nam wrote:Our current IADS, be it Akash, Barak 8 or legacy system, is not geared to handle a scenario like say 300-400 "flying ATGM" coming towards our positions.
Akash or Barak8 cannot fire 400 rounds to bring them down, even if it is detected.
The concern is not the larger drones. It is the small, tactical ones.
That is an unrealistic scenario for several reasons including the basic fact that no one can get close enough to a medium to long ranged SAM system and launch 300-400 ATGM's even if they had that many and a means to launch that many. These aren't obviously SEAD weapons whereas unmanned, expendable and attritable SEAD weapons exist and lots more are coming. But that is a different problem. The basic LM's do ok for SEAD in the Aermenia-Azeri situation because they are going up against a poorly equipped and likely poorly trained force. Some of them may work against short range systems. But most don't expect them to suffice in that situation, hence higher end systems specifically designed for SEAD/DEAD are being developed and/or fielded or already operational in some cases.
The sort of loitering munition that can tackle light - medium armor targets aren't necessarily SEAD weapons but more like one that can be employed against relocatable formations of armor, infantry, command and control, artillery etc and other stuff that is less protected, more mobile and not necessarily under a fortified fixed scenario. They are very much weapons that will be employed at the very tactical edge against suitable targets where sarming via loitering munitions is cost beneficial. IADS are expensive enough, and important enough to justify dedicating way more resources and more expensive systems to counter them.
For those at the tactical edge, here are some basic examples (just a few, though there are lots more between US, Chinese, Israeli, Turkish etc )
One of the drones used in this experiment (launched from the launcher) is the Coyote which can be configured with an appropriate sized warhead and sensor so that it can act as either an ISR drone, a loitering drone with a detonating warhead, or a guided Anti-Drone missile (there is even a jet powered version of it) which is the drone vs drone scenario described earlier -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW77hVqux10
The Chinese too have their "mass" launchers and payloads -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUg5GZqttkA
These are two different threats, both very important and both where lots of development is happening, best looked separately in terms of work being done to expand SEAD/DEAD options beyond stand-off jamming and anti-radiation missiles / guided munitions AND work being done to defeat other tactical targets more efficiently and in ways which imposes significant costs when it comes to fortifying defenses at the very tactical edge and in mobile and rapidly deployable formations.
