MASCURA Weapon System

=Background=

MASCURA is a unified air defense and battle management suite consisting of sensors, command and control, data processing, and weapons which is designed to provide absolute control of the battle space around naval battle groups. It has its origins in Project Flyswatter, a program begun in 1963 on the heels of the Great Kesh War to unify naval battle group protection. Though Chezzetcook was not an active participant in the Kesh War, the lessons learned through observation and reports from the combatant sides caused a great shake up in Chezzetcook naval planners and theories of how future naval war would be conducted.

The Marine Nationale has always been a forerunner in the development of naval surface to air missile systems with the first such system entering service as early as 1946. This system, the was limited in capability but proved the concept for commencement of the first integrated air defense system employed by the Marine Nationale, the Modèle 56 introduced in 1956. Modèle 56 consisted of two missile systems intended to provide layered defence against attacking bomber formations at long and medium ranges. The long Range component consisted of the medium range guided missile and the  long range guided missile. The Modèle 56 system relied on a mixture of beam riding and semi-active radar guidance to engage targets and had limitations against low flying and maneuvering targets. Upon introduction in 1956 the system was already under pressure as being potentially obsolete because of difficulties engaging newer low flying ant shipping missiles and the chaotic engagement environments being seen in the Kesh Wars. By 1962 the Marine Nationale was worried that the fire control system employed by Modèle 56 was unable to deal with multiple engagement vectors due to the fact that the missiles required guidance from a fire control radar from launch until interception. The most capable ships in the Marine Nationale inventory at the time could engage up to four targets at once, but no more, and firing arcs were not ideal for the radar illumination outside of broadside engagements. This led to the initiation of Project Flyswatter in 1963.

Project Flyswatter was an intensive development and update program to the Modèle 56 system while the Marine Nationale worked out how best to deal with air threats in the future. It consisted of a number of updates to radar, data processing, and the missiles themselves to alleviate the issues seen in Modèle 56 systems, and allowing those systems to serve into the future until a suitable replacement could be developed. The biggest differences include the introduction of an inertial guidance system which enabled missiles to time-share fire director radars. The number of engagements a single radar director could manage at once increased as the target needed to only be illuminated in the terminal phase now. This was a dramatic improvement over the previous version, though it was still limited in total engagements and firing arcs. in service Project Flyswatter systems and missiles received the uniform designation of Modèle 56F. The missile systems were not the only result of Project Flyswatter however, with the largest immediate changes in naval capability coming from the introduction of two other elements of the project: the airborne early warning and control aircraft and  fleet defense fighter were also significant aspects of the project to push engagement capability as far from the battle group as possible.

The first replacement system for Modèle 56 was conceived in 1965 within the framework of Project Flyswatter but suffered from numerous delays and technological problems, ultimately being cancelled in 1970 without a final design concluded. As a result, in 1972 Project MASCURA was initiated as a priority improvement project for the Marine Nationale in order to provide definitive replacement for the now aging Modèle 56 systems. Project goals for Project MASCURA were longer engagement ranges and greater envelopes, a reduction in the limitation of fire control radars on engagement vectors, enhanced protection against electronic countermeasures, and greater commonality in capability across. The ultimate result was one of the most expensive projects in modern Chezzetcook naval history, however the project goals were met or exceeded.

=Design= The MASCURA Weapon System is built around a common interceptor missile design for both long and medium range engagement. The missile is provided fire control by a 3D air search and director radar which provides time-shared illumination in short bursts for missile engagement through the interception, with a fire director radar only providing final illumination in the terminal phase. Because the 3D air search and director radar can also provide illumination, it can also provide terminal illumination however this is not ideal for engagement of maneuvering targets. The fire director radar for terminal engagement would be dropped with a system update in the early 1990s which introduced datalink mid course updates. By the end of the 1990s the system would see active terminal engagement introduced and would drop the need for terminal illumination all together.

Launchers and Magazines
The MASCURA system is designed around a two rail arm launcher with an automated magazine. The launcher automatically loads a selected round from a vertical below deck magazine via two loading doors positions to either side of the launcher. Missiles are raised vertically and loaded onto the launch rails, which must also be positioned vertically for loading. The rails can be reloaded facing either fore or aft.

