A Close-in weapon system (CIWS) is a naval shipboard point-defense weapon for detecting and destroying incoming anti-ship missiles and enemy aircraft at short range (the threat(s) having penetrated the fleet's available outer defenses). Typically, the acronym is pronounced "sea-whiz".
A CIWS usually consists of a combination of radars, computers, and multiple rapid-fire medium-calibre guns placed on a rotating gun mount. Examples of CIWS products in operation are
Nearly all classes of modern warship are equipped with some kind of CIWS device.
Some platforms use missile systems instead of guns, because guns have certain limitations:
Because of their greater range, a missile-CIWS can also be dual-used as a short-ranged area-defense anti-air weapon, eliminating the need of a second mount for this role.
After an inertial guidance phase CIWS missile relies on infra-red, passive radar/ESM or semi-active radar terminal guidance or a combination of these. The ESM-mode is particularly useful since most long-range anti-ship missiles use radar to home in on their targets. Some systems allow the launch platform to send course-correction commands to the missile in the inertial guidance phase.
Examples include:
A Close-in weapon system (CIWS) is a naval shipboard point-defense weapon for detecting and destroying incoming anti-ship missiles and enemy aircraft at short range (the threat(s) having penetrated the fleet's available outer defenses). Typically, the acronym is pronounced "sea-whiz".
A CIWS usually consists of a combination of radars, computers, and multiple rapid-fire medium-calibre guns placed on a rotating gun mount. Examples of CIWS products in operation are
Nearly all classes of modern warship are equipped with some kind of CIWS device.
Some platforms use missile systems instead of guns, because guns have certain limitations:
Because of their greater range, a missile-CIWS can also be dual-used as a short-ranged area-defense anti-air weapon, eliminating the need of a second mount for this role.
After an inertial guidance phase CIWS missile relies on infra-red, passive radar/ESM or semi-active radar terminal guidance or a combination of these. The ESM-mode is particularly useful since most long-range anti-ship missiles use radar to home in on their targets. Some systems allow the launch platform to send course-correction commands to the missile in the inertial guidance phase.
Examples include: