To combat leakers and tilt the battlefield economics back in the defender’s favour is it time to send in the GOAT? ⬇️
The GOAT – no, we’re not referring to Jordan and certainly not LeBron. We’re talking about a Gun on a Truck. GOAT’s are making a big comeback in the world of artillery – both in offensive support and now in air and missile defence.
One feature of the layered Air and Missile Defence system that the United States is employing in the Middle East takes a tried and tested weapon and rather inelegantly mounts it on a truck. It ain’t pretty, but it’s pretty effective – the C-RAM point defence system is exactly what you need if what you needed was 4,500 rounds per minute of 20mm to light up a sneaky Shahed!
We’re still finding nuggets of gold in Royal United Services Institute‘s ‘Command of the Reload’ long read that we’ll add in the comments. The utility of guns as a cheaper way to mount point defence against air threats is one such useful insight:
“It is easy to treat guns and point-defence systems as tactical housekeeping, and interceptors as the ‘real’ air defence. Epic Fury suggests the opposite. Cheap layers are what keep premium layers from being bankrupted by a target set that includes thousands of drones and decoys”
C-RAM leveraged the US Navy’s Phalanx, paired it with a radar and was originally used to defend against incoming rockets, artillery and mortar rounds. It is now being used as a low cost way to down drones and as a last line of defence against ‘leakers’ – missiles and drones that get through medium and long range defence systems.
C-RAM is just one of the next generation of GOATs or anti air and missile defence armoured wheeled and tracked vehicles. The quest for cheap defeat and holding high end interceptors back to target premium offensive missiles is driving take up of anti aircraft guns across the Middle East. As ‘Command of the Reload’ shows we simply can’t afford to rely on exquisite interceptors:
“Over the first sixteen days, coalition forces fired approximately 509,500 rounds from C-RAM and similar gun systems. That ammunition cost was only around $25 million, whereas at least $19 billion was spent on missile interceptors.”
Now the C-RAM isn’t perfect – leakers are still getting through. Reloading takes time and drones can absorb hits. But as part of a layered system and with an effective adaptation cycle GOATs look to be a lasting addition to modern Air and Missile Defence.
Plenty of food for thought as the Australian Defence Force progresses towards an Integrated Air and Missile Defence system that is fit for purpose for the most dangerous geopolitical circumstances since WWII. C-RAM is also a great example of an ingenious use of in service technology for a new use case – sometimes you don’t need to reinvent the wheel, but rather send in the GOAT!
📷 via US Army