| 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.
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.
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.