Surface-to-air Missile

A surface-to-air missile , or anti-aircraft missile , is a Missile intended to reach an air target while being drawn since the ground ( ground-to-air missiles ) or the sea ( sea-to-air missiles ), primarily with an aim of anti-aircraft defense. Technically, the sea-to-air missiles and the ground-to-air missiles knew convergent evolutions which make that, currently, the two classes do nothing any more but only one.

History

Conceived in the beginning to fight the bombers evolving/moving with high-altitude, the ground-to-air missiles appeared during the Second world war. The Germany launched several programs starting from 1941 but which could not lead in time, although some as the Fliegerfaust were briefly tested. The only program combined for a self-propelled machine of this type, the British Brakemine , hardly made better.

The appearance, at the beginning of the Years 1950, of strategic bombers able to fly at altitudes from 13 to 15.000 meters (B-52, B-58, Tupolev You-16, Tupolev You-22) revealed a threat against which the anti-aircraft gun S even large Caliber could not anything any more. One then saw appearing:

  • with the the United States missiles Nike-Ajax (1953) and BOMARC
  • with the the United Kingdom the missiles Thunderbird then Bloodhound
  • in the USSR the series of SA with SA-1 Guild
  • in France the missiles Matra R-422 and Parca (prototype)
  • in Swiss, the RSC-50 which was the first missile proposed with export.

But all these systems were fixed, semi-mobiles, sometimes buried and were more particularly intended for a strategic defense against the bombers. About 1955 the US Army put in building site a missile of defense of zone and " théâtre" : the system of weapon Hawk , which was to be as mobile as the batteries of 90 mm in their time and to be able to follow the armies on their immediate backs. It is of course that " mobile" does not want to say " to draw in roulant". It returns to the the USSR to have given a greater tactical mobility to the ground-to-air missiles of defense of zone through SA-4 Ganef and SA-6 Gainful, both on tracked mounting. In the years 1960, appeared the ground-to-air missiles with short range which doubled (before making them almost disappear, except in the naval forces) the guns of average gauge like the 40 mm Bofors and the 40 mm Bi-tube assembled on frame AMX-13 in France.

To note that units of the US National Guard were one moment equipped with the Roland assembled on crawler track Chaffee.

At the same time appeared to the ground-to-air missiles with very short range like the Redeye portable American, Soviet SA-7, RBS-70 Swedish and the British Blowpipe.

The War of Vietnam, then the War of Kippour in 1973, proved the effectiveness of these missiles against all the Aéronef S, very high with the very low altitude.

During the War of the Falklands, the anti-aircraft missiles embarked and on the ground British were a big part of defense against Argentinian aviation.

At the beginning of the Years 1980, NATO engaged a reflection on the capacity of the ground-to-air missiles to becoming multi-target vis-a-vis the new threats (Drone, arms stand-off, sea-to-sea Missile, Ground-to-ground missile tactical of type Scud). The war of the Gulf of 1991 validated this reflection, which grows rich by the notion of projection of the ground-to-air systems for protection of the forces.

To note that MIM-104 Patriot in its original version was not intended for an anti-missile function. Its performances against the Iraqi ballistic missiles Scud during the war of the Gulf of 1991 were largely exaggerated for political reasons.

Patriot, very modular since was deeply modified (CAP 2 & 3) to also ensure an anti-missile mission.

During the War of Iraq of 2003, it was the cause of friendly fire cutting down a Tornado RAF and a F/A-18 of USAF.

On the other hand a Patriot unit was in its turn destroyed by a F-16 Wild Weasel of the US Air Force which it “had hung” automatically (shooting of a anti-radiation missile) by confusing it with a battery of SA-2.

The missiles developed since like MEADS américano-germano-Italian, the Aster free-anglo-Italian and the S-300 and Russian S-400 S are ommi-directional and multi-threats, the Avion S not being more their single target.

Typology

This class of missiles is divided into four categories:

Short-range missiles very

They are light missiles (15 to 20 kg for the ammunition), tirables with the shoulder, implemented by two men, like the Mistral, FIM-92 Stinger or the SAM-7 for example. Their range does not exceed 5 km. They are very fast (Mach approximately 3). They generally have a guidance system Infrarouge. Some use a guidance Laser, like the Swedish SAAB-70 for example.

This type of missile started to be spread during the Années 1980 on the initiative of the the United States which equipped the Afghan rebels with Stinger missiles to counter the intensive use of the helicopters by the troops of invasion of the the USSR. They proved their effectiveness while returning the flight at low particularly dangerous altitude. But these missiles circulating from now on on the black-market make fear a terrorist use against airliners.

Short-range missiles

Examples: Roland, Crotale. Their range reaches about fifteen kilometers. Their guidance is generally done by radar (with share for the Shorts British Javelin which uses an infra-red guidance).

Missiles with average carried

Example: SA-6. Their range reaches about fifty kilometers. Their guidance is done exclusively by radar.

Long-range missiles

Examples: Hawk, SAM-2, Patriot. Their range is higher than 100 km. Their guidance is done exclusively by radar.

List Surface-to-air missiles

; The United States of America

; The United Kingdom

  • Arrow Interceptor
  • Starstreak
  • Rapier
  • Bloodhound
  • Blowpipe
  • Starburst
  • Sea Cat
  • Sea Dart
  • Sea Wolf

; France

; India

  • Akash

; Nationalist China

  • TK-1 Sky Bow I
  • TK-2 Sky Bow II

; The USSR and Russia

; Germany

; Pakistan

  • Anza

; Standard Japan

  • Standard 81
  • 93

; South Africa

  • Umkhonto

; Poland

; Sweden

  • RBS 70

See too

  • MAWS system of detection of missiles

External bonds

'' Missions SEAD '', in 1 {{Re}} left, all missiles Russian

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