Tri-Service
Frightening Footage From Phalanx Battery Emerges
In the following footage, British C-RAM batteries (Counter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar) of the 16th Regiment Royal Artillery open up on incoming mortar fire in Basra, Iraq.
Traditionally used aboard Navy ships as a last line of defence, the Phalanx was recast on to mobile land systems, becoming known as the C-RAM. It was deployed in a short range missile defence role to counter incoming rockets and artillery fire.
A major difference between the land and sea-based variants, and one that is clear from the video above is the choice of ammunition.
The traditional Phalanx systems fire tungsten armour-piercing rounds, whereas the C-RAM uses high-explosive incendiary 20mm tracer rounds.
These particular rounds explode on impact with the target, or on tracer burnout, with the aim of greatly reducing the risk of collateral damage should any rounds fail to hit their target.
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