Saturation attack
Encyclopedia
Saturation attack is a military tactic in which the attacking side hopes to gain an advantage by overwhelming the defending side's technological, physical and mental ability to respond effectively. During the Cold War
and after the conventional saturation missile attack against naval and land targets was and is a much feared eventuality.
and CIW
resources will have to be expended to defend the target. To further overload a target's ability to defend itself, an attacker can attempt to launch multiple missiles from multiple directions using different guidance options.
The main subscribers to the concept of the saturation missile attack were the Soviet Union
and its client states. The Komar class missile boat
for example being designed and operated around the calculations that it would take 12 P-15 Termit
missiles to destroy a single NATO destroyer. At a time when British destroyers were equipped with just four anti-ship missiles, Soviet ships were going to sea with anything up to 20 anti-ship missiles, with even destroyers fielding 8 large missiles. With the NATO allies having followed the route of individually smaller, lighter, and more technologically advanced missiles, NATO warships had the appearance of being underarmed when compared to Soviet ships with their multiple missiles in large container/launch tube housings.
was a tactic pioneered by the RAF to overwhelm German air defences during the Second World War. The tactic relied on routing a greater number of bombers through a defensive sector then the Germans could generate interception sorties. Although it was a certainty that bombers would be lost, it was impossible for the defending fighters to destroy every bomber and stop the bombers gaining their objective.
During the Cold War
British and American air defences revolved around plans to stop massed Soviet
bomber streams, leading to the US fielding nuclear tipped Nike missiles, and at a later date the British equipping trainers
as interceptors in order to have enough fighters.
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
and after the conventional saturation missile attack against naval and land targets was and is a much feared eventuality.
Theoretical calculations
Taking the design of an anti ship missile as a theoretical example, one can begin with the goal of creating a missile which will get through and destroy its target 100% of the time. However as a designer one knows that with time an opponent will develop counter measures that means that your missile will at some later date not be 100% effective. So given that a missile will only ever be less than perfect why not design a missile that will get through to the target say only 70% or even only 50% of time, with a cost saving benefit on each missile produced. Launched singly a missile with a 50% chance of getting through to its target will only get to its target 50% of the time, but with a salvo two such missiles the chance of at least one missile getting through is 75%, with three missiles 87.5% etc, with the probability that at least one missile will get through to its target becoming closer to certainty with each missile fired. If each missile has a warhead capable of destroying the target, then no individual missile can be ignored by the target warship and counter-measures. Thus, SAMsSurface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
and CIW
Close-in weapon system
A close-in weapon system , often pronounced sea-whiz, is a naval shipboard point-defense weapon for detecting and destroying at short range incoming anti-ship missiles and enemy aircraft which have penetrated the outer defenses....
resources will have to be expended to defend the target. To further overload a target's ability to defend itself, an attacker can attempt to launch multiple missiles from multiple directions using different guidance options.
The main subscribers to the concept of the saturation missile attack were the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and its client states. The Komar class missile boat
Komar class missile boat
The Soviet Project 183R class, more commonly known by its NATO reporting name Komar, is a class of missile boats, the first of its kind, built in the 1950s and 1960s. They also hold the distinction of being the first ships to sink another ship with anti-ship missiles.- Design :The Project 183 MTB...
for example being designed and operated around the calculations that it would take 12 P-15 Termit
P-15 Termit
The P-15 Termit is an anti-ship missile developed by the Soviet Union's Raduga design bureau in the 1950s. Its GRAU designation was 4K40, its NATO reporting name was Styx or SS-N-2. In Russian service today it also seems to be called the Rubezh...
missiles to destroy a single NATO destroyer. At a time when British destroyers were equipped with just four anti-ship missiles, Soviet ships were going to sea with anything up to 20 anti-ship missiles, with even destroyers fielding 8 large missiles. With the NATO allies having followed the route of individually smaller, lighter, and more technologically advanced missiles, NATO warships had the appearance of being underarmed when compared to Soviet ships with their multiple missiles in large container/launch tube housings.
Bomber stream
The bomber streamBomber stream
The bomber stream was a tactic developed by the Royal Air Force Bomber Command to overwhelm the German aerial defences of the Kammhuber Line during World War II....
was a tactic pioneered by the RAF to overwhelm German air defences during the Second World War. The tactic relied on routing a greater number of bombers through a defensive sector then the Germans could generate interception sorties. Although it was a certainty that bombers would be lost, it was impossible for the defending fighters to destroy every bomber and stop the bombers gaining their objective.
During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
British and American air defences revolved around plans to stop massed Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
bomber streams, leading to the US fielding nuclear tipped Nike missiles, and at a later date the British equipping trainers
Trainer (aircraft)
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate in-flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristics and a simplified cockpit arrangement—allows...
as interceptors in order to have enough fighters.
See also
- Human wave attackHuman wave attackHuman wave attack, also known as human sea attack, is an offensive infantry tactic, in which an attacker conducts an unprotected frontal assault with densely concentrated infantry formations against the enemy line, intended to overrun the defenders by engaging in melee combat.-Definition:According...
- Force concentrationForce concentrationForce concentration is the practice of concentrating a military force, so as to bring to bear such overwhelming force against a portion of an enemy force that the disparity between the two forces alone acts as a force multiplier, in favour of the concentrated forces.-Mass of decision:Force...
- Swarming (military)Swarming (military)Military swarming is a behavior where autonomous, or semi-autonomous, units of action attack an enemy from several different directions and then regroup. Pulsing, where the units shift the point of attack, is a part of military swarming. Swarming is not limited to the human military realm...