Land-based Vshorad and Shorad systems; the protection of high-value ground targets against attacks by fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft and cruise missiles demands an integrated, multi-layer air defence system.

Land-based Vshorad and Shorad systems; the protection of high-value ground targets against attacks by fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft and cruise missiles demands an integrated, multi-layer air defence system. For those aircraft and weapons that penetrate to within 20 kilometres of the target, there should be a series of obstacles still to overcome, in the form of short-range missiles at around ten kilometres, very short-range missiles at around four kilometres and automatic weapons for the final kill. (Complete Guide)

There can be no doubt that the nature of air defence is changing, as manned aircraft (both aeroplanes and helicopters) are increasingly armed with low flying stand-off precision-guided missiles that may employ supersonic speed and/or low observables to make interception more difficult. Effective air defence is thus becoming dependent on early target detection through the use of high altitude radars (mounted on aircraft or inside aerostats), improved sensor-to-shooter networking and the ability of the various defensive armament systems to deal with relatively small, high-speed, quickly manoeuvring, low-signature targets in the presence of jamming.

The Gun

An inevitable consequence of the changing nature of the air threat is that the role of the automatic gun will be modified, though by no means eliminated. The days when an aircraft would overfly the target to release gravity munitions are passing, at least in the context of major operations.

Even for armoured fighting vehicles, the air threat can take the form of a supersonic missile launched in a pop-up attack by a helicopter located eight kilometres away, although such attacks generally require laser target designation from a separate source, due to limited battlefield visibility. No tank has an effective active defence against this threat, although in theory the target might (at some future stage) blind the incoming missile with a high-powered laser and fire a barrel-launched guided missile to search autonomously for the hidden helicopter.

The gun may be suffering from a worsening shortage of easy aerial targets, but it retains some fundamental advantages. For example, it is inexpensive in comparison with any guided missile. It will thus remain the cost-effective means to deal with low-value targets such as small reconnaissance UAVs. In addition, it can react instantly and is a precise and lethal weapon at extremely short range, whereas a guided missile has a delay (corresponding to a flight of several hundred metres) before it starts guiding and its warhead is armed. Most guided missiles are vulnerable to some form of countermeasure, but a barrel-fired projectile aimed by an optronic system can be made totally immune.

Ahead: A noteworthy example is the Oerlikon Contraves Ahead ammunition system, which employs a round that detonates at a time that is computed to place it just short of the target. For greater precision, the velocity of the individual round is measured as it exits the muzzle, and the time-fuze is adjusted accordingly. Ahead thus combines high terminal lethality with immunity from the jamming that may render proximity-fuzed shells ineffective.

To match this new ammunition development, Oerlikon Contraves has developed the 35/1000 revolver cannon, which (as its designation implies) retains the 35 mm calibre of its KDA-series of guns, which are widely used on the company's GDF family of twin-gun mounts and various anti-aircraft tanks, but provides a 1000 rd/min rate of fire. Its principal application is the Skyshield 35 system, with an X-band search-and-track radar and (typically) four twin-gun fire units. The radar can track 20 targets simultaneously, and a stealthy missile with a radar cross-section of only 0.02 square metres at six kilometres. The Skyshield is effective against helicopters at up to four kilometres, air-to-ground missiles at three kilometres and precision-guided bombs at two kilometres. Export customers include China, which is building its own version under the designation Type 902, combining 35 mm guns with its own PL-9 surface-to-air missiles.

Passive Sensors

The use of air defence radars is becoming more dangerous, due to the development of air-launched high-speed anti-radiation missiles, which (if the radar is closed down) can continue their attack on the basis of the last computed target position.

The advent of the anti-radiation missile -- and now anti-radiation drone -- is encouraging the use of passive infrared search and track (IRST) systems, such as the Thales Optronics Adad (Air Defence Alerting Device), which operates in the eight to twelve-micron band. It entered production for the British Army in 1992 for use with the Thales Air Defence Starburst manpads and the same manufacturer's vehicle-mounted Starstreak. The most significant export order to date was placed by STN Atlas for the Adad to equip the Stinger-armed Ozelot tracked vehicles of the German Army's LeFlaSys (Leichtes Flugabwehr System).

Protector: Pilkington Optronics has also developed the Protector system, which employs the Adad as a cueing device for a trailer-mounted electro-optical target acquisition and tracking unit, carrying an auto-track camera and a laser ranger. This provides precise target positions for up to six guns, which individually compute the required firing elevation and lead-angle. The same company's HDTI thermal imager is employed on the Finnish Army's RO Defence (BAE Systems) Marksman/T-55 air defence vehicle to provide automatic target tracking and night operation. The imagery is displayed on the optical sights for the turret-mounted Oerlikon Contraves KDA 35 mm guns.

Mirador: Another noteworthy passive search and tracking system is the Thales Munitronics (formerly Signaal) Mirador, which combines colour and low light TV observation cameras, TV and infrared tracking cameras and a laser ranger. Mirador can be truck- or trailer-mounted, and can be used either as a stand-alone system or with a surveillance radar. The launch customer was Venezuela, which employs Mirador with the same company's Flycatcher Mk 2 and upgraded Mk 1 radar fire control systems, Otobreda 40 mm gun mounts and Rafael Barak vertical-launch missiles.

Other optronic fire control systems include the Oerlikon Contraves Gun King, generally supplied with the company's twin 35 mm mounts, the Sagem SAS 90M, which was purchased for use with Allied Ordnance of Singapore towed 40 mm mounts, and Poland's Radwar Umbrella system, which was developed for the 23 mm ZU-23 and the 57 mm S-60 air defence guns.

Ammunition

Air defence guns can be upgraded by the introduction of improved ammunition and fire control systems. Modern ammunition developments make even 12.7 mm rounds highly effective against targets such as helicopters and cruise missiles.

