RIM-116 RAM

A compact, supersonic US-German fire-and-forget missile for shipboard point defense against anti-ship missiles and other close-range air and surface threats.

Overview

The RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) is a shipborne point-defense weapon developed jointly by the United States and Germany. It occupies the inner missile layer of a warship's defensive system, reaching farther than a gun-based close-in weapon system while remaining shorter-ranged than weapons such as the Evolved SeaSparrow Missile. The baseline installation uses a 21-round Mk 49 Guided Missile Launching System cued by the host ship's sensors and combat-management system. SeaRAM combines 11 RAM rounds with sensors derived from the Phalanx Block 1B mount, creating a more self-contained installation.

RAM is designed principally to defeat anti-ship cruise missiles. Successive variants have broadened its target set to include aircraft, helicopters, drones and small surface craft. Its passive radio-frequency and infrared guidance does not require the launching ship to illuminate a target throughout the engagement. The missile's defining roll-stabilized flight also gave the system its name.

RTX describes RAM as a cooperative US-German program and reports installations aboard more than 165 ships across 11 countries, although another figure on the same company page refers to eight countries. The operator base covers vessels ranging from small combatants to aircraft carriers, while Block 2B is the current production standard.

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