The modular automated magazine can accomodate missiles up to 6.6m in length. The magazine comes in two capacities, either 24 missiles or 48 missiles. The magazine is designed to provide the shortest possible time to reload and react to emerging targets. Reloading of the magazine can either be done 1-2 at a time via the arm launcher itself, or through a primary reloading hatch with the aid of a crane directly into the magazine.

Sensors and Command and Control
MASCURA
 * (MFR)
 * CIC Systems Processing Computer
 * CIC Fire Control/Director Computer
 * CIC Datalink System

Radars:
 * OPS-90: Large dual-band AESA radar set for cruisers. Dual L/X band multifunction radar set. Rotating set of two panels.
 * OPS-93: Destroyer sized version of OPS-90 with lower power requirements and range.

MASCURA-Léger
 * 2D Air Search Radar
 * Height-finding Radar
 * Fire Director Radar
 * CIC Fire Control/Director Computer
 * CIC Datalink System (Optional)

Cooperative Engagement
A core feature of the MASCURA system is a datalink connected cooperative engagement capability that allows various platforms to direct and control aspects across the battlegroup area.

MASCURA
The standard medium range missile is the basic MASCURA missile.

MASCURA-LP
The MASCURA-LP is an extended range variant of the MASCURA missile.

MASCURMB
The MASCURMB was introduced in 2014 to provide shipboard anti ballistic missile capability, with a secondary anti satellite capability. Though built on the framework of the MASCURA-LP, it is an entirely different missile with a new guidance system and a kinetic kill vehicle designed for exo-atmospheric engagement.

MICA
The short range air defense missile is a development of the R8 air-to-air missile. While not expressly part of the MASCURA system, MICA was developed to integrate into the MASCURA sensors and fire control easily. The missile can be cued by the MASCURA sensors and fire control system and fed real time updates, as well as employed through the MASCURA cooperative engagement capability. Like the air to air R8 variant, MICA employs both an IR guided and active radar guided variant. In normal use both missiles are fired at a single target, with the missiles sharing targeting data between them and with the ship through datalink. This provides unparalleled electronic countermeasure resistance. The MICA missile is fired from a special canister for the vertical launch system which packs 4 missiles into one canister.

Malafon
The was introduced in 1992 to provide an advanced anti-submarine weapon for submarines and surface ships. It was specifically designed to work in the MASCURA vertical launch system. The Malafon Underwater Defence system is a sub-element to the MASCURA battle management system and ties in through a dedicated operator console. Because it is closely tied to the MASCURA system it can be linked through the cooperative engagement capability of the system, allowing ASW force commanders to designate ships to shoot at targets identified by other ships or even aircraft. Coupled with its long range in excess of 65km, the Malafon can be used to defend a battle group from most underwater threats at sea.

Exocet II
The anti shipping missile replaced the  I anti shipping missile in standard service in 2012. Unlike the Exocet I, the Exocet II can be launched with a booster from a vertical launch cell of the MASCURA system, and has been employed as such in Marine Nationale service.

=Variants= MASCURA Standard surface to air missile variant.
 * Modèle 84: Initial service variant. Inertial guidance with semi active radar homing terminal.
 * Modèle 91: Introduced mid-course updates for improved range and accuracy.
 * Modèle 97: Active radar homing terminal phase.
 * Modèle 03: Improved rocket motor for faster response to rapid targets.
 * Modèle 14: Product improvement, new electronics, sensors, motor, etc.

MASCURA-LP Extended-range surface to air missile variant.
 * Modèle 85: Initial service variant. Inertial guidance with semi-active radar homing.
 * Modèle 90: Introduced mid-course updates for improved range and accuracy.
 * Modèle 99: Active radar homing terminal phase.
 * Modèle 17: Product improvement, new electronics, sensors, motor, etc.

MASURCMB Anti-ballistic missile and anti-satellite missile variant.
 * Modèle 16: Initial service variant.

=Service History= =Operators= =See Also=
 * Chezzetcook: Marine Nationale
 * Chezzetcook: Garde Nationale
 * Zahava: Imperial Zahavan Navy