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Originally Posted by Scion
Why would such a weapon need to be fired out of existing VLS/Torpedo tubes? According to fas.org, the AIM-9 only has a diameter of 5 inches... That works out to be 127mm, so they could easily be put into small VLS tubes (sail mounted perhaps?)
Of course, another option would be to give up one or two of the VLS tubes on the 688/Virginia and launch them from cells mounted inside of the tubes... I figure you could get 4-5 of them in per VLS tube. With two tubes you are potentaially looking at 10 SAMs... Something no sane helo pilot is going to try his/her luck against...
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While compromising the ability of the sub to carry out its mission....
Sail mounting might be reasonable if the modifications needed to do it are cheap and easy. A weapon that could be adapted to the current launchers would be more practical.