France Weaponsystems | Tactical Weapons | Millitary Documentation 1985

#matra #tacticalweapons #missiles #conventionalweapons In this historical millitaery documentation you will see several weapon systems and how they work and what they can achieve. ---------- Anti Navire: Otomat The French weapon system "Otomat" is an anti-ship missile developed in the 1960s. It is an anti-ship missile developed by the Italian company OTO Melara and the French company Matra. The Otomat is designed for use against large ships and can be fired from various platforms such as ships, aircraft and coastal batteries. The missile has a range of about 180 kilometers and is equipped with a high-explosive warhead. It is guided by an inertial navigation system and an active radar search system, which gives it high precision in target acquisition and engagement. ------ Super 530 The French weapon system "Super 530" is a medium-range air-to-air missile developed by the Matra company. There are two main versions of this missile: the Super 530F and the Super 530D. Super 530F: This version was introduced into the French Air Force in 1979 and is mainly used on the Dassault Mirage F1. It has a range of about 25 kilometers and reaches speeds of up to Mach 4.5. Super 530D: This improved version was introduced in 1988 and is used on the Dassault Mirage 2000. It has a range of about 40 kilometers and can reach speeds of up to Mach 5. The Super 530D has a more powerful solid-fuel rocket motor and an improved search system. Both versions are equipped with a 30 kg high-explosive fragmentation warhead and use a semi-active radar search system for target acquisition. -------- Air Air Missile: Magic The French "Magic" weapon system is a short-range air-to-air missile developed by the Matra company. There are two main versions of this missile: the Magic 1 and the Magic 2. Magic 1: This version was developed in 1968 and entered service in 1972. It has a range of about 10 kilometers and can reach speeds of up to Mach 3. The missile is guided by an infrared homing system. Magic 2: This improved version was introduced in 1986 and has a range of about 20 kilometers. It has an improved search system and can reach speeds of up to Mach 2. Both versions are equipped with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead and have been used by various aircraft types such as the Dassault Mirage and the Dassault Rafale. --------- Luft Boden: Armat The French weapon system "Armat" is an anti-radar missile developed in the 1980s. It is a further development of the Anglo-French Martel-missile. The Armat missile was mainly used by the French Air Force and was designed to be used against enemy radar systems. Here are some technical details about the Armat missile: Weight: 550 kg Length: 4.15 m Diameter: 0.40 m Wingspan: 1.20 m Warhead: 160 kg semi-armor-piercing warhead Drive: solid-fuel rocket motor Range: 40-120 km Speed: subsonic (up to Mach 0.9) The Armat missile was used by SEPECAT Jaguars against Libyan targets during Operation Épervier. --------- Mistral The French weapon system "Mistral" is a short-range anti-aircraft missile developed by the company MBDA. It is a fire-and-forget missile equipped with a two-stage solid-fuel rocket motor. The Mistral missile can be fired from ground, air and sea-based systems and is designed for use against air targets at low altitudes. Here are some technical details about the Mistral missile: Length: about 1.86 m Diameter: 90 mm Weight: 19.7 kg Speed: up to Mach 2.71 (approx. 3319 km/h) Range: 0.5 to 7 km Warhead: 3 kg fragmentation warhead with about 1800 tungsten balls Target detection: passive IR Fuses: laser proximity fuse and impact fuse2 The Mistral missile first entered service with the French armed forces in 1988 and has since undergone several evolutions, including the Mistral 2 and Mistral 3 ------------- Sol Air: Crotale The French weapon system "Crotale" is a mobile, all-weather anti-aircraft missile system designed to combat low-flying aircraft and helicopters2. It was originally developed by Thomson-CSF (now Thales Group) in the late 1960s and entered service in 1971. Here are some technical details about the Crotale system: Range: up to 15 km (depending on version) Speed: up to Mach 3.5 (VT-1 missile) Warhead: fragmentation warhead with proximity fuse Propulsion: solid-fuel rocket motor Target detection: radar and infrared The system consists of a launcher vehicle with four missile launchers and a fire control radar as well as a separate search radar vehicle. It was developed for both the army and the navy and used on various platforms such as the AMX-30 main battle tank and various warships. ------------- Belouga The French weapon system "Belouga" is a tactical weapon system consisting of a bomb filled with small grenades. This bomb is dropped over the target area, for example over a group of tanks. As soon as the bomb reaches the target area, the grenades are released and descend to the ground on parachutes. If they land on or near a tank, they detonate. -----------------