Noteworthy penetration/incendiary rounds include the Eurometaal Api2000 and the pyrotechnically-fuzed Raufoss NM 140, a member of the company's multipurpose (MP) ammunition family. The NM 140 is made at the US arsenal as the Mk 211 MOD 0. It has an average dispersion of only 15 centimetres at 550 metres and can penetrate 11 mm of armour at 45 degrees inclination at a range of 1000 metres. Another remarkable development is the Olin 12.7 mm Slap (saboted-light armour penetrator), which fires a 7.7 mm tungsten projectile that can penetrate 19 mm of armour out to a range of 1500 metres.

Frangible rounds: The use of depleted uranium (DU) cores is increasingly frowned upon, but high-speed tungsten penetrators that shatter on impact are extremely effective against aircraft. Some examples of FAPDS (frangible armour-piercing discarding sabot) rounds include the Oerlikon PMB 098, which was judged in Canadian tests to be the most effective anti-helicopter ammunition for the 25 mm Boeing M242 Bushmaster Chain Gun. The increased velocity produced by the discarding-sabot technique allows the projectile to reach 4000 metres in 3.5 seconds, compared to 6.0 seconds for the company's standard 35 mm round. This shorter time of flight significantly reduces average miss distance. NWM de Kruithoorn has demonstrated a family of 25 to 35 mm FAPDS rounds, with a muzzle velocity of 1150 to 1400 metres per second. This ammunition is claimed to be effective against aircraft out to 5000 metres, and to require the use of 30 to 50 per cent fewer rounds for target destruction than HEI (high explosive incendiary).

One of the most important marketing trends for defence equipment in the 1990s was the development of Western upgrades for old Warsaw Pact equipment. In the ammunition field this trend was exemplified by the 23 mm Oerlikon Contraves Pyrotec PMA276 FAPDS-T round for the ZSU-23-4 Shilka, giving a muzzle velocity of almost 1200 metres per second and a time of flight of only 2.1 seconds to 2000 metres.

Smart fusing: Warhead design has also advanced in other respects. For example, the 35 mm Ahead round (referred to earlier) projects forwards 152 cylindrical 3.3-gram tungsten alloy pellets from 10 to 30 metres short of the target. The 30 mm PMC308 Ahead round projects 135 1.5-gram pellets, which are also cylindrical, but have chamfered edges for reduced drag. Applications for the PMC308 include export versions of the Hagglunds/Bofors CV9030 IFV armed with the Boeing Bushmaster II or the Mauser Mk 30 Model F.

For comparison, the 40 mm Otobreda PFHE (proximity-fuzed high explosive) round throws 650 three-millimetre diameter pellets, each weighing 0.22 grams, in addition to more than 1000 shell fragments.

The 40 mm Bofors 3P all-target six-mode programmable round, which projects three-millimetre tungsten balls, was developed primarily for the company's Trinity naval gun system, but is equally applicable to the ground-based Tridon. This mounts the well-known L/70 gun with an advanced C3I and fire control system on a six-wheeled Volvo A25C all-terrain chassis. The effectiveness of either system is considerably enhanced by the individual aiming of ten projectiles to produce a computer-optimised burst pattern around the target. Bofors claims that fire is effective to a range of 6000 metres.

Telescoped: Other important technological advances include cased telescoped ammunition or "beer can" rounds, notably by CTA International, which is working with Alliant Techsystems to develop a new 40 mm weapon system. This type of round, in which the projectile is housed inside an oversize cylindrical case, offers advantages in the form of a shorter, volumetrically smaller, lighter and less expensive round, as well as providing a higher muzzle velocity and enhanced safety. However, CTA ammunition clearly demands a gun that was designed for it from the outset.

In principle, larger calibres (in effect, 57 mm and upwards) are able to engage targets at longer ranges, but -- for an unguided projectile -- this inevitably involves larger miss distances, due to the increased time of flight and the corresponding distance covered by the target. This increased miss distance may not be offset by the increased warhead weight, but (fortunately) these larger calibres are more amenable to some form of guidance. Several companies, including BAE Systems, Bofors Defence, CTA International, Diehl, Otobreda and Thales Munitronics have been working in this field. The US Air Force has funded research into the Blam (barrel-launched adaptive munition) concept, using a centrally articulated projectile with a nose-mounted seeker and control by body-bending.

Upgrades

Pronouncing the three letters ZSU to any pilot that had to overfly Soviet-supported troubled areas will inevitably make him shiver. The four-gun ZSU23-4 Shilka Spaag (self-propelled antiaircraft gun) appeared in 1965, but is still worthy of a few more years service if its electronics are upgraded.

The Shilka quickly won respect for its ability to fire up to 3400 radar-directed 23 mm rd/min from its four AZP-23M cannon although the rate of fire is normally restricted to 800 rd/min, since it carries only 2000 rounds. Maximum burst length is 150 rounds from each of its liquid-cooled barrels. Effective range is around 2500 metres. The Shilka is believed to have been responsible for the destruction of more than 100 Israeli aircraft in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Almost 8000 Shilkas have been manufactured for the armed forces of around 30 nations, and a wide range of upgrades are now marketed.

The Ulyanovsk Mechanical Plant is the prime contractor for the ZSU-23-4 and has for several years marketed an upgrade for the RPK-2 radar-based fire control system, which includes the introduction of a digital computer and the ability to receive surveillance and targeting data from external sources. This upgrade allows the Shilka to track targets flying at a height of only 25 metres and to engage small manoeuvring targets flying at up to Mach 1.5. It also doubles single-pass kill probability to 60 per cent and improves reliability and resistance to countermeasures.

