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The Crotale (
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
: "Rattlesnake") is a French, all-weather, short-range
surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
system developed to intercept airborne ranged weapons and aircraft, from cruise or anti-ship missiles to
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
s,
UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
s or low-flying high-performance
fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
. It was developed by Thomson CSF Matra (now
Thales Group Thales Group () is a French multinational company that designs, develops and manufactures electrical systems as well as devices and equipment for the aerospace, defence, transportation and security sectors. The company is headquartered in Paris' ...
) and consists of a mobile land-based variant as well as various naval ones.


Development

Originally the Crotale R440 system was developed by
Rockwell International Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate involved in aircraft, the space industry, defense and commercial electronics, components in the automotive industry, printing presses, avionics and industrial products. R ...
and Thomson-Houston (and Mistral) in France for South Africa, where it was named Cactus. However, the achievements of the system impressed the
French Armed Forces The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. Franc ...
, who purchased the system both for the air force and for the navy. The firing system includes the main sensors of the ship, the firing system of the
turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * Mi ...
, and a central coordination system. The turret holds eight missiles ready for launch in watertight containers. The magazine behind the turret holds 18 missiles. The French army first utilised a 4x4 wheeled vehicle, armed with four launchers. In order to ensure higher mobility, it was decided to mount the system on the chassis of the French
AMX-30 The AMX-30 is a main battle tank designed by Ateliers de construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux (AMX, then GIAT) and first delivered to the French Army in August 1966. The first five tanks were issued to the 501st ''Régiment de Chars de Combat'' (T ...
main battle tank. At the same time, the number of launchers was increased to six. In Finnish Army service, the Crotale NG system has been mounted on
Sisu Pasi The Patria Pasi (earlier known as the Sisu Pasi) is a Finnish-made six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier (APC) originally designed for Finnish Defence Forces. The first variant was produced in 1983 and serial production began in 1984. It was des ...
vehicles. Here the number of launchers is eight. The Crotale system has also been installed on various military ships. For instance, the French Navy s have a Crotale 8-tubed launcher near the helicopter flight deck. The Automatic command to line-of-sight guidance system uses both Radar and
IRST An infrared search and track (IRST) system (sometimes known as infrared sighting and tracking) is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters. IR ...
to locate a target and to track it and the missile.


Crotale NG

A modernized version, the Crotale NG (New Generation), entered production in 1990. This version used the new VT-1 missile with Mach 3.5 speed, load factor to 35G, 11 km range, 13 kg warhead (8 m kill-zone) and 6,000 m ceiling. The system includes a S-band Pulse Doppler radar (20 km), Ku-band TWT tracking radar (30 km), Thermal camera (19 km), Daylight CCD camera (15 km), and an IR localiser. An early '90s proposal to fit the system (in its eight-round form) to a Leclerc tank chassis in order to provide a battlefield air defence
vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), wa ...
for protecting armored formations on the move was not realised due to post-Cold War cutbacks.


K-SAM Pegasus

In 1999, the
Republic of Korea Armed Forces The Republic of Korea Armed Forces (), also known as the ROK Armed Forces, are the armed forces of South Korea. The ROK Armed Forces is one of the largest and most powerful standing armed forces in the world with a reported personnel strength of ...
awarded a contract to
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him ...
to jointly develop a South Korean-augmented Crotale NG system for the K-SAM Pegasus short-range air defense system. A new sensor system was jointly developed by Samsung and Thales to meet the required operational capability of the upcoming K-SAM Pegasus, as well as a new indigenous missile by
LIG Nex1 LIG Nex1 Co., Ltd. (formerly known as NEX1 Future and LG Innotek) is a South Korean aerospace manufacturer and defense company. It was established in 1976 as Goldstar Precision. LIG Nex1 was previously owned by LIG Holdings Company, which in tur ...
. The electronics and radars were developed by
Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (, sometimes shortened to SEC and stylized as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. It is the pinnacle of ...
. Doosan DST integrated this modified Crotale NG system with a
K200 The K200 KIFV (Korea Infantry Fighting Vehicle) is a South Korean armored personnel carrier, originally produced by Daewoo Heavy Industries as a domestic replacement for older armored personnel carriers, such as the M113, in front line servic ...
vehicle. 48 units were initially produced for a price-tag of 330 million Euros. A second batch of 66 units was ordered in 2003, valued at 470 million Euros.


Multi-Shield 100

Thales revealed an updated Crotale NG system with Shikra radar at the Paris Air Show in 2007. The system combines Crotale Mk3 VT-1 missile and Shikra multi-beam search radar, with 150 km (detection range). Thales has demonstrated that the system's VT-1 missile has extended range to 15 km.


Technology

The Crotale missile system consists of two components; a vehicle for transport, equipped with 2-8 launchers; a tracking radar located between the launchers. A second vehicle carries the surveillance radar. The radar surveillance vehicle can be connected to several launcher vehicles, in order to achieve an effective air-defence system. The Crotale NG has incorporated both the launcher and the surveillance radar in one vehicle. The missile is propelled by a
solid-propellant rocket A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses Rocket propellant#Solid chemical propellants, solid propellants (fuel/oxidizer). The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder; they were u ...
motor and can accelerate to a maximum speed of Mach 2.3 in two seconds. The missile is sent guidance commands by the base unit directing keeping it on the
line of sight The line of sight, also known as visual axis or sightline (also sight line), is an imaginary line between a viewer/observer/spectator's eye(s) and a subject of interest, or their relative direction. The subject may be any definable object taken ...
until its infrared proximity fuze senses that it is near its target and explodes. The surveillance radar and fire direction radar have a range of 20 km and the TV link works up to 15 km. The TV guidance system uses both regular and infrared cameras. The system can follow 8 targets simultaneously, and the guidance radar can follow both hovering helicopters as well as fighters exceeding Mach 2. The Crotale can also use surveillance data from other systems, data from optical surveillance and from the general aerial picture from the national air defence communications system.


