Rapier (rocket)

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rapier

Swiss rapier missile.jpg

General Information
Type Anti-aircraft missile
Manufacturer BAC
development 1960s
Technical specifications
length 2235 mm
diameter 137 mm
Combat weight 45 kg
span 380 mm
drive Solid - rocket engine
speed 670 m / s
Range 0.6-6.8 km
Furnishing
Target location SACLOS via radar
Warhead 1.42 kg penetration and incendiary warhead
Detonator Impact fuse
Weapon platforms Trailer or vehicle
Lists on the subject

The Rapier is a British surface-to-air missile that was developed for the British Army and the Royal Air Force .

Emergence

Development of the Rapier began in the 1960s as the ET.316 project , which was planned as an alternative to the American Mauler missile system . The goal was to develop an easily maneuverable supersonic missile. Since the Mauler system was not purchased, the Rapier was able to go into development and production by the then British Aircraft Corporation .

It entered service in 1971. The first version was based on optical target tracking. As a result of the initiation and co-development of the Swiss Air Force , radar-based and electro-optical methods were later added in order to achieve the all-weather suitability required by Switzerland .

Initially, the system consisted of a launcher platform with four missiles, optical target tracking and a truck with supplies that were delivered on three land rovers . It was typically used for airfield defense.

The additional blindfire follow-up radar and the fire control device enabled enemy targets to be identified more quickly, the start to be automated and all-weather suitability to be achieved.

The rapier's baptism of fire took place in 1982 during the Falklands War. 45 missiles were fired and originally 14 confirmed and 6 probable kills were attributed to the weapon system. However, according to recent research, the Rapier only scored one confirmed and two likely kills.

In the course of 2002, the Mark I guided missiles were replaced by the modern Mark II, which is characterized primarily by the installation of a fragmentation warhead with proximity fuses. In Switzerland, the latest simulators were used and the probability of being hit against electronic interference was improved.

Furthermore, more modern missiles should be usable with the Starstreak HVM .

Further improvements

After the stationary system was found to be performing excellently, ways of making the missiles mobile were sought. The result was the tracked rapier . The radar and monitoring equipment already used in the Towed Rapier has been completely adopted. The American M548 vehicle serves as the basis . Instead of the four rockets of the stationary unit, the Tracked Rapier has eight rockets. In the 1990s, the older radar was replaced by the newer version called "Darkfire". This radar has a longer range and is able to control six missiles at the same time. Thanks to the Dark Fire radar are Towed - and Tracked Rapier all weathers.

A more special variant was used for the US market. The M2 Bradley served as the vehicle . The 25 mm automatic cannon was retained for self-defense.

Rapier fire unit in Switzerland

In the years 1982–1986, the Swiss Army procured 60 weapon systems, including blindfire tracking radar and 1,200 Mark I guided missiles. Between 2004 and 2007 the Mark I missiles were replaced by 2,000 Mark II missiles. A Rapier fire unit in Switzerland consists of a weapon system and ten soldiers under the leadership of three constables (a fire unit chief / FEC and two FEC deputies). The fire unit is carried by five vehicles. Two Mowag Duros transport the system, with one Duro carrying the thrower and the other carrying the follower radar as a trailer. The two units are attached to the two chassis of the system for transport. Each of these Duros with command structure carries four guided missiles. The thrower-Duro transported in addition to an extendable lift most vehicle accessories such as directional device, operating panel etc. Furthermore, there is a Des Transmitting Puch with a trailer that carries the entire transfer material. Another Puch serves as a means of transport for the troops and the fire unit chief. A last Duro transports ten more guided weapons and pulls the corps material trailer, which contains the kitchen and other materials for the rear area.

A rapier position consists of the firing position with the weapon system and the rear room (usually a farm), which serves as accommodation for the troops. The firing position and the rear room are up to two kilometers apart. If a firing position has been inspected with the drivers, the system is placed and reference to the position is started. The system is set up and ready to fire after an hour. In parallel to the position reference, the rear room with sleeping place, kitchen and radio equipment is also set up during this time.

In Switzerland, rapier soldiers (anti-aircraft guided missile soldier RAPIER) are only trained in their role as gunner on the simulator. Shooting with live ammunition is not possible due to the lack of a firing range infrastructure with the necessary safety distances. Rapier soldiers are trained in Emmen in Central Switzerland. This training lasts 18 weeks.

Technical details

Rapier tracking radar

The weapon system consists of five important components:

  • The missile launcher carries the search radar and the missiles. The search radar is located under the radome and rotates once a second. It is a pulse Doppler radar that transmits in the F band. The radar works with a phased array antenna and is used to track down aircraft. It has a detection range of 11.5 km. In addition, the thrower contains the main computer of the system and the IFF system (friend-foe recognition). At the front of the launcher is the command antenna (J-band), which sends the steering commands to the flying missile.
  • The follow-up radar makes the system suitable for all weather conditions. Like the launcher, it is located on a mobile chassis and is used for precise measurement and localization of the target and the flying guided weapon. It is a frequency-agile monopulse radar that transmits in the K-band and serves as a fire control radar . The follow-up radar can steer a guided weapon into the target independently and without a gunner. The search radar can only detect the azimuth of the approaching target. After that, either the gunner or the follower radar must determine the attitude angle in order to be able to accurately capture the target. In bad weather, this task falls solely to the follow-up radar.
  • The aiming device is the gunner's workplace . The guided missiles can either be controlled by the follower radar or by the gunner. If the search radar detects a target, the gunner must try to aim at the target with his optics. The turret (search radar) only supplies the aiming device (and the follow-up radar) with the angle to which it adjusts. The gunner then determines the position angle and follows the target through the directional optics with a "joystick". Most of the time, the follow-up radar has precisely captured the target in front of the gunner. When it comes to controlling the missile and tracking the target, the Rapier is a SACLOS system.
  • The control unit is the workplace of the fire control officer. This has a radar screen (from the search radar) and controls the start of the guided missile with this device.
  • The power supply is ensured by two units. They are 4-cylinder petrol engines. The generator delivers 10 kVA at 200 V and 400 Hz.

The entire system can be operated by two people. The guided weapons are steered either with the follow-up radar (95% hit probability) or with the gunner on the aiming device (hit probability approx. 70%), whereby the follow-up radar is used whenever possible. You can only fight one target at a time, as it is not a fire-and-forget weapon.

Others

During and after the Falklands War, Rapier was frustrated by the service troops as a repair , as the cable connections of the system are sometimes extremely prone to failure.

user

literature

Web links

Commons : Rapier (rockets)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ z. B. The Official History of the Falklands Campaign by Sir Lawrence Freedman.
  2. ↑ Army in Numbers 12/2013 Army in Numbers , December 1, 2013 ( memento of February 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), viewed on January 25, 2015.
  3. ↑ a b Trade Register on sipri.org , accessed on February 3, 2020