At Idex 99 in Abu Dhabi, Ulyanovsk, teamed with Belarus Minotor Service and Peleng, exhibited the ZSU-23-4M5 upgrade package, dealing with the radar, fire control system, auxiliary power generation and various automotive and combat compartment aspects, including mine protection. The upgrade introduces laser warning, smoke/decoy launchers and an optronic system that allows Shilka to be used without electronic emissions. This night system, operating in the eight to twelve-micron range, is claimed to be capable of tracking an F-16 at 20 kilometres and identifying it at half that range. The day system, operating in the 0.5 to 0.8 micron range, can detect targets at 8000 metres and track them at 7500 metres. The laser ranger has a maximum range of 7000 metres.

Add Igla: Further options include replacing the radar with a battery of eight Igla (SA-18) surface-to-air missiles, which (with the optronic package) would have an effective range of 5000 to 7000 metres. This type of development is driven primarily by the threat of helicopters making pop-up attacks from beyond the 4000-metre range of the guns. Digressing, the Ukrainian State Scientific Centre for Artillery and Rifle Arms has reportedly developed an upgrade based on an optronic system, a new radar and six Iglas (presumably in place of the radar).

The ZSU-23-4M5 outlined above appears to be a further extension of the ZSU-23-4M2 upgrade which has been applied on a joint Russian-Belarus basis to a small number of Russian Army Shilkas. The ZSU-23-4M4 is understood to be a reduced-cost variant of the -4M5. Another Russian proposal is to replace the four 23 mm guns with the two 30 mm Tulamashzavod 2A38M cannon from the 2S6M Tunguska that was developed to supersede the Shilka.

Add Western radar: Thales Munitronics has developed an upgrade based on an ex-East German Army ZSU-23-4V1 Model 1972, in which the J-band PRK-2 search and fire control radar is replace by a low probability of intercept I-band surveillance radar and a separate Ka-band Adads tracking radar (based on the Page system developed jointly with Spain's Enosa).

The former East Germany also provided the 500 manually-operated twin-barrel ZU-23-2 towed gun mounts used by the Hellenic Army, an upgrade for which has been jointly developed by the Arsco consortium formed by Greece's Scorpion and Bulgaria's Arsenal. In the first phase, the manual gun-laying system is replaced by joystick-controlled servo mechanisms. In the second phase, up to six guns will be controlled by a remote tripod-mounted target tracking system, combining an electro-optical unit with a laser ranger.

Add Swiss FCS: Oerlikon Contraves has proposed an upgrade for the ZU-23-2 in which two self-powered mounts would be controlled by an electro-optical fire director linked to a search radar. The proposal includes use of the PMA276 FAPDS-T ammunition mentioned earlier.

Add Groin: Since the mid-1960s, Poland's ZM Tarnow has licence-produced and further developed the ZU-23-2. The latest variant appears to be the ZUR-23-2TG developed jointly with OBR SM Tarnow. This has two launchers for the indigenous Grom lightweight missile and electrically driven guns so that they can be remotely controlled. It is proposed that one mount in a battery of six would also carry an electro-optical tracker, and that the unit would be connected to a radar surveillance system. In 1999, SM Tarnow unveiled the Sopel Spaag, which places a ZU-23-2 with locally developed Type 4216 liquid-cooled barrels on the chassis of a 2S1 howitzer together with an optronic tracker and four ready-to-fire Grom missiles (with eight more carried internally).

The idea of adding lightweight surface-to-air missiles directly to gun mounts also appears likely to be adopted in Italy, where an airfield defence requirement is expected to lead to Otobreda developing a lightened (and thus more easily deployed) version of the well-known 40 mm Fast Forty or Twin Fast Forty, equipped with Stinger launchers. The new fire unit would be used with a local surveillance and tracking system such as the Otobreda/ Contraves Italy Rascal, the Thales Munitronics Flycatcher Mk 2, or that of the Oerlikon Contraves Skyguard Mk 2 or Mk 3. The Skyguard Mk 3, which is scheduled to be unveiled at Eurosatory in June, is an upgrade employing some critical components of the Skyshield referred to earlier, notably Ahead ammunition and a new Oerlikon Contraves multi-beam radar, which can detect targets at 20 km.

Otobreda also hopes to revive its 1990s Otomatic concept of a 76 mm Spaag, which was based on the Palmaria tank chassis and carried its own radar. The new Amrad (Artillery Multi-Role Area Defense) design would employ thinner turret armour and an electro-optical fire control system, relying on cueing from a remote radar. The consequent savings in weight would make it possible to mount the Amrad system on a wheeled vehicle such as the Centauro or Piranha. Aircraft would be engaged with a Hisp-PFF (high-speed pre-formed fragmentation) round. Amrad options include the addition of Stinger missiles.

Between the relatively light 23 mm calibre and heavy proximity-fuzed rounds, many successful Spaag designs have been based, on 35 mm guns. For example, the Oerlikon Contraves KDA series is used in the Gepard, Marksman, PRTL and Japan's Type 87. The Kentron ZA-35 employs two Lyttleton Engineering M-35 guns on a Rooikat 8 x 8 high mobility chassis, the turret also mounting an ESD radar and an optronic tracking system.

Hybrid Systems

The idea of combining gun and missile armament in a single fire unit is particularly attractive in the context of mobile air defence systems and was implemented a number of years ago, particularly in the then Soviet Union.

Typically the Westrern world entered the hybrid gun-missile platform scene after the Soviet Union, but with lighter systems mounted on jeep-like vehicles, whereas the Russian equipment was heavier, carrying several guns and missiles on a tracked vehicle.

