SURFACE-TO-AIR WEAPONS

  RAPIER

  THAAD

RAPIER

The Rapier system provides area, 24-hour through-cloud, Low-Level Air Defence (LLAD) over the Air-Defended Area. The two forms of Rapier in service are as follows:-

Rapier Field Standard B2 consists of an Optical Tracker, a launcher, a Radar and a Generator. The into-action time of the system is thought to be about 15 minutes and the surveillance radar is believed to scan out to 15 km. Each fire unit can therefore cover an Air Defence Area (ADA) of about 100 square kms. Having discharged the four missiles on a Fire Unit, two men are thought to be able to carry out a reload in about three minutes.

Rapier Field Standard C (FSC) incorporates a range of technological improvements, including an advanced three-dimensional radar tracker acquisition system designed by Plessey. 

The towed system launcher will mount eight missiles (able to fire two simultaneously), which will be manufactured in two warhead versions. One of these will be a proximity explosive round and the other a kinetic energy round. The total cost of the Rapier FS 'C' programme for both the RAF and the Army is £1,886 million.

The RAF has the following squadrons equipped with Rapier and all are in the UK. In the Falklands Campaign, Rapier was credited with 14 kills and 6 probables from a total of 24 missiles fired.

Rapier has now been sold to the armed forces of at least 14 nations. We believe that sales have amounted to over 25,000 missiles, 600 launchers and 350 Blindfire radars.

Specifications

THAAD

Recent fears of nuclear proliferation, and the problems of nuclear-capable delivery systems such as the former Soviet Scud missile being used by nations who hitherto have not been able to mount a credible threat to the UK, have forced the MoD to look at the options offered by adopting a high-level missile defence.

We believe that the UK MoD is now looking at a Theatre High-Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system to defend the UK against incoming missiles. The MoD appears to be interested in creating a layered anti-missile defence, capable of multiple attempts at hitting targets at ranges of over 100 miles at heights of over 100,000 feet, to shorter-range systems such as the US Patriot that could hit targets at much closer range.

During late1993, officials from the US Lockheed Corporation briefed UK MoD staff on the capabilities of THAAD and, in November 1993, more than 60 companies attended a presentation regarding work on such a system. 

However, we believe that the UK can only proceed with such an expensive programme as a partner in a European collaborative project, and there are some reports that preliminary talks have taken place to explore options.

A layered system based upon low-medium and high-level missiles, employing satellite and early warning aircraft detectors would have a very high percentage chance of success against everything except a saturation attack by large numbers of missiles. 

However, the defence budgets of the nations that really count in the European procurement scene (France, Germany and the UK) appear to be fully committed until at least 2005. An expensive THAAD system costing many billions of pounds is almost certainly not going to appear in the short term and it is likely that any future European system will be based around current US THAAD technology.

NATO is to award  two-year contracts worth approximately £10 million each to two multinational teams in early 2001 for initial feasibility studies of an alliance-wide upper-tier TMD (Theatre Missile Defence) system that could defend Europe from ballistic missiles with a range of up to 3,000km. 

The Active Layered Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence system would complement lower-tier weapons, and advanced versions of the US Patriot, that are already in development or on order by European countries. This upper-tier system could be land-based or at least partially deployed aboard ships.

The plans are for a system in-service date of 2010.