Clark wrote:

:Fred J. McCall wrote in
:
:
: "Dean A. Markley" wrote:
:[snip]
::
::A quick search reveals the following:
::
:
: Should have searched a bit slower. Let me correct:
:
:
:Why do you claim authority?
:

Because I can read and you apparently cannot.

:
:
::
::Harpoon weight of 1145 lbs Max Speed = 530mph
::
:
: That's the weight for the air-launch Harpoon. If you launch it from a
: ship it weighs almost 1500 pounds.
:
::
::SM2 weight of 2980 lbs(don't know if this includes booster) Max Speed =
::1900mph
::
:
: That's the weight for the ER version. It's over 26 feet long and I
: don't believe we currently have any ships that fire it. The MR
: version of SM-2 weighs around 1400 pounds.
:
:Just what system is the Navy using for ABM? They are in service even if it
:is a small number of ships...
:

SM-3. It's a very different configuration with different guidance and
a different warhead.

:
:
: Oh, and that 1900 MPH is at altitude. It's going to be slower down in
: denser air.
:
:
:??? What trajectory does the SM use? Is it a sea skimmer in the surface
:attack mode?
:

You think enemy ships are at 30,000 feet? I'd find that pretty
surprising, personally.

:
:
::
::Now the Harpoon carries a much larger warhead but the SM2 is heavier and
::impacts at a much higher speed. Is it reasonable to make a SWAG that a
::Standard SM2 will inflict as much or more damage?
::
::After all, speed kills....
::
:
: By the time they reach the target, Harpoon is probably heavier
: (because of the heavier warhead). A lot of that weight in the
: Standard round is fuel.
:
: Speed isn't what kills. That's why we put warheads on the things.
:
:
:Speed kills. Blast kills. How much energy is delivered to the target? That
:question is all that matters.
:

And much more is generally delivered by something going 'boom' than by
something that doesn't.

Go run the numbers for yourself...


--
"Ignorance is preferable to error, and he is less remote from the
truth who believes nothing than he who believes what is wrong."
-- Thomas Jefferson