Anduril has developed a new range of lower cost interceptor missiles called Steelfin to take down a range of aerial threats.
“Steelfin is a family of highly-configurable, mass-producible surface-to-air interceptor missiles that has been engineered to deliver cost, volume, and capability overmatch across the modern threat spectrum, including cruise, ballistic, and hypersonic missile threats,” said the company in a press release. “Built around a common two-stage architecture, Steelfin allows Anduril to configure interceptor performance for different missions while repurposing many of the same components, production processes, and architecture across the family of interceptors.
Steelfin is a two stage design, encompassing a first-stage booster and second-stage terminal interceptor, offering the flexibility required to align interceptor performance to each threat, said the company. The first stage can accommodate different solid rocket motor boosters to meet specific range, performance, booster types, launch configurations, or packing density requirements. The second stage uses a common terminal interceptor architecture, sharing the same baseline airframe, avionics, software, flight control system, and interfaces across all Steelfin variants. “Open, modular interfaces between each of the subsystems in the terminal stage allow Anduril to integrate different seekers, mission systems, and other components without redesigning the entire missile.”
“Steelfin delivers a diversity of effects to meet a diversity of threats. Unlike legacy missiles that carry fixed, inflexible designs that are resistant to change, Steelfin offers a common interceptor architecture that produces a family of interceptor missiles, each of which can be configured for a specific mission. That approach provides warfighters with the options required to appropriately match interceptor capability and cost with the specific threat. Steelfin is designed to be configured for threats across the air-and-missile defense spectrum – from point defense, through lower-tier integrated air and missile defense, to upper-tier ballistic missile defense – while targeting a fraction of the cost of today’s benchmark interceptors in each mission class.”
Steelfin variants are compatible with established land- and sea-based launch infrastructure, including the M903A2, Mk 41 Vertical Launch System, Typhon, and other emerging containerized launch systems, said the company. Similarly, Steelfin is designed to integrate with any fielded fire control software system (AEGIS, IBCS, etc.), ensuring that it fits seamlessly into established battle management processes and procedures.
For more information
https://www.anduril.com/news/steelfin
(Image: Steelfin)