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Tracked Rapier.
The Tracked Raper system started life as a US M548 Tracked Carrier, developed by BAe Systems for Iran, however with the fall of the Shah's government BAe offered the system to the Royal Air Force. The first Tracked Rapier's entered service with the British Army's 11 (Sphinx) Air Defence Battery of 22 Air Defence Regiment , Royal Artillery in 1982-83. The Tracked Rapier was slow, cramped and generally uncomfortable to be in due to the fact the driver, commander and operator lived in the vehicle. To add insult to injury the crew had to deal with the Optical Tracking Unit inside the cab along with personal kit and rations. However deployment time of the Tracked Rapier without Test & Adjustments was just 30 seconds compared to the 30 minutes of the towed Rapier System. The Tracked Rapier was accompanied by a Support Vehicle which carried arms, fuel and water however the support vehicle was much faster over rough terrain and crewed by two rather than three men.
The original Rapier FSA saw use in the Falklands Conflict with less than rosy results. It was deployed against low flying aircraft . In 1982 T Battery joined 3 Commando Brigade as part of the Falklands Task Force, they landed at San Carlos Bay. Early post-war results were favourable indicating 14 kills and 6 probables. Later analysis however showed as few as 3 aircraft were actually downed by the Rapier FSA.
The main problem of the Rapier FSA was range and the lack of of a proximity fuse, a deficiency which required the operator to directly strike the target aircraft. Rapier also suffered problems with Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) although this didn't contribute to the poor performance. However the Batteries in the Falklands were permitted to fire on any target unless specifically instructed otherwise.
The issues of the original Rapier FSA were however dealt with and the Rapier missile remains in service with the British Army as the Rapier FSC ( Field Standard C) which was developed by MDBA, the Rapier FSC is used in a combined system with the Blindfire 2000 Tracking Radar and Dagger Surveillance Radar.
Eight Rapier Missiles can be carried ready to fire, each with a high explosive warhead and missiles (designated MK2B) are fitted with a proximity fuse. Rapier FSC propulsion system is a two-stage enhanced solid-propellant rocket motor capable of Mach 2.5. The guidance is automatic infra-red and radar command to line of sight.
Tracked Rapier.
The Tracked Raper system started life as a US M548 Tracked Carrier, developed by BAe Systems for Iran, however with the fall of the Shah's government BAe offered the system to the Royal Air Force. The first Tracked Rapier's entered service with the British Army's 11 (Sphinx) Air Defence Battery of 22 Air Defence Regiment , Royal Artillery in 1982-83. The Tracked Rapier was slow, cramped and generally uncomfortable to be in due to the fact the driver, commander and operator lived in the vehicle. To add insult to injury the crew had to deal with the Optical Tracking Unit inside the cab along with personal kit and rations. However deployment time of the Tracked Rapier without Test & Adjustments was just 30 seconds compared to the 30 minutes of the towed Rapier System. The Tracked Rapier was accompanied by a Support Vehicle which carried arms, fuel and water however the support vehicle was much faster over rough terrain and crewed by two rather than three men.
The original Rapier FSA saw use in the Falklands Conflict with less than rosy results. It was deployed against low flying aircraft . In 1982 T Battery joined 3 Commando Brigade as part of the Falklands Task Force, they landed at San Carlos Bay. Early post-war results were favourable indicating 14 kills and 6 probables. Later analysis however showed as few as 3 aircraft were actually downed by the Rapier FSA.
The main problem of the Rapier FSA was range and the lack of of a proximity fuse, a deficiency which required the operator to directly strike the target aircraft. Rapier also suffered problems with Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) although this didn't contribute to the poor performance. However the Batteries in the Falklands were permitted to fire on any target unless specifically instructed otherwise.
The issues of the original Rapier FSA were however dealt with and the Rapier missile remains in service with the British Army as the Rapier FSC ( Field Standard C) which was developed by MDBA, the Rapier FSC is used in a combined system with the Blindfire 2000 Tracking Radar and Dagger Surveillance Radar.
Eight Rapier Missiles can be carried ready to fire, each with a high explosive warhead and missiles (designated MK2B) are fitted with a proximity fuse. Rapier FSC propulsion system is a two-stage enhanced solid-propellant rocket motor capable of Mach 2.5. The guidance is automatic infra-red and radar command to line of sight.