Ground-based missiles: the Euromissile Milan series entered service in 1974 and shortly after saw active use in Lebanon in 1996. The Milan is probably still the most popular man-portable anti-tank missile in the world and its concept has been applied to many others, amongst which are more notably the Swedes and the Russians. (Complete Guide).

The Milan may also be able to claim a record for versatility as it has been successfully used as an antipersonnel weapon (by the British Army in the Falklands) and missile launcher destroyer (with the SAS in Iraq). It is also know to have been used in anti-aircraft skirmishes (during the Iran-Iraq war) and a Belgian Army fired round is reported to have sunk a boat in the Persian Gulf. Interestingly, versatility is also a virtue sought by other manufacturers, like Bofors with the Bill 2. However, this has a price and a number of forces around the world are now wondering how targets of varying natures can be treated economically since the tank no longer appears to be a priority target in the new world order (see <<What Next?>>, page 42).

Milan

The original Milan was followed in 1984 by the Milan 2, which boasted an increased diameter warhead, and in 1991 by the tandem charge Milan 2T. The Milan 3, with a coded xenon beacon, providing increased protection against countermeasures, followed in 1995. It is used in conjunction with the Sagem Milis thermal sight, which can detect targets at up to 4000 metres in night operations. More than 330,000 Milan rounds and 10,000 firing units have been produced for 43 countries. There is a project in Germany the Milan A J, which probably has a tweaked hollow charge to increase its penetration capability to the equivalent of 1000 millimetres of RHA.

Trigan

It was planned that the Milan series would be superseded by the laser beam-riding, top-attack MBDA Trigat-MR, but this programme was abandoned in 2000. Instead, a Trigan I in the form of a less expensive wire-guided version of the Trigat-MR missile will be fired from a modified Milan firing post, which has been lightened and fitted with an improved sighting system. The later Trigan II with a more effective warhead and fibre-optic guidance based on a nose-mounted IIR seeker, is intended to enter service between 2010 and 2015, and may well be approved for longer ranges than its predecessor's 2500 metres. However, the Trigan project is now currently in the doldrums, no one in Europe being willing to commit any funding to a programme of this nature--as usual, as one could be tempted to say.

Metis-M

Russia's equivalent of the Milan is the KBP-designed 9M131 Metis-M, which is likewise available with a thermal imaging sight. The Metis-M employs two types of warhead: a tandem shaped-charge, and a fuel-air explosive (FAE) device. The containerised missile weighs 13.8 kg and has a range of 1500 metres, but the same launcher can also be used with the much lighter (6.3 kg) 9M115 Metis (Mongrel) missile to a range of 1000 metres. The older missile halves the minimum firing range of the Metis-M to 40 metres.

Kornet-E

Russia's competitor to the Trigat-MR (and its substitutes) is the laser beam-riding KBP 9M129 Kornet-E, which has a maximum range of 3500 metres at night and 5500 metres by day. Like the Metis-M, it is available with either a tandem or FAE warhead. The latest literature shows the Kornet-E installed on a BMP-3 chassis (with 16 rounds), a BTR-80 (twelve rounds) and a Humvee (nine rounds). Such marketing may be encouraging Raytheon to extend the firing range of the Tow series.

Spike

The Rafael Gill/Spike family is used in lofted trajectories for top attacks at ranges up to 4000 metres. The baseline Gill, now renamed Spike-MR, is a 2500 metre fire-and-forget missile, using a CCD/IIR dual-mode auto-tracking system. The longer range Spike, recently redesignated Spike-LR, can be used in the same way, but it also transmits imagery back to the launch station via an optical fibre, allowing the operator to make corrections to the flight path. It can also be used in a non line-of-sight mode. The Spike-LR is in service with the forces of Israel and Singapore and has been ordered by Finland and the Netherlands.

Bill 2

One of the most sophisticated systems in this category is the saclos wire-guided Saab Bofors Dynamics Bill 2, which is basically an overflight missile but can also be employed in a direct attack against an unarmoured target as well as an overflight anti-personnel weapon. The missile is normally commanded to fly 1.05 metres above the line-of-sight and is equipped with downward-looking optical (laser-ranging) and magnetic sensors to determine when it overflies a tank. An impact fuze is provided for direct attacks. The round carries two downward-firing warheads, one of which is tilted from the vertical to compensate for the velocity of the missile, so that the whole length of the second jet passes through the same spot on the surface of the target after the first one has blown up the ERA if there was any. Maximum firing range of the Bill 2 is 2000 metres.

Javelin

The Javelin is a joint project by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin and works in basically the same way as the Rafael Gill/Spike-MR, with an IIR seeker providing lock-on prior to launch followed by a lofted trajectory for a top attack. Maximum range is 2500 metres, benefiting from the smoke-piercing capability of the long wavelength used in the staring focal plane array. Minimum range is given in unclassified leaflets as 65 metres, but the true figure appears to be classified. A soft launch allows for firings from inside buildings. In tests of more than 800 rounds, over 85 per cent of tank hits have been on the turret, and over 90 per cent of all tanks hit have been killed.

Production of the Javelin began in June 1994, leading to service entry with the US Army in 1996 and with the Marine Corps in 1999. Both services have deployed the missile to Afghanistan, where the thermal imager of its command launch unit (CLU) has become the primary surveillance device for light forces. By the middle of 2002, over 5000 rounds (of 21,000 ordered) had been delivered. In 2001, Jordan, Lithuania and an unspecified third nation selected the Javelin. More recently, Taiwan is to have joined the list of customers. An announcement by Britain (where it is competing with the Rafael Spike-LR promoted by MBDA) is expected by early 2003.