AEGIS Type Naval Air Defense in the 1960s?

Delta Force

Banned
Typhon was an air defense system the United States Navy was working on in the early 1960s as a replacement for the Talos, Terrier, and Tartar missiles. It would have consisted of two AN/SPG-59 radar variants (one for cruisers, one for destroyers), as well as two missile types, the Bendix SAM-N-8/RIM-50 Typhon LR and the Bendix SAM-N-9/RIM-55 Typhon MR. It was essentially the predecessor to AEGIS.

Ultimately, Typhon was abandoned because it lost too much signal strength during signal processing, resulting in the radar's maximum range being less than the minimum needed for target resolution. While I am unsure if signal processing refers to something having to do with the signal itself, or the processing computers chosen not being up to the task, there were quite a few 1960s and 1970s radar systems that failed to function either because the radar couldn't pick things up (the Nike missile had enough performance to hit targets the radar couldn't detect due to speed) or there wasn't enough processing power (Sentinel/Safeguard).

There were advanced computers and radars that were functioning around the time Typhon was being developed, so whatever the issue was, it seems it would have been possible to resolve. For radars, the Royal Navy had the successful Type 984 set, and was planning a transistorized and possibly AESA version of it as the Type 985. The Type 984 also had an advanced command and control system that allowed it to both search and track using the same system as part of the Comprehensive Display System. Another advanced radar is the Anglo-Dutch Type 988, which was planned for the Royal Navy CVA-01 aircraft carriers and Type 82 destroyers, and ultimately saw service on the Dutch Tromp class frigates/destroyers. The Royal Canadian Navy and United States Navy also were developing systems to try to allow for integrated systems across ships, respectively DATAR and the Naval Tactical Data System. On land the United States Air Force and Army worked together with Canada to field the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment system, which allowed for centralized command and control of interceptors and missiles and integrated information from ground, air, and sea based radar systems.

It seems that many of the components necessary for a workable AEGIS type system would have been available in the 1960s, well before the first AEGIS cruiser, USS Ticonderoga, entered service in the early 1980s. So, would it have been possible? If so, how does this butterfly naval air defense, seeing as the premier naval aircraft of the 1960s and 1970s were interceptors for defending the carrier battle group?
 
If so, how does this butterfly naval air defense, seeing as the premier naval aircraft of the 1960s and 1970s were interceptors for defending the carrier battle group?

Is CAP (with lots of expensive interceptors) not the most important function of almost any air group regardless of the escort (AEGIS or not) ?

IMO, the only diffrence between 60/70s and now (and why defences has slipped down in priorities) is that the USN isnt 99% commited to fighting massive Soviet regimental strikes ? (I think you desperately need lots of layers to catch strikes with lots of missiles some carrying nuclear warheads)
 

Delta Force

Banned
Is CAP (with lots of expensive interceptors) not the most important function of almost any air group regardless of the escort (AEGIS or not) ?

IMO, the only diffrence between 60/70s and now (and why defences has slipped down in priorities) is that the USN isnt 99% commited to fighting massive Soviet regimental strikes ? (I think you desperately need lots of layers to catch strikes with lots of missiles some carrying nuclear warheads)

The Phoenix missile system might have been a lower priority item if Typhon had been fielded.
 

Delta Force

Banned
Any comments on this? It would seem to have some interesting implications for the development of naval aviation as a butterfly.
 
Were computers fast enough in the 1960s for this sort of thing?

Another question is could the required computers be practically installed and maintained on a cruiser sized warship.

Looking at the size of the computing installations that were used for the SAGE system and the ABM system I have my doubts about this.
 
Knew a guy who worked on that radar for that project.

Said it was so cutting edge, blood was everywhere.

It worked, but reliability wasn't there
 
I think the biggest hurdle is the missiles themselves. In the 80s basically 70s era missiles were given an autopilot and launched on a ballistic trajectory to go their own way until it was time for terminal homing. This allowed existing systems to handle many more targets than previously without fancy phased array radars as well as giving the missiles themselves vastly greater ranges.

So perhaps working on missile autopilots and calculating ballistic trajectories to fire missiles into engagement envelopes would be the way to go rather than extra fancy radars and the like.
 
To get the required computing power the microprocessor has to be invented about 5 years earlier.

This might not be ASB because a British scientist did have the idea in the early 1950s, but neither the British Government or British Industry was willing to take the financial risk. Even if they did the earlier start does not automatically mean the prototype would be produced 5 years earlier or that they would go into production 5 years earlier.
 
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