RB 04 explained

Is Missile:yes
RB-04E
Origin:Sweden
Type:Fire and forget anti-ship missile
Used By:Sweden
Manufacturer:SAAB
Propellant:Solid
Service:1962–2000?
Engine:INI Solid Rocket Engine
Weight:600kg (1,300lb)
Length:4.45m (14.6feet)
Diameter:50cm (20inches)
Wingspan:2.04m (06.69feet)
Speed:subsonic
Vehicle Range:32km (20miles)
Altitude:sea skimming
Filling:300kg (700lb) HE blast and pre-fragmented
Guidance:active radar homing, Track on Jam (AGA-1 seeker, Rb04C)
Detonation:impact or proximity
Launch Platform:Aircraft A 32, AJ 37, AJS 37

The RB-04 (Robot 04) is a long-range sea skimming[1] fire-and-forget air-to-surface, anti-ship missile. The missile was known as the "RB-304" during development and early service years.

Development

While interest in guided anti-ship missiles was subdued in the 1950s, it was not entirely extinct. In 1949, the Swedish government placed a request for a radar-guided, air-launched anti-ship missile. The request materialized as the SAAB "Robot-Byrån (RB) 04", which was first test launched by a Saab 29 Tunnan fighter in early 1955.The early versions of the missile suffered teething problems in regards to the two targeting modes, which were area attack, for striking a big group of ships (like an invasion fleet), and select targeting, where the missiles home in on a single vessel. In the area attack the missile would only target a ship in the group if they were within 1,000 meters of another vessel, this was also in the early electronic age, and changes in this distance required hardware modifications in a workshop.

Many components of the missile were reused when the RBS-15 was developed, including the main body and warhead, although the motor and main wings were the most obvious external changes.

Variants

Operational use

The missile has never seen combat; the closest it has come to being used was during the "Whiskey on the Rocks" incident in 1981, when a Soviet (NATO code Whiskey Class) submarine ran aground outside the naval station in Karlskrona. Swedish AJ37 Viggens with RB-04E's mounted under their wings, taken from top secret storage bunkers, stood on high alert for a possible Soviet incursion.On one occasion, when a Soviet rescue operation seemed to be underway, aircraft were scrambled with the intent to intercept Soviet ships.

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: RB 04C.