Tunguska: One of the leaders in this field is the Ulyanovsk-built 2S6M1 Tunguska-M1 tracked vehicle, which was developed by KBP for the air defence of motorised and armour formations. It is armed with two 30 mm liquid-cooled 2A38M twin-barrel cannon, 1904 rounds of ammunition and eight Fakel-designed, KBM-built 9M311 (SA-19) missiles. The guns have a combined rate of fire of 7800 to 5000 rd/min and a maximum range of 4000 metres, although this is halved in the case of a crossing target. The saclos (Semi-Automatic Command to Line Of Sight)-guided missiles have a maxi mum range of 8000 metres and a minimum range of 2500 metres. The guns can be fired on the move, but the vehicle has to halt to fire the tube-launched missiles, to avoid damaging them. It also appears that the missiles are only fired in daylight, since their command guidance system relies on the use of an optical sight. The 1RL-144M system combines an E-band search radar with a detection range of 18 km and a J-band tracking radar. Export customers for the Tunguska include India.

Pantsir: The Ulyanovsk-built Pantsir-S1 is a later KBP development based on Tunguska experience, but offering longer-range engagements and the ability to fire both guns and missiles on the move. Intended to defend small military and industrial installations, it is applicable to both tracked and wheeled vehicles, although the prototypes appear to use the 8 x 8 Ural 5323 truck. The two 2A38 30 mm guns of the Tunguska are retained, but the ammunition load is reduced to 750 rounds and the eight missiles are replaced by twelve examples of a longer-range derivative. This is referred to as the 57E6YE, which is believed to be the KBM-built 9M335, effectively the 9M311 (SA-19) used on Tunguska with a longer tandem boost motor, extending range to 12,000 metres. The surveillance radar can detect targets at 30 km and track up to 20 simultaneously at up to 24 km. The Pantsir-S1 can engage two widely separated targets at the same time, using radar tracking in one case and an optronic system for the other. One export option is to delete the radar, and a shelter version is also proposed. In May 2000 the UAE signed a $ 500 million contract for the Pantsir-S1.

Avenger: The West has no equivalent of either the Tunguska or Pantsir, tending in recent years to favour lightweight, easily deployed vehicles. America's principal hybrid mobile air defence system is the Boeing Avenger, mounting a gyro-stabilised turret of composite construction on a 4 x 4 HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle). The principal armament consists of eight ready-to-fire Stinger missiles, providing a maximum range of eight kilometres. However, the Avenger turret also mounts a 12.7 mm FN Herstal machine gun with 200 rounds, to cover extremely short ranges. A Raytheon VLR-1 flir provides three fields of view, and the gunner tracks the target with a CAI (Recon/Optical) CA-562 optical sight, fire control being assisted by a Raytheon laser ranger. The system also includes a BDA automatic video tracker, and PPX-3B IFF.

The Avenger is currently being upgraded with a slew-to-cue (STC) kit, which includes a new navigation system and allows the vehicle to use target information from external sources. Three Avenger vehicles can be transported in a C-130, and a single unit can be sling-loaded by a UH-60 or CH-47. The first production contract was signed in 1987. The Avenger is used by the US Army, Marine Corps and National Guard. It was first employed operationally in the 1991 Gulf War. International customers include Egypt and Taiwan.

Linebacker: The Boeing Bradley-Linebacker was a later development for the US Army, the development contract being placed in 1995. It is an air defence enhanced version of the Bradley fighting vehicle (BFV), using the fire control system from Avenger, but with four ready-to-fire Stingers and six on-board reloads. It retains the 25 mm Boeing Bushmaster cannon of the standard vehicle. The first production contract was placed in 1997.

The Russian Defence Systems consortium has recently exhibited a model of a Gaz-3937 Vodnik 4 x 4 light armoured vehicle, armed with eight Igla missiles and two 7.62 mm PKT machine guns, and equipped with a Phoenix IRST system.

Manpads -- Featherweights with a Punch

The first effective shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile was the General Dynamics MIM-43A Redeye, which may have inspired the Soviet Union's 9M32 Strela-2 (SA-7). According to official US figures, by January 1973 some 528 had been fired, destroying 45 aircraft. While the General Dynamics Redeye entered service in 1967, it is the later, early 1970's KB Mashynostroyena (KBM) that was first fired in anger in Vietnam in April 1972. An entirely new way of fighting aircraft had appeared.

Strela: The improved KBM 9M32M Strela-2M has an uncooled Lomo Type 9E46 lead sulphide infrared seeker operating in the three to five-micron range. It was widely exported, with over 50,000 rounds delivered to 56 countries. It is still in widespread service, but has serious shortcomings in terms of poor seeker sensitivity (limiting it to rear-hemisphere attacks), accuracy and susceptibility to decoys. Maximum range is 2300 metres. Lomo now markets an upgrade in the form of the improved 9E46M seeker derived from that of the later Igla (SA-18) to deal with some of these problems. The second generation Strela-3 with a cooled seeker provided a limited head-on engagement capability, although it still operated on the same wavelength as the Strela-2M.

Igla: The KBM 9M310 Igla-1 (SA-16) is likewise regarded by the manufacturer as a second-generation missile, but it introduced lateral control jets ahead of the centre of gravity, giving a "gas dynamic turn" in the first second of flight, and a special propellant for the sustainer rocket, so that residual fuel could be detonated to augment the warhead in very short range engagements. The Igla-1 was developed following poor operational experience with the Strela-2M in the early 1980s in Afghanistan and Lebanon, where it was found to be completely ineffective against aircraft dispensing flares. The Igla-1 is in service with 32 nations, including India, Iran, Malaysia, North Korea and Singapore. Iraqi Igla-1s are believed to have been responsible for the destruction of four US Marine Corps AV-8Bs during the Gulf War. There have recently been reports of Myanmar acquiring at least 100 Igla-1Es that were manufactured in Bulgaria by Vazovski Machinostroitelni Zavodi.

