SEAD

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(Redirected from Suppression of Enemy Air Defence)

Image:AGM-88-HARM-navy.gif SEAD (pronounced: see-add or seed), or Suppression of Enemy Air Defences, operations are military actions to suppress enemy surface-based air defences, (SAMs and AAA) primarily in, but not limited to, the first hours of an attack.

The weapons most often associated with this mission are Anti-radiation missiles (ARMs) such as the American AGM-88 HARM and British ALARM. However, a weapon used for SEAD mission can be anything which damages or destroys a component of an air defence system; For example, a Paveway LGB is not a SEAD-specific munition, but when used to destroy a radar antenna it achieves the objective of Suppression of Enemy Air Defence.

Possibly the most effective type of unguided ('dumb') weapon used during SEAD strikes are cluster bombs, because many SAM sites are dispersed over a fairly wide area, in order to increase the difficulty of inflicting serious damage on the battery, and the relative 'softness' of the targets (missile TELs, exposed radars, etc.). In particular, the American Joint Standoff Weapon is an effective weapon for attacking SAM sites, due to its fairly long standoff range which allows the launching aircraft to avoid being threatened by all but the longest range missiles, and its relatively large area of destruction against soft targets.

In US service, SEAD missions are carried out by tactical fighters such as the F-105G Thunderchief and F-16 Fighting Falcon. These aircraft were nicknamed "Wild Weasels," and often used themselves as bait for enemy defences. On the other hand, Soviets preferred to use modified stand-off interceptors such as the Mikoyan MiG-25BM and missile-armed bombers such as the Tupolev Tu-22M to destroy targets from a distance, rather than the up-close method.

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