Missile Sea Dart

The Sea Dart, or GWS.30, is a surface-to-air missile system designed in 1963 to replace the beam-riding Seaslug. It was developed to provide a higher-performance weapon capable of engaging supersonic targets and anti-ship missiles from smaller naval platforms. The system entered service in 1973 and remained operational until 2012.

The missile is a two-stage system featuring a solid-fuel booster and a kerosene-fuelled ramjet cruise motor. The cruise engine operates throughout the flight duration, providing terminal maneuverability. Guidance is achieved through proportional navigation and semi-active radar homing via an interferometer aerial array located around the nose intake. Target illumination is provided by Type 909 radar operating in the J-band. The missile carries a high-explosive blast-fragmentation warhead with proximity and contact fuzing. A secondary surface-to-surface capability exists, though the warhead does not arm in this mode; damage is restricted to kinetic impact and the ignition of unspent fuel. Subsequent upgrades introduced integrated circuits, autopilots, and infrared fuzing.

The system was widely deployed by the Royal Navy on Type 42 and Type 82 destroyers and Invincible-class aircraft carriers. It was also operated by the Argentine Navy. The Sea Dart saw combat during the Falklands War and the 1991 Persian Gulf War, achieving nine confirmed successful engagements against aircraft, helicopters, and a missile. During the Falklands conflict, the system faced performance limitations against low-altitude targets due to radar clutter from the sea surface and landforms. In 1991, the system destroyed an incoming Silkworm anti-ship missile, marking the first instance of a missile intercepting another missile in combat. A friendly fire incident occurred in 1982 involving the destruction of a British helicopter. The system was phased out as ships were decommissioned, with the final operational firing conducted in 2012.