to potential impact. This makes it difficult to safely intercept, especially during the terminal dive.
Variants
- SMS-160: Original serial production missile.
- SMS-160A: Upgraded missile, with IR seeker, laser altimeter, and redesigned airframe. Entered service in the 1990s.