Kentron V3
| Kentron V3 | |
|---|---|
| General Information | |
| Type | Air-to-air missile |
| Country of origin | South Africa |
| Manufacturer | Armscor , Kentron (today: Denel Dynamics ) |
| development | from 1969 |
| Working time | from 1973 |
| Technical specifications | |
| length | 2940 mm |
| diameter | 127 mm |
| Combat weight | 73.4 kg |
| span | 530 mm |
| drive | Solid rocket motor |
| speed | approx. Mach 1.8 |
| Range | 300-4000 m |
| Furnishing | |
| Target location | passive infrared |
| Warhead | 12 kg fragmentation warhead |
| Detonator | Proximity fuze |
| * |
Data for V3A |
| Lists on the subject | |
The Kentron V3 (but also Armscor or Denel) is a heat-seeking air-to-air guided missile with a short range that has been used by the South African Air Force (SAAF) since 1973 and is constantly being further developed.
Versions
V3A
When the development of the Kentron V2 was stopped, the SAAF did not have a short-range air-to-air missile. So 50 French R.530 (1963) and later 100 R.550 Magic (1973) were procured. With the increasing political isolation of South Africa because of its apartheid policy , it became more difficult for the country to import weapons. Therefore, the development of the V3A began in 1969. In particular, it should be better than an AIM-9B Sidewinder in terms of its maneuverability .
As the development dragged on, the pilots of the SAAF were able to gain their first experience with the R.550 Magic. It was seen that the Magic was better than an AIM-9B. That is why the developers oriented themselves to the Magic and the result was the V3A. This is relatively similar in structure to the Magic, but not identical. Production began in 1975 and ended that same year after only 20 units had been built. The V3A was used on the Dassault Mirage F1 CZ until 1978.
The V3A was limited in its use, as it had to be behind an enemy aircraft with its detection range of 30 °. The rocket could only be fired under a low g load, as the airframe of the V3A only withstood maneuvers up to 25 g ; in addition, it had a maximum flight time of only 25 seconds. It was advantageous that the target system for the V3A was integrated in the pilot's helmet. In this way, the pilot was able to capture and lock onto a target before it was even within the V3A's detection range. It was one of the first guided missiles to have such a system.
V3B Kukri
The development of the V3B began in 1975. It has only been improved in a few details compared to the V3A. The rocket reaches a speed of Mach 1.8, its cell can withstand maneuvers of up to 40 g and it weighs 74.25 kg. The range was increased to 5 km, although the maximum flight time remained at 25 seconds. The squint angle on the seeker head was increased to 34 ° and the passive infrared sensor became somewhat more sensitive. The V3B was used by the Atlas Impala Mk II and all Mirage F1 and III versions of the SAAF. During the test and evaluation phase, it was also tested on an Atlas XTP-1 helicopter. Production of the V3B began in 1979 and was discontinued in 1985 after only 450 units had been built. In 1981 the V3B was to be marketed internationally with the addition of "Kukri"; however, these efforts were unsuccessful. The V3B first came into combat during Operation Protea , which took place from 23 August to 4 September 1981 in the Angolan province of Cunene .
In the fighting against the Angolan MiG-23s during the civil war in Angola (1975-1989), the SAAF pilots found that the R.550 Magic was not that good and the V3B was even worse. During the war, SAAF pilots were only able to score four kills (three MiG-23s, one An-26 ) with the V3B . This created considerable tension between the SAAF pilots and the Kentron staff. There is a report of a dogfight in which ten V3Bs were fired at two MiG-23s and none were hit.
V3C darter
In 1986 the V3C went into production, the development of which had already started in 1983. It has been redesigned so extensively that it is almost a different rocket. It is significantly shorter (2750 mm), has a larger diameter (157 mm) and weighs 89 kg more. 16 kg are allotted to the warhead, which is filled with the explosive Torpex and has a jacket made of small tungsten cubes. The V3C has the same mechanical and electrical interface as the R.550 Magic. It can therefore be fired from all aircraft approved for the Magic. In fact, it was only used by the SAAF on the Mirage III, F1, Cheetah and Impala Mk II. It is also approved for the Denel AH-2 Rooivalk attack helicopter , but is not used on it.
One of the main criticisms of the V3B was the seeker head, which was completely redesigned for the V3C. A two-color detector with a viewing angle of 55 ° is now used, which is less susceptible to decoys and other sources of interference (sun, fire on the ground). The target electronics and the software have been improved, making the V3C an all-aspect guided weapon that can attack targets from all directions. The solid rocket motor burns for two seconds and accelerates the rocket up to Mach 2.2.
Although it was developed as a replacement for the V3B used in the Bush War, the V3C was not taken over into armament until 1990 after the end of the war, but was already decommissioned with the introduction of the Saab JAS 39 Gripen .
Underground darters
One version of the V3C is the U-Darter (upgraded). It was specially developed for the Cheetah C / D. Compared to the V3C, it had a slightly larger diameter (160 mm) and weighed 96 kg. The fragmentation warhead had a mass of 15 kg. A digital autopilot and an indium - antimony infrared seeker head were also installed. The sensor is a module with 100 × 100 pixels that is gimbaled and has a squint angle of 56 °. Thanks to its high resolution, this seeker head can better deal with infrared countermeasures such as flares . The cell of the U-Darter can withstand flight maneuvers up to 50 g .
