science

MIM-23 Hawk

MIM-23 Hawk is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand MIM-23 Hawk rather than just read about it. In short: The Raytheon MIM-23 HAWK ("Homing All the Way Killer") is an American medium-range surface-to-air missile. It was designed to be a much more mobile counterpart to the MIM-14 Nike Hercules, trading off range and altitude capability for a much smaller size and weight.

Key takeaways

MIM-23 Hawk belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect MIM-23 Hawk to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of MIM-23 Hawk from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Raytheon MIM-23 HAWK ("Homing All the Way Killer") is an American medium-range surface-to-air missile. It was designed to be a much more mobile counterpart to the MIM-14 Nike Hercules, trading off range and altitude capability for a much smaller size and weight. Its low-level performance was greatly improved over Nike through the adoption of new radars and a continuous wave semi-active radar homing guidance system. It entered service with the US Army in 1959. In 1971, it underwent a major improvement program as the Improved Hawk, or I-Hawk, which made several improvements to the missile and replaced all of the radar systems with new models. Improvements continued throughout the next twenty years, adding improved ECCM, a potential home-on-jam feature, and in 1995, a new warhead that made it capable against short-range tactical ballistic missiles. Jane's reported that the original system's single shot kill probability was 0.56; I-Hawk improved this to 0.85. Hawk was superseded by the MIM-104 Patriot in US Army service by 1994. The last US user was the US Marine Corps, who used theirs until 2002 when they were replaced with the man-portable short-range FIM-92 Stinger. The missile was also produced outside the US in Western Europe, Japan and Iran. The US never used the Hawk in combat, but it has been employed numerous times by other nations. Approximately 40,000 of the missiles were produced.

Development

Development of the Hawk missile system began in 1952, when the United States Army began studies into a medium-range semi-active radar homing surface-to-air missile. In July 1954, development contracts were awarded to Northrop for the launcher, radars and fire control systems, while Raytheon was awarded the contract for the missile. The first test launch of the missile then designated the XSAM-A-18 happened in June 1956. By July 1957, development was completed, by which time the designation had changed to XM3 and XM3E1. Very early missiles used the Aerojet M22E7 which was not reliable. The problems were resolved with the adoption of the M22E8 engine. The missile was initially deployed by the US Army in 1959, and by the US Marine Corps in 1960. The high complexity of the system, and the quality of tube-based electronics, gave the radars in the early Hawk systems a mean time between failures (MTBF) of only 43 hours. The improved Hawk system increased this to between 130 and 170 hours. Later Hawk versions improved this further to between 300 and 400 hours. Improved Hawk or I-Hawk The original Hawk system had problems engaging targets at low altitude—the missile would have problems picking the target out against ground clutter. The US Army began a program to address these issues in 1964 via the Hawk Improvement Program (Hawk/HIP). This involved numerous upgrades to the Hawk system:

A digital data processing central information coordinator for target processing, threat ordering, and intercept evaluation. An improved missile (MIM-23B) with a larger warhead, smaller and more powerful M112 motor, and improved guidance section. The PAR, CWAR, HPIR, and ROR were replaced by upgraded variants (see #Radars). The system entered service during 1972, the first unit reaching operational status by October. All US units were upgraded to I-Hawk standard by 1978. Product Improvement Plan In 1973 the US Army started an extensive multi-phase Hawk PIP (Product Improvement Plan), mainly intended to improve and upgrade the numerous items of ground equipment.

Phase I Phase I involved replacement of the CWAR with the AN/MPQ-55 Improved CWAR (ICWAR), and the upgrade of the AN/MPQ-50 PAR to Improved PAR (IPAR) configuration by the addition of a digital MTI (Moving Target Indicator). The first PIP Phase I systems were fielded between 1979 and 1981. Phase II Developed from 1978 and fielded between 1983 and 1986. upgraded the AN/MPQ-46 HPI to AN/MPQ-57 standard by replacing some of the vacuum tube based electronics with modern solid-state circuits, and added an optical TAS (Tracking Adjunct System). The TAS, designated OD-179/TVY, is an electro-optical (TV) tracking system that increases Hawk operability and survivability in a high-ECM environment. Phase III The PIP Phase III development was started in 1983, and was first fielded by U.S. forces in 1989. Phase III was a major upgrade which significantly enhanced the computer hardware and software for most components of the system, a new CWAR the AN/MPQ-62, added single-scan target detection capability, and upgraded the HPI to AN/MPQ-61 standard by addition of a Low-Altitude Simultaneous Hawk Engagement (LASHE) system. LASHE allows the Hawk system to counter saturation attacks by simultaneously intercepting multiple low-level targets. The ROR was phased out in Phase III Hawk units. Hawk Missile Restore Reliability (MRR)

This was a program that ran between 1982 and 1984 intended to improve missile reliability. Hawk ECCM

Running alongside the MMR program, this produced ECCM to specific threats, probably contemporary Soviet ECM pods such as the SPS-141 fitted to the Su-22, which proved moderately effective during the Iran–Iraq War. The MIM-23C and E missiles contain these fixes. Low clutter enhancements

Upgrades to the missile that takes it up to MIM-23G that enable the missile to deal with low flying targets in a high clutter environment. These were first deployed in 1990. Hawk missile ILM (Improved Lethality Modification)

To improve the lethality of the warhead of the missile against ballistic missiles, the warhead was redesigned to produce fewer larger fragments, typically 35 grams each and thus comparable to a 12.7 mm projectile in mass. Hawk mobility and TMD upgrades

A Hawk mobility survivability enhancement programme has been developed following experience in the 1990 Gulf War. The aim of this programme was to reduce the number of support vehicles per battery and to increase survivability. Upgrades to the launcher allow missiles to be transported on the launcher itself, as well as replacing vacuum tubes with a single-board computer. A north finding system speeds orientation and launcher alignment. A field wire replaces heavy cables and allows for greater dispersion amongst battery vehicles from 360 ft (110 m) to 1.2 mi (2 km). The upgrades were deployed by the US Marine Corps between early 1995 and September 1996. Phase IV

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with MIM-23 Hawk

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what MIM-23 Hawk claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to MIM-23 Hawk before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about MIM-23 Hawk ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of MIM-23 Hawk

In research: MIM-23 Hawk appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses MIM-23 Hawk in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: MIM-23 Hawk is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cold War surface-to-air missiles of the United States, Military electronics of the United States, Military equipment introduced in the 1960s, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for MIM-23 Hawk outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study MIM-23 Hawk in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what MIM-23 Hawk means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain MIM-23 Hawk out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is MIM-23 Hawk in simple terms?

Why does MIM-23 Hawk matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study MIM-23 Hawk?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on MIM-23 Hawk.