From the Igla-1 evolved the third generation KBM 9M39 Igla (SA-18), with a nitrogen-cooled Lomo 9E410 seeker that operates on two wavelengths (one to two and three to five microns), and special processing logic that allows it to compare the two emissions from the target and thus discriminate between aircraft and decoys. The guidance system is protected against modulated jammers such as the ALQ-131 and -184. The 9E410 seeker also provides improved sensitivity, giving a lower lock-on threshold. Other improvements include a terminal-phase guidance shift to aim the missile well ahead of the engine nozzle, and a delayed-action contact fuze. The Igla has an average speed of Mach 1.76 and is distinguished visually by a nose-mounted spike that reduces wave drag. (Igla-1 has a shockwave generator ahead of the nose on three struts). Effective range is from 500 to 5200 metres.

Lomo claims that the single-shot hit probability of the Igla (relative to the Strela-2M) is increased from 30 to 60 per cent, or from zero to 40 per cent in the presence of countermeasures. Maximum target speed is increased from Mach 0.76 to 1.17. Comparing its own missile with the Stinger, KBM feels that the Igla is more rugged (it can be dropped on the ground from one metre) and has a neater IFF antenna, which forms a ring around the mouth of the tube, whereas the Stinger has a non-folding array. The Igla also has an automatic lock-on and launch device, with a launch/veto command based on signal/background ratio. The missile generates its own lead-angle cue, whereas the Stinger requires crew training to judge the correct lead. Firing trials in South Africa are claimed to have demonstrated the Igla's superiority.

KBM also produces the tripod-based Djigit twin-round launcher, which can be mounted either on the ground or a truck. It is claimed to be the only twin-launcher in this class that allows two simultaneous launches, since the missiles diverge to avoid each other. Kill probability is estimated to increase by 50 per cent. Some Djigits have been exported, but it is not yet in Russian service. At the Maks 2001 air show in Moscow an eight-round Igla turret developed by KBM was exhibited in two forms: on the MT-LB chassis, and on the roof of a containerised fire unit with optronic sight.

The application of the Lomo 9E46M seeker (based on 9E410 technology) to the earlier missile produces the Strela-2M2. Since the seeker is uncooled, sensitivity and firing range are not improved, but hit probability is increased to 40 per cent, or 30 per cent with countermeasures. Lomo also produces the Maugli-2 thermal imager for night operation of both the Strela and Igla series.

In the 1990s Poland's ZM Mesko developed a competitor for the Igla-1, the initial production model being the Grom-1. This entered service with the Polish Army in 1996 and has been deployed in the former Yugoslavia in support of Nato operations. The improved Grom passed acceptance trials in 1999 and is now offered for export. It is claimed to be superior to the Igla-1 in several respects, including the carriage of a heavier warhead.

China: Russia's Strela and Igla series have inspired several other manpads developments. In China, CNPMIEC has been responsible for the HN-5,-5A, QW-1 and -2, and most recently the FN-6, which introduces a telescopic sight and IFF facility and was developed to give improved performance against low flying aircraft. Whereas earlier Chinese missiles in this category have had spherical seeker domes and two canard controls, the FN-6 has a multi-faceted (Mistral-type) nose and four canards. Pakistan appears to be producing the QW-2 under licence.

Stinger: In comparison with the Igla, little information has been published on the Raytheon Fim-92 Stinger series. The Stinger entered service in 1982 (it was a General Dynamics product at the time), providing the all-aspect engagement capability that the Redeye lacked. Reports suggest that more than 1000 Stingers were supplied by the CIA to anti-Soviet Afghan rebels between June 1986 and April 1988 at a cost of around $ 30 million, and that the Agency was later authorised to spend twice that amount in attempts to buy back the 700 (or so) rounds that were not used in that conflict.

Following the Stinger-Post (Passive Optical Seeker Technology) upgrade, which added an ultraviolet channel and digital electronics, the Stinger-RMP (reprogrammable microprocessor) was introduced in 1989, with a new rocket motor that reduced time of flight. It was deployed for Desert Storm in 1991. After the conflict, the US Army then introduced a two-phase improvement programme. The Block I made both hardware and software modifications, introducing a ring laser gyro, greater onboard processing capability and a lithium battery. Accuracy has improved and susceptibility to infrared countermeasures was reduced. The Stinger-RMP Block II was to have made further improvements, including an advanced imaging focal plane array, but was terminated in 1999 to provide funds for other programmes.

Raytheon has delivered over 41,000 Stinger-RMP missiles, and is currently working on an $ 89 million contract to supply 1007 Block I rounds for Greece, Italy and Britain. The Stinger is operational with the US Army and US Marine Corps, and with the armed forces of 18 other nations. Raytheon also manufactures the PAS-18 night sight for the Stinger.

Featherweights on Multiple Launchers

As in the case of the Igla, the emphasis with the Stinger is now on dual- and multi-missile launchers, in order to increase kill probability against a single target and deal more effectively with two aircraft attacking close together.

Dual Mount Stinger: When the Raytheon Dual Mount Stinger, with flir sensor and radar cueing, was introduced in 1998, it was described as the world's only portable air defence system with multiple fire capability. Eads/LFK, -- prime contractor for Europe's four-nation (Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and Turkey) Stinger licence production programme -- has developed a two-round Tripod Adapted Stinger (Tas) mount and a Pedestal-Mounted Stinger (PMS) system for 4 x 4 vehicles such as the Mercedes Benz GD250, Land Rover, or Peugeot P4. The PMS system includes GPS navigation and an electro-optical tracker. The Tas employs Eads' four-round combination launcher, which is designed to mount either the Stinger or Igla, or a combination of both types.