The U-Darter was put into service between 1994 and 1997, depending on the source. Only a few copies were made of it, which were decommissioned together with the Cheetah in 2008.
V3E A-Darter
Originally, in 1994, Kentron introduced the A-Darter (Agile) as an upgrade of the U-Darter to make it interesting for users of the General Dynamics F-16 . This upgrade included an Imaging Infrared (IIR) sensor and thrust vector control . There were repeated reports of this upgrade. In 1997 there was a report that the A-Darter could be put into service as early as 2005. In 1999, Kentron announced that they were using the A-Darter as the basis for the Umkhonto . It was only officially announced in 2006 that South Africa and Brazil would jointly develop and use the V3E A-Darter. The project cost was estimated at 1 billion South African rand , but Denel plans another 2 billion rand over the next 15 years for further development. In the same year it became known that the A-Darter was using the inertial navigation system SilMU02 manufactured by BAE Systems .
A range of around 10 km is planned for the A-Darter. The rocket is 2980 mm long and has a diameter of 166 mm. Although it is a little bigger than the U-Darter, it weighs a little less (90 kg). It is still unknown what kind of warhead it uses; It will probably be a proximity fuse, like the U-Darter. Target acquisition via the helmet display is also improved.
The A-Darter uses the MIL-STD-1553 bus and is to be used in the SAAF on the Saab JAS-39 Gripen and the BAE Hawk . The Brazilian Air Force wants the A-Darter the MAA-1 Piranha of Mectron replace; it is to be used on the AMX Ghibli , Northrop F-5E Tiger II , Embraer EMB 314 and the winner of the F-X2 competition (Gripen, Rafale or Super Hornet ). Another potential user is Pakistan , which in 2007 expressed an interest in the A-Darter for the JF-17 Thunder . Pakistan had already expressed interest in the U-Darter in 1996; this agreement for a volume of 160 million US dollars had not come about. The People's Republic of China also expressed interest in buying the A-Darter in 2004. With the beginning of the development of the PL-10 , however, this interest was quickly lost.
On February 26th, 2009 Denel announced that in mid-February the first ground-based test starts of the A-Darter would take place on the missile test site in Overberg . A little more than a year later, on July 21, 2010 Denel was able to report the successful start of a Gripen. It is planned to start series production in 2012. From 2013 - according to the plan - the first A-Darters should be available for the SAAF. There are also plans for updates (Mk. 2 and Mk. 3) and various variants of the A-Darter, including an A-Darter light (short range), A-Darter ER (Extended Range) and an Air -Ground version.
Replacement for the V3B
During the Angolan Civil War (1975–1989) it became increasingly clear that the V3B was not a really effective guided weapon. To make matters worse, Angola received MiG-23 fighter planes in the early 1980s . Denel therefore wanted to develop the V3C for the Mirage F1CZ and the Atlas Cheetah C / D, but underestimated the technology and the time it would take to become operational. However, since the SAAF needed a short-range air-to-air missile, it began searching the international market.
Initially 18 Russian Wympel R-73s were purchased, which were named V3P Archer and tested on the Mirage F1.
As an interim solution until the V3C was ready for use, 50 Israeli Python-3s were procured, called the V3S Snake and delivered in 1987. The V3S was decommissioned in 2008 together with the Cheetah.
literature
- Duncan S. Lennox, Arthur Rees: Jane's Air-Launched Weapons. Issue 5. Janes Information Group.
- Keith Atkin: Jane's Electro-Optic Systems. 6th edition. 2000-2001, Janes Information Group.
Web links
- V3E A-Darter on deneldynamics.co.za (eng)
- V3A / B on janes.com (eng)
- Kentron V3C on janes.com (eng)
- V3C U-Darter & A-Darter on janes.com (eng)
- various V3 versions on sistemadearmas.sites.uol.com.br (por)
- V3A on saairforce.co.za (eng)
- V3B on saairforce.co.za (eng)
- V3C Darter on saairforce.co.za (eng)
- V3E A-Darter on saairforce.co.za (eng)
- V3S Snake on saairforce.co.za (eng)
- V3P Archer on saairforce.co.za (eng)
Individual evidence
- ↑ SIPRI Arms Transfers Database on sipri.org
- ↑ Picture of an Atlas XTP-1 with V3B on militaryphotos.net
- ↑ South African Air-to-Air Victories on acig.org (eng)
- ^ Flight International. P. 3, March 19, 1988.
- ^ Flight International. P. 30, April 1997.
- ^ Flight International. P. 17, dated December 7, 1994.
- ^ Flight International. P. 17, April 28, 1999.
- ↑ Report of September 25, 2006 on baesystems.com (eng)
- ↑ Report on the Air Show 2007 in Dubai on strategycenter.net (eng) ( Memento from July 15, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Report in Flight International from February 21, 1996
- ↑ Report on strategycenter.net of February 2, 2008 (eng) ( Memento of October 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Report: Denel's A-Darter makes test debut on flightglobal.com from February 26, 2009 (eng)
- ↑ Report on defenceweb.co.za from July 21, 2010
- ↑ Report: SA-Brazil missile venture in full flight on www.businessday.co.za from April 22, 2010 (eng)
- ↑ Report: Denel Dynamics markets high-tech missile offering to SANDF and friendly countries on engineeringnews.co.za from August 26, 2011 (eng)