The Raytheon MIM-23 HAWK ("Homing all the way killer") is an American medium-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 ...

. It was designed to be a much more mobile counterpart to the MIM-14 Nike Hercules, trading off range and altitude capability for a much smaller size and weight. Its low-level performance was greatly improved over Nike through the adoption of new radars and a continuous wave

semi-active radar homing Semi-active radar homing (SARH) is a common type of missile guidance system, perhaps the most common type for longer-range air-to-air and surface-to-air missile systems. The name refers to the fact that the missile itself is only a passive de ...

guidance system. It entered service with the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in 1959. In 1971 it underwent a major improvement program as the Improved Hawk, or I-Hawk, which made several improvements to the missile and replaced all of the radar systems with new models. Improvements continued throughout the next twenty years, adding improved ECCM, a potential home-on-jam feature, and in 1995, a new warhead that made it capable against short-range

tactical missile A tactical ballistic missile (TBM), or battlefield range ballistic missile (BRBM), is a ballistic missile designed for short-range battlefield use. Typically, range is less than . Tactical ballistic missiles are usually mobile to ensure surv ...

s. '' Jane's'' reported that the original system's single shot

kill probability Computer games, simulations, models, and operations research programs often require a mechanism to determine statistically how likely the engagement between a weapon and a target will result in a satisfactory outcome (i.e. "kill"), known as the pro ...

was 0.56; I-Hawk improved this to 0.85. Hawk was superseded by the

MIM-104 Patriot The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied states. It is manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon and derives its name from the radar comp ...

service by 1994. The last US user was the US Marine Corps, who used theirs until 2002 when they were replaced with the man-portable short-range FIM-92 Stinger. The missile was also produced outside the US in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

, Japan and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The US never used the Hawk in combat, but it has been employed numerous times by other nations. Approximately 40,000 of the missiles were produced.

Development

Development of the Hawk missile system began in 1952, when the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

began studies into a medium-range

. In July 1954 development contracts were awarded to Northrop for the launcher, radars and fire control systems, while Raytheon was awarded the contract for the missile. The first test launch of the missile then designated the XSAM-A-18 happened in June 1956. By July 1957 development was completed, by which time the designation had changed to XM3 and XM3E1. Very early missiles used the Aerojet M22E7 which was not reliable; the problems were resolved with the adoption of the M22E8 engine. The missile was initially deployed by the US Army in 1959, and by the US Marine Corps in 1960. The high complexity of the system, and the quality of tube-based electronics, gave the radars in the early Hawk systems a mean time between failures (MTBF) of only 43 hours. The improved Hawk system increased this to between 130 and 170 hours. Later Hawk versions improved this further to between 300 and 400 hours. Improved Hawk or I-Hawk The original Hawk system had problems engaging targets at low altitude—the missile would have problems picking the target out against ground clutter. The US Army began a program to address these issues in 1964 via the Hawk Improvement Program (Hawk/HIP). This involved numerous upgrades to the Hawk system: * A digital data processing central information coordinator for target processing, threat ordering, and intercept evaluation. * An improved missile (MIM-23B) with a larger warhead, smaller and more powerful M112 motor, and improved guidance section. * The PAR, CWAR, HPIR, and ROR were replaced by upgraded variants (see #Radars). The system entered service during 1972, the first unit reaching operational status by October. All US units were upgraded to I-Hawk standard by 1978. Product Improvement Plan In 1973 the US Army started an extensive multi-phase Hawk PIP (Product Improvement Plan), mainly intended to improve and upgrade the numerous items of ground equipment. * Phase I *: Phase I involved replacement of the CWAR with the AN/MPQ-55 Improved CWAR (ICWAR), and the upgrade of the AN/MPQ-50 PAR to Improved PAR (IPAR) configuration by the addition of a digital MTI (Moving Target Indicator). The first PIP Phase I systems were fielded between 1979 and 1981. * Phase II *: Developed from 1978 and fielded between 1983 and 1986. upgraded the AN/MPQ-46 HPI to AN/MPQ-57 standard by replacing some of the

vacuum tube A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric potential difference has been applied. The type known as ...

based electronics with modern

solid-state Solid state, or solid matter, is one of the four fundamental states of matter. Solid state may also refer to: Electronics * Solid-state electronics, circuits built of solid materials * Solid state ionics, study of ionic conductors and their ...

circuits, and added an optical TAS (Tracking Adjunct System). The TAS, designated OD-179/TVY, is an electro-optical (TV) tracking system that increases Hawk operability and survivability in a high-ECM environment. * Phase III *: The PIP Phase III development was started in 1983, and was first fielded by U. S. forces in 1989. Phase III was a major upgrade which significantly enhanced the computer hardware and software for most components of the