Sae Dart question

[19kilo]

I'v read that Sea Dart had an anti-ship capabilty, how effective would this missile be against ships?

[Keith Enge]

It depends on the ship. The warhead won't arm so any damage will be from the kinetic impact and any fire from unburned fuel. If the impact is to the target's center of mass and thus hits the target's side, the effect will probably be minimal. Even if it penetrates, the fire can probably be contained to a compartment or two. If the target is a ship small enough to be sunk by a Sea Dart, it is probably not worth the expense of the missile. Anything bigger that is worthy of a missile is likely to have real cruise missiles of her own so you would be advised to use something a bit more potent and purpose-built than a Sea Dart.

[19kilo]

Thanks very much. Sheds light on that aspect of the system. Was there any problem with storage of the missile on ship regarding its liquid fuel?

[Keith Enge]

As far as I know, the fuel storage shouldn't have been a problem. The fuel is normal jet fuel which is kerosene. Kerosene is no where near as volatile as avgas, aviation gasoline for piston engines, for example. Of course, that limited volatility means that the effect of crashing into a target is lessened compared to if it had avgas as its fuel.