CRV7

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The CRV7 is a 70 mm unguided air-to-surface missile (2.75 inches) for use on aircraft and helicopters. It is manufactured by Bristol Aerospace in Winnipeg , Canada .

history

The CRV-7 was an offshoot of the early high-performance solid rocket that was developed in the late 1950s as part of a ballistic missile defense program that led to the Black Brant missile . The then defense and test site of the Canadian Department of Defense (Canadian Armament Research and Development Establishment - CARDE), and the company Bristol Aerospace decided to use the same propellant and the motor for a new air-to-surface missile. When first introduced in the early 1970s, it was the most powerful 2.75-inch rocket in the world.

Compared to the American MK4 / MK40 “Mighty Mouse” rocket and its derivatives , the CRV7 still has a more stretched trajectory, greater range and impact energy thanks to its propellant charge with higher energy density.

construction

The CRV7 weapon system consists of a rocket motor with folding wings, various warheads and the launcher.

Rocket engine

At the rear end of the solid rocket motor there are three self-unfolding wings which, in conjunction with the spirally arranged deflectors in the outlet nozzles, should lead to the most stable trajectory possible and thus less scatter.

The range of the missile is about 3 km.

The first introduced C14 engine (RLU-5001) was further developed in two versions. The C15 (RLU-5002A / B) was introduced for use on aircraft. It has a burn time of 1.72 s, a burnout range of 876 m and reaches a speed of 1,034 m / s.

The C17 (RLU-5004) was developed for use on helicopters. The C17 is compatible with the American Hydra-70 launcher and enables launching from combat vehicles on the ground.

Warhead

The following warheads are available for aircraft and helicopters:

  • WTU 5001 for training purposes (or in the version WTU-5001A / B can also be used against armored targets)
  • M151 for fighting people as shrapnel , which detonates after impacting with fragments
  • M257 / M278 for battlefield lighting (visible or in the near infrared range ).

The following warheads are only available for the C15:

  • WDU-5002 / B with five metal flechets against armored targets (the ejection occurs after the engine burns out)
  • RA-7 with armor-piercing, highly explosive and inflammatory effect against a wide range of targets ( ships , vehicles, bunkers , helicopters, etc.)
  • WDU-5001 with high penetration depth and highly explosive and inflammatory effect against hardened infrastructure (especially aircraft protection structures)
  • M156 for target marking by white smoke.

The following are intended exclusively for use on helicopters:

  • General Purpose (multi-purpose) flechets against lightly armored targets
  • RA-79 with a highly explosive and inflammatory effect after penetration of partially armored targets (especially ships).

Launch devices

Launcher M261 with Hydra-70
Exercise starting device

Aircraft take off from either six launch devices (LAU 5002) or nineteen launch tubes (LAU 5003). The SUU-5003 serves as a training start device. In addition to four CRV7 missiles, it can carry six exercise bombs.

Helicopters use the M260 with seven or the M261 with nineteen tubes.

Aerodynamic caps are available for each of the 19-tube guns.

Users

Examples of fighter jets that fire the CRV7 C15 are the CF-18 Hornet , the British Jaguar , the Czech L-159 or the Thai Alpha Jet . The C17s are used, for example, on the AH-64 Apache , OH-58 Kiowa or the Super Lynx .

Further development to the CRV7-PG

The CRV7 is currently in the process of developing into an inexpensive guided air-to-ground missile through the integration of sensor units (laser search head, GPS or searcher for emitters of electromagnetic rays ), a more powerful motor and a control unit with canards .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT) website (PDF; 3.2 MB)
  2. ↑ Janes
  3. ↑ CRV7-PG on the manufacturer's homepage
  4. ^ Message on Defense Industry Daily of July 9, 2008

Web links

Commons : Canadian Rocket Vehicle 7  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files