SUPERCARRIER PHALANX FIRING! Testing anti-ship missile Close-In Weapon System (CIWS).

This live-fire event took place on-board a United States Navy Nimitz class nuclear-powered aircraft-carrier.

(Please also note, once again, that this is a training exercise – it’s NOT a real combat situation.)

The Phalanx Close-In Weapon System is a radar-guided, rapid-firing cannon that can fire between 3,000-4,500 20 mm rounds per minute (either under manual command or autonomously).

The system utilizes 'closed loop spotting' with sophisticated computer and radar technology to locate, identify and direct a precise stream of armor piecing projectiles toward the target.

These unique capabilities have made the Phalanx system an indispensable defensive sub-system for a multitude of naval vessels around the world.

Designed by General Dynamics (now Raytheon), the system has been in service since 1980.

(FYI, Phalanx CIWS led directly to the development of the land-based Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar system (C-RAM)).

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