Umkhonto Missiles to Equip Visby Corvettes?

Umkhonto-IR concept(click to view full) Forecast International reports that Sweden has decided to equip its 5 Visby Class stealth corvettes with Denel’s Umkhonto-IR anti-aircraft missile system (and see PDF brochure) at a total cost of about SEK 1 billion (currently about $149.6 million). The deal has yet to be approved by the Swedish parliament. This Umkhonto (“spear”) relies on inertial guidance coordinates transmitted by the attached 3-D radar, followed by lock-on after launch with the infrared seeker. The entire system is capable of engaging up to 8 targets, and has a range of 12 km and a maximum intercept altitude of about 10 km/ 33,000 feet. Umkhonto is currently in service on Finland’s Hamina class missile boats and Hameenmaa class minelayers, on South Africa’s new Meko Class frigates, and by the South African Army as a land-based SAM(Surface to Air Missile) system. Visby stealth corvette(click to view full) Forecast International adds that the stealthy Visby corvette program has received other setbacks and downgrades lately. Earlier in 2007, the new 127 mm ALECTO Anti-Submarine rocket system with its 2 trainable 6-rocket launchers had its development stopped. Visby corvettes will carry RBS15 Mk2 anti-ship missiles with half the range of the Mk3 […]