As noted earlier, the Stinger is used on several types of vehicle, including the US Army's soft-skinned Avenger and the Bradley-Linebacker fighting vehicle. The Avenger has already been upgraded to A1 standard to allow it to use the Stinger-RMP Block I. At the end of 1996, the US Army approved the A2 or slew-to-cue (STC) upgrade, which eliminates the need for the gunner to acquire the target visually or with a flir by taking target co-ordinates data-linked from the Raytheon MPQ-64 Sentinel X-band phased-array radar.

LeFlaSys: The Stinger will also be the initial armament for the German Army's LeFlaSys (as mentioned earlier) -- also referred to as the Asrad (Atlas Short-Range Air Defence) system -- and which was developed primarily to protect rapid deployment forces. This is a joint project by STN Atlas and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), based on the MaK Wiesel 2 tracked vehicle. The Ozelot weapon platform carries four ready-to-fire Stingers (or Iglas), and is equipped with an optronic sight, a laser ranger and a GPS navigation system. A platoon of up to eight Ozelots can be controlled by the command post vehicle, which mounts an Ericsson PS-91 Improved Hard 3D X-band radar and a Thales Optronics Adad Irst system. The radar can automatically track more than 20 targets simultaneously.

Asrad-R: A further development is the Asrad-R, which in prototype form is based on the M113 armoured personnel carrier and is equipped with the Improved Hard radar, four Saab Bofors Dynamics RBS70 missiles and the laser beam guidance system. BGT (Bodenseewerk Geratetechnik) is responsible to STN Atlas for the optronics and systems integration. The beam-riding RBS70 missile provides immunity from countermeasures and a range of up to 7000 metres against an approaching target. After firing trials in Germany and Finland, the Asrad-R is to be demonstrated in Sweden with the new Saab Bofors Dynamics Bolide missile (discussed later).

The Asrad-R system is proposed for Finland on the basis of the Norwegian Natech P6-300 articulated tracked vehicle. Another variant of the Asrad has been offered to Poland, based on a Land Rover Defender 110 or a WZM-modified BRDM-2 armoured reconnaissance vehicle and armed with the locally developed ZM Mesko Grom missile. Both concepts were exhibited at the MSPO 2001 defence equipment exhibition in Poland.

Iris-T: Eads/LFK is collaborating with BGT on the development of a new generation Vshorad missile that could be used to upgrade the LeFlaSys. The basic concept is a derivative of the Iris-T air-to-air missile, using its combination of aerodynamic and thrust-vectoring controls to permit vertical launch. As now envisaged, the missile would have a sustainer motor installed ahead of the wings. The seeker would scan both the air and the ground, the latter to detect helicopters at very low level.

For the longer term, the German Army would prefer all components of its air defence system to be able to function completely passively, to avoid the threat of defence-suppression missiles. To provide a passive Shorad complement to the upgraded LeFlaSys, BGT has proposed a new hypersonic missile with a tandem booster and a passive IIR seeker based on Iris-T technology. However, adverse weather operation would require the use of a command link for mid-course guidance.

Chaparral: The earliest mobile air defence system to employ infrared missiles was probably the M-48 Chaparral, which is now the responsibility of Lockheed Martin's Missiles and Fire Control division. The M-48 mounts four Mim-72s (variants of the Raytheon Sidewinder) on an M-730 tracked carrier vehicle. The gunner tracks the target either using an optical sight, or by means of a flir autotrack system.

The Chaparral has gone through a series of upgrades, notably the introduction of the rosette-scan seeker (RSS) that produced the Improved Chaparral (I-Chap). It is now in service with the US Army and five other armies (and the Taiwanese Navy). Estonia is believed to be interested in acquiring surplus US Army fire units, and Egypt and Taiwan are said to want further upgrades. Upgrades are available on a modular basis, including the introduction of an improved flir and the latest Mim-72G/J with upgraded infrared countermeasures resistance. It is also proposed to increase the number of ready-to-fire rounds to six, and link the fire unit to surveillance and tracking radars.

Tripod Mounts

The extreme accuracy provided by infrared homing (in comparison with radar guidance) made it possible to develop the first generation of hit-to-kill shoulder-launched missiles, due to the light weight of the warhead required. However, the need to keep missile-plus-launcher weight below (say) 20 kg results in a weapon that often only damages the target, and has little chance against a well-protected aircraft such as the Su-25.

The use of a tripod mount allows the use of a heavier warhead, decreases operator fatigue, and makes it easier to employ cueing from external sources. One of the leaders in this field is the phenomenally successful MBDA Mistral (see lead photo), which employs infrared homing and can engage supersonic targets at up to 6000 metres.

Mistral: Originally developed by Matra, the Mistral (our lead photo) entered initial operational service around 1987. At 20 kilos, the missile cannot be shoulder-launched and, in its simplest form, the Mistral is fired from a single launcher portable unit. However, the Mistral could be readily adopted for a number of applications including the helicopter-launched air-to-air role. Listing all the launcher variants of the Mistral, which include naval turrets, would be a rather tedious affair but this flexibility itself explains the commercial success of the missile. Just to illustrate the point, the Mistral, which carries a three-kilogram warhead, can be used from a wide variety of firing units, including the two-round Atlas, which (like the single-round manpads unit) can be either set on the ground or mounted on a light off-road vehicle. The Albi is a twin-round launcher installed on a retractable turret on a light tracked or wheeled vehicle. It has been ordered by Oman on the Panhard VBL. The Mistral Co-ordination Post vehicle can control up to eleven firing units. More than 16,000 Mistrals have been ordered by 36 armed forces in 25 countries, and the missile has achieved a 93 per cent success rate in firing trials.

