RIM-101

RIM-101 was a short-lived project by the United States Navy to develop a surface-to-air missile (SAM) for the defense of naval vessels. Developed during the early 1970s, the project, possibly derived from the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow, was cancelled before the start of detailed design work.

For the USAF weapon designated AIM-101, see AIM-7 Sparrow.
RIM-101A
TypeSurface-to-air missile
Place of originUnited States
Service history
Used byUnited States Navy
Production history
Designed1973
Specifications
WarheadPBX-W107
Guidance
system
Midcouse: semi-active radar homing
Terminal: infrared homing

Development and cancellation

In the early 1970s, the United States Navy initiated a project for the development of a new surface-to-air missile to act as a defense against air and missile attack against its vessels. The project received the planning designation ZRIM-101A in 1973.[1][2][3]

The RIM-101 missile was planned to be a tube-launched weapon, a small ejector charge being used to propel the missile from its launching tube before ignition of a solid-fueled rocket sustainer,[2] based on that of the FIM-43 Redeye SAM.[1] Midcourse guidance of the new missile was planned to be of the semi-active radar homing type, using an I-band radar system, while terminal guidance would be provided by an infrared seeker.[2] However, the RIM-101 project was cancelled early in the design-and-development stage, before any hardware had been built.[1]

It has been speculated that the RIM-101 was intended to be an advanced development of the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missile, then in U.S. Navy service as the Basic Point Defense Missile System.[1] While the basic RIM-7 does not match the description of RIM-101, an advanced development of the RIM-7E would fit the timeframe and description, with RIM-7F being developed following the cancellation of RIM-101.[1][4]

References

Notes
  1. Parsch 2002
  2. Morison and Rowe 1975, p.216.
  3. Andrade 1979, p.235.
  4. Parsch 2007

Bibliography
  • Andrade, John (1979). U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Leicester, UK: Midland Counties Publications. ISBN 0-904597-22-9. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
  • Morison, Samuel L.; John S. Rowe (1975). The Ships & Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet (10th ed.). Annapolis, MD: United States Naval Institute. ISBN 0-87021-639-2.
  • Parsch, Andreas (2002). "RIM-101". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles. designation-systems.net. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
  • Parsch, Andreas (2007). "Raytheon AIM/RIM-7 Sparrow". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles. designation-systems.net. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
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