The CIWS is designed to be the last line of defense against anti-ship missiles. Due to its design criteria its effective range is very short (exact range is classified). The gun mount moves at a very high rate of speed and with great precision. The system takes minimal inputs from the ship making it capable of functioning despite potential damage to the ship. The only input that is required for operation is for it to receive 440VAC at 60Hz. For full operation including some non-essential functions, it also has inputs for True compass ships heading and 115VAC for the PASS and tape drive subsystems.

Phalanx CIWS, Phalanx CIWS - Overview, Phalanx CIWS - How the CIWS Works, Phalanx CIWS - Radar Subsystems, Phalanx CIWS - Gun and Ammunition Handling System, Phalanx CIWS - CIWS Contact Target Identification, Phalanx CIWS - Phalanx in combat at sea, Phalanx CIWS - Land based version, Phalanx CIWS - Phalanx in fiction

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In the Stargate television series, Phalanx is mounted on Prometheus-class (X-303) starships as a point defence weapon. However these have most likely been replaced by the superior (fictional) rail gun system. In the action film Under Siege, a Phalanx aboard the USS Missouri is used to down an F/A-18 Hornet. In the action film The Sum of All Fears, a Phalanx aboard the USS John C. Stennis is used to destroy multiple missiles fired by Russian Tu-22M "Backfire" bombers. In the video game Battlefield 2 by EA Games, you can control the Phalanx CIWS aboard the USS Essex (LHD- ...

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Phalanx CIWS, Phalanx CIWS - Overview, Phalanx CIWS - How the CIWS Works, Phalanx CIWS - Radar Subsystems, Phalanx CIWS - Gun and Ammunition Handling System, Phalanx CIWS - CIWS Contact Target Identification, Phalanx CIWS - Phalanx in combat at sea, Phalanx CIWS - Land based version, Phalanx CIWS - Phalanx in fiction

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The U.S. Army's version of the Navy's CIWS Phalanx anti-missile system is called the "Land-Based Phalanx Weapon System" (LPWS). It is a type of "C-RAM" (counter-rockets, artillery and mortars) defensive weapon. Whereas naval Phalanx systems fire depleted uranium or (more recently) tungsten armor-piercing rounds, the LPWS uses the HEIT-SD (High-Explosive Incendiary Tracer, Self-Destruct) ammunition originally developed for the M163 Vulcan air-defense system. These rounds explode in mid-air, raining shrapnel at the incoming rounds in or ...

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Phalanx CIWS, Phalanx CIWS - Overview, Phalanx CIWS - How the CIWS Works, Phalanx CIWS - Radar Subsystems, Phalanx CIWS - Gun and Ammunition Handling System, Phalanx CIWS - CIWS Contact Target Identification, Phalanx CIWS - Phalanx in combat at sea, Phalanx CIWS - Land based version, Phalanx CIWS - Phalanx in fiction

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The Phalanx system has not been credited with shooting down any enemy missiles or aircraft. In February 1991, during the first Gulf War, the USS Missouri and the Phalanx-equipped USS Jarrett were in the vicinity of an Iraqi Silkworm missile (often referred to as the 'Seersucker') that had been fired, either at Missouri or at the nearby HMS Gloucester. After Missouri fired a bundle of chaff, the Phalanx system on Jarrett, operating in the automatic target-acquisition mode, fixed upon the chaff ...

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Phalanx CIWS, Phalanx CIWS - Overview, Phalanx CIWS - How the CIWS Works, Phalanx CIWS - Radar Subsystems, Phalanx CIWS - Gun and Ammunition Handling System, Phalanx CIWS - CIWS Contact Target Identification, Phalanx CIWS - Phalanx in combat at sea, Phalanx CIWS - Land based version, Phalanx CIWS - Phalanx in fiction

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It was developed as the final line of defense (terminal defense) against anti-ship missiles (AShMs), including high-G, maneuvering sea-skimmers. The first system was offered to the US Navy for evaluation on the USS Bigelow in 1977. It was accepted and production started in 1978, the first ship fully fitted out was the Coral Sea in 1980. The basis of the system is a 20mm M61 Vulcan gatling gun linked to a radar system for acquiring and tracking targets. The gun fires at a variable 4,500 rounds per minute (hydraulic models ...

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Phalanx CIWS, Phalanx CIWS - Overview, Phalanx CIWS - How the CIWS Works, Phalanx CIWS - Radar Subsystems, Phalanx CIWS - Gun and Ammunition Handling System, Phalanx CIWS - CIWS Contact Target Identification, Phalanx CIWS - Phalanx in combat at sea, Phalanx CIWS - Land based version, Phalanx CIWS - Phalanx in fiction

Read more here: » Phalanx CIWS: Encyclopedia II - Phalanx CIWS - Overview