Mention of the simplest Mistral launcher was made at the beginning of this entry. This and other lighter launchers have benefited from a vast improvement when MBDA, then still just Matra, introduced the MCP. Carrying a somewhat unfortunate acronym that stands for Mistral Co-ordination Post, this system definitely solved one of the biggest shortcoming of lightweight missiles -- and this includes the lighter Stingers and Iglas. Indeed, while the advantage of such missiles is their extreme mobility, the operator has absolutely no clue of where a very low flying threat might come from, particularly if his field of view is limited, as it would at the bottom of a narrow valley or in a small clearing in a forest. The MCP, linked via cable or radio to a command post, provides an audio signal that increases as the missile stears in the right direction and decreases again when that point is exceeded.

Not surprisingly, after a 15-year long career, improvements had to appear and at Eurosatory 2000 the manufacturer unveiled the Mistral 2, which provides increased speed, manoeuvrability and range. However, and for some obscure reasons, deliveries of this improved version had already been underway for nearly one year, including to export customers, but never announced.

RBS 70 & 90: The Saab Bofors Dynamics RBS70 employs laser beam-riding for immunity from countermeasures, any degradation of accuracy (relative to infrared homing) being offset by a heavier warhead and an unjammable laser proximity fuze. The warhead combines a shaped charge and over 3000 tungsten pellets of three millimetres in diameter. When used for self-defence against ground vehicles, the shaped charge can penetrate the side armour of main battle tanks. The RBS70 can engage fixed-or rotary wing aircraft at a range of up to 6000 metres, increasing to 7000 metres in the case of the Mk 2 missile, which has a more powerful rocket motor and a heavier warhead. An eight to twelve-micron clip-on night device provides day/night capability.

The RBS90 firing unit combines two Mk 2 missiles with a servo-controlled sight that couples a flir with TV trackers. A typical RBS90 battery consists of six Hagglunds BV206 tracked fire units and a command post with a local search and tracking radar, based on a similar vehicle. A number of batteries can be linked to an Ericsson Giraffe 75 surveillance radar. To date around 1500 RBS70/90 launchers and 15,000 missiles have been built for thirteen nations.

The Saab Bofors Dynamics Bolide missile is a further development of the RBS70 Mk 2, aimed at defeating low-signature targets, targets making evasive manoeuvres and targets with an increased level of protection. It retains laser beam-riding guidance, but has new and more compact programmable electronics, a fibre-optic gyro, a new adaptive proximity fuze and a new sustainer motor with improved propellant, giving a shorter flight time and a maximum range of 8000 metres. In engaging armoured helicopters, the warhead will penetrate about 200 mm of steel armour. The Bolide is expected to enter production this year.

Self-Propelled Missile Systems

In the context of mobility, an increase in range implies the use of heavier missiles, larger radars, some form of armour and, therefore, requires the involvement of sturdier platforms.

Before we move on to heavier systems, mention must be made here of Thales Air Defence (formerly Shorts Missile Systems), which promotes the High Velocity Missile (HVM) in two autonomous mobile forms. The Armoured Starstreak is based on the Alvis Stormer tracked vehicle, with eight ready-to-fire rounds and twelve reloads in the crew compartment. It has an Adad infrared alerter mounted on the turret and the target is tracked optically, the system automatically generating laser guidance signals to the three hypersonic darts that are projected at the target. The Armoured Starstreak or SP-HVM attained initial operational capability in 1999 with the British Army, which also employs the missile on the tripod-mounted three-round Lightweight Multiple Launcher (LML). The British Ministry of Defence is studying the addition of a thermal sighting system (TSS) on both the vehicle and the LML. The other mobile system being marketed is the Lightweight Starstreak, based on a vehicle such as the Land Rover. The maximum firing range of the Starstreak is believed to be around 6000 metres.

In terms of launch weight, the next stage up from Igla in the Russian product range appears to be the hypersonic, laser beam-riding Sosna-R manufactured by the Kovrov Mechanical Plant and used in the Sosna and Palma air defence systems. It has a maximum range of 8000 metres.

Enter Strela: In providing air defence for motorised and tank regiments, the ZSU-23-4 gun system is widely complemented by the 9A35MZ or Strela-10 (SA-13) missile system, the latest version of which is the Strela-10MZ. The system was developed by the Tochmash Design Bureau (OKB-13), headed by Alexander Nudelman, as a replacement for the 9M31 Strela-1 (SA-9). The 9A35MZ is based on the MTLB, a lightly armoured amphibious personnel carrier with four ready-to-fire rounds and four reloads stowed in the rear of the vehicle. One in four vehicles is equipped with a passive direction finder to detect emitters such as forward-looking airborne radars. The other three vehicles receive target data by radio from this command vehicle or other air defence units. Prior to launch, the operator selects one of three guidance modes: infrared, optical contrast or what is termed "interference". The availability of optical contrast guidance allows approaching targets to be engaged, and this is cited as a significant advantage over the Chaparral. It may be noted that the Kovrov Mechanical Plant markets the 9M333 missile for the Strela-10M3 system, and the 9M37MD for the Strela-10MD. The Czech Retia company has developed an upgrade for the Strela-10, combining 9M31M missiles, the addition of a 9S86 (Snap Shot) radar and a digital link to receive target data from C3 centres.

Jernas: The MBDA Jernas is the export version of the Rapier FSC (Field Standard C), which entered service in 1996 with the British Army and Royal Air Force. It is a towed system, making it very easy to deploy overseas. It consists of three trailers, carrying a firing unit with eight Rapier Mk 2 missiles, a 3D surveillance radar and a high resolution tracking radar. The missile has a range in excess of eight kilometres, and employs automatic command-to-line-of-sight (Clos) guidance. The Rapier family is in service in ten countries, some of which (including Switzerland) are upgrading their systems to the latest standard.

