VLS
Vertical Launch System
Vertical Launch System is a shipboard missile launcher that stores and fires missiles from vertical cells below deck, enabling rapid salvo fire of multiple missile types from a single launcher.
The Vertical Launch System (VLS) is the standard missile launcher on modern warships, replacing earlier single and twin-arm rail launchers with a grid of vertical cells that can each contain a missile ready for immediate launch. The Mk 41 VLS, used by the U.S. Navy and over a dozen allied navies, consists of modules of eight cells each, with Arleigh Burke-class destroyers carrying up to 96 cells and Ticonderoga-class cruisers carrying 122.
The VLS provides several decisive advantages over older launcher designs. Every missile is ready to fire instantly, no rotation or loading sequence is needed. Different missile types can be loaded in any cell, allowing a ship to carry a mix of anti-air, anti-ship, anti-submarine, and land-attack missiles tailored to the mission. The below-deck magazine is protected by the ship's armor, and the vertical launch profile ensures the missile clears the ship before turning toward its target.
A single Arleigh Burke destroyer's VLS loadout might include SM-2 and SM-6 surface-to-air missiles for fleet air defense, Tomahawk cruise missiles for land attack, ESSM self-defense missiles, and ASROC anti-submarine rockets. This versatility makes VLS-equipped ships extraordinarily flexible combatants. The Mk 57 Peripheral VLS on the Zumwalt class uses larger cells positioned around the ship's periphery, accommodating future missiles too large for the Mk 41.
Related Terms
Carrier Strike Group
A naval formation centered on an aircraft carrier, typically including guided-missile cruisers, destroyers, a submarine, and a supply ship, capable of projecting power anywhere on the globe.
Cruise Missile
A guided weapon that uses aerodynamic lift and a jet engine to fly at low altitude over long distances, navigating autonomously to its target with high precision.
SAM(Surface-to-Air Missile)
A Surface-to-Air Missile is a ground-launched or ship-launched guided missile designed to intercept and destroy aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, or ballistic missiles.
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