Not all air-to-air missiles are designed to attack surface-to-surface missiles at VLow altitude. IRH air-to-air missiles have a lot of trouble attacking seaskimmers. The reflected heat signature off the sea surface confuses the seeker. AAMs that use SARH, either by itself or as a terminal seeker, also have problems distinguishing between the missile's echo and the reflection of the echo on the sea surface. Therefore, treat IR and SARH missiles as non-seaskimmer-capable (see 6.4.1.6). Only Active Radar-Homing missiles can distinguish between a real echo and the reflection of the echo off the sea surface. These missiles are considered to be seaskimmer-capable. In other words, you probably can't take out an SS-N-22 with a Sidewinder or a Sparrow, but you have a much better chance with a Phoenix or an AMRAAM. Thanks to Peter Grining for asking. BT Back to The Naval Sitrep #14 Table of Contents Back to Naval Sitrep List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by Larry Bond and Clash of Arms. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com