Roland: The Euromissile Roland was developed to provide air defence for mobile units and important sites such as airfields. It can be installed on a tracked vehicle (France uses the AMX-30 chassis, Germany the Marder), or in an air-deployable Carol shelter, which can be operated on the ground or on a trailer or truck. The current Roland 3 is an all-weather system with radar, infrared and optical surveillance and tracking, Clos guidance and a range of 8000 metres. The VT-1 missile extends this range to 12 000 metres. Some 26,000 missiles and 644 firing posts have been delivered to eleven nations, the latest being Slovenia. Around 20 Carol shelters are in service with the French Army, and ten with the German Air Force. At the end of 1999, France awarded to Euromissile a pre-production contract for the Enhanced Roland, which upgrades existing systems, introducing the Glaive optronic fire control system and the BKS digital management system -- developed jointly with Eads/LFK. Germany is to keep the Roland in service until 2020.

VL Mica: Shortly before the formation of MBDA and the merger with Aerospatiale Missiles, Matra Bae Dynamics unveiled a surface-to-air version of its air-to-air Mica missile, exploiting its thrust-vectoring controls in a vertical launch system, thereby providing 360-degree cover. Although initially intended for ship applications, the VL Mica is also offered as a land-based system, with launchers either in silos or on five-tonne class vehicles. It is envisaged that a tactical operations centre would control up to six firing units. Another advantage of the Mica is that it is produced with both active radar and imaging infrared seekers. The system offers a very short reaction time, a high firing rate (with less than two seconds between rounds) and a range of more than ten kilometres.

Osa: The Soviet Union has made serious efforts to provide air defence for its front-line forces. The Warsaw Pact's first major mobile Shorad missile system was the 9K33 Romb or Osa (SA-8), developed by Antey and based on a 6 x 6 amphibious vehicle. The Osa appeared in 1974 and was the first such system to mount a tracking radar on the launch vehicle. The Straight Flush search radar was initially mounted on a separate vehicle, but experience in 1982 (when the Israelis quickly learned to put the entire battery out of action by attacking that vehicle) led to each launch vehicle having its own search radar. The current Osa-Akm, which is in use in almost 20 countries (including Greece and India), employs the Clos-guided Fakel-designed 9M33M3 missile, with a range of ten kilometres. A total of six are carried in two launchers on the Type 9M33BM3 combat vehicle. A basically similar vehicle carries twelve reloads. The Hellenic Army is having its earlier 9K33M Osa-Ak systems upgraded by the addition of Nato-compatible IFF equipment and third generation thermal imagers and autotracking facilities.

Tor: The Antey 9K330 Tor (SA-15), based on a tracked vehicle, appeared only shortly after the 9K33 Romb, and provided a Shorad system with the same cross-country capability as the tanks it supports. It also represented a major advance in having four Clos-guided, Fakel-designed 9M330 missiles in two modules that provided a vertical launch for 360-degree cover. The missile was catapulted out of its launch capsule and turned toward the target by a nose-mounted reaction control system before the motor was ignited. The combat vehicle carried its own 3D target acquisition and tracking radars and a back-up electro-optical tracking device.

In the 1980s the system was upgraded to 9K331 Tor-M1 standard, with a reduced reaction time, the 9M331 missile introducing an improved warhead, and an automatic tracker added to the electro-optical channel. Maximum firing range is twelve kilometres. The Tor-M1, which is manufactured by the Kupol Electromechanical Plant at Izhevsk, entered service in 1991. Following the delivery of 15 systems to China in 1997, in 1998 Greece ordered 21 systems, with an option on 29 more, although the sheer size of Tor vehicles places constraints on its deployment. At Idex 99 in Abu Dhabi, Antey revealed preliminary details of its reduced-cost Tor-M1T family, in which the tracked chassis is replaced by a truck (-M1TA), trailer (-M1TB) or a stationery shelter (-M1TS). Tor represents a day/night all-weather system that can engage two targets with only a three-second interval between firings, and also has the ability to engage precision-guided munitions.

Bamse: The 15-kilometre class of missiles is somewhat beyond the conventional Shorad concept, but may warrant mention in this survey. The Saab Bofors Dynamics RBS23 Bamse system falls in this category but appears to have been developed mainly to provide better altitude coverage than existing Shorad systems and to intercept smaller targets. The Bamse battery consists of a surveillance co-ordination centre (SCC) and up to four fire units, each armed with four ready-to-fire missiles. The SCC has an Ericsson Giraffe C-band phased-array surveillance radar with an antenna elevated to around ten metres. The fire units are towed by cross-country vehicles, which carry reloads, and are typically positioned ten kilometres from the SCC. Each has an Ericsson Ka-band target tracking radar with an elevated antenna that also provides Clos guidance for the missile. The RBS23 missile employs a tandem booster. The sophistication of the system is illustrated by the fact that it can aim for a specific area of the aircraft (e.g., front fuselage), and can communicate to the missile its closing velocity, in order to optimise fuzing.

Nasams: Although no data has been released, it appears likely that the surface-to-air version of the Raytheon Aim-120 is in a similar range category to the RBS23. The Aim-120 is used in the Kongsberg Nasams (Norwegian Advanced Surface-Air Missile System) for airfield defence, employing six-round towed fire units, Raytheon TPQ-36A tracking radars augmented by thermal imaging systems and Raytheon MPQ-64 surveillance radars. In July 2000, Kongsberg was awarded a contract to supply four systems to Spain.

In April 2001, Raytheon was awarded a development and pre-production contract by US Marine Corps Systems Command for the Claws (Complementary Low Altitude Weapon System), which will place four AIM-120s on a HMMWV to complement the Avenger. This follows US Army-funded work on a Humraam prototype with five AIM-120s. Targeting information may be provided by a HMMWV (Humvee)-mounted radar, such as the MRRS (Multi-Role Radar System) proposed by Sensis.