Variants

;R440 Crotale: The original Crotale SAM system, with both land and sea (Sea Crotale) systems. Over 330 systems and several thousand missiles were produced and exported to more than 15 countries. ;R460 SICA (Shahine): Thomson-CSF (now
Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him ...
) developed a specific version of the Crotale known as "Shahine" for
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
. The system became operational in 1980. The main visible differences are mainly the carrier (an AMX 30 armoured carrier instead of the non-protected classic carrier), and that it carries a six-missile firing unit (instead of four). The purpose of the changes was to allow the Shahine firing and acquisition units to follow and protect the armoured units of the Saudi Armed Forces on the battlefield. The Shahine units were among the first vehicles to liberate
Kuwait City Kuwait City ( ar, مدينة الكويت) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economical centre of the emirate, ...
in February 1991 – a picture taken of the scene was widely publicised by ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' magazine. ;Liberty Forward Area Air Defense System: Developed in conjunction with LTV for the US Army's Line of Sight-Forward Heavy competition, the Liberty air defense system consisted of either 6 R460 SICA or 6 VT-1 missiles mounted on an
M1A1 Abrams The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare and now one of the heaviest t ...
chassis along with a pair of 25mm cannons ;Crotale NG (VT-1) :An updated version, New Generation. Finland was the first operator of the system. The cost of the system is roughly 8 million euros (excluding the vehicle). Greece is another user, and paid 1 Billion French Francs in 1998 for 11 systems: 9 for the Hellenic Air Force and 2 for the Hellenic Navy. In 2002 euros, that would have amounted up to 12 million euros per unit. ;Crotale Mk.3 (system):In January 2008, France test-fired the new Crotale Mk.3 system at the CELM missile launch test center in Biscarrosse. The Crotale Mk.3 system's VT1 missile successfully intercepted a Banshee target drone at 970 metre altitude and 8 km range in 11 seconds on 15 January 2008. Later, on 31 January 2008, the system successfully intercepted another target drone at a 500-metre altitude and 15 km range in 35 seconds. ;HQ-7 :
HQ-7 The HQ-7 is a short-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) from the People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by populati ...
is a Chinese variant of Crotale.


Operators


Current operators

: ; :
Royal Bahraini Army Royal Bahraini Army is the ground force component of the Bahrain Defence Force. The army's current strength is 15,000 personnel and headed by Lieutenant General Khalifa bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa. History Bahraini ground troops took part in the Sa ...
; : Egyptian Army (test in 1976) ; : The
Finnish Army The Finnish Army (Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraft ...
operates 21 Crotale NGs on Sisu XA-181 vehicles, designated ITO90M. ; : naval Crotale and land-based Crotale NG (12 systems) ; : Crotale NG, used by
Hellenic Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 8 November , equipment = , equipment_label ...
(9 systems) and
Hellenic Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; el, Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, War Navy, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of vari ...
(2 naval systems). ; :
Ya Zahra air defense system Ya Zahra (Persian: یا زهراء, O Zahra) is an Iranian unlicensed copy of the HQ-7, itself an unlicensed copy of the French Crotale missile short-range air defense system. The system entered production in 2013. The Ya Zahra differs from Ir ...
is an unlicensed Iranian copy of an unlicensed Chinese-copy of Crotale missiles. ; : Crotale NG ; :
Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...
; : K-SAM Pegasus (114 systems) ; : Shahine, Crotale ; ; : Ukraine operates two Crotale batteries


Future operators


Former operators

; :
Iraqi Air Force The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF or IrAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية العراقية, Al Quwwat al Jawwiyah al Iraqiyyah}) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It is responsible for the defense of Iraqi airspace as well ...
; : First delivery in 1973. ; :
Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its ...
(2 launching units with 1 radar delivered in 1974) Sold in 1976. ;:
Peruvian Air Force The Peruvian Air Force ( es, link=no, Fuerza Aérea del Perú, FAP) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with defending the nation and its interests through the use of air power. Additional missions include assistance in safeguardin ...
(FAP) ; : delivered from 1971 to 1973 ; :
Chilean Air Force "With full speed to the stars" , colours = Indigo White , colours_label = , march = Alte Kameraden , mascot = , anniversaries = 21 March ...
; :
Royal Moroccan Army zgh, ⵜⴰⵙⵔⴷⴰⵙⵜ ⵜⴰⴳⵍⴷⴰⵏⵜ , image = , caption = Flag of the Royal Moroccan Army , start_date = active since: 1088 CE current form: 14 May 1956 , ...


See also

*
Roland missile The Roland is a Franco-German mobile short-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system. The Roland was also purchased by the U.S. Army as one of very few foreign SAM systems. Development Roland was designed to a joint French and German requireme ...
(Franco-German surface-to-air missile) *
LFK NG LFK NG from ''Lenkflugkörper Neue Generation'' ("New Generation Guided Missile") is under development by MBDA Germany and Diehl Defence as the new short-range surface-to-air missile system for the German Army as a replacement for its Roland ai ...
(the future surface-to-air missile of the
German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crotale Missile Naval surface-to-air missiles of France Surface-to-air missiles of France Cold War weapons of South Africa Military equipment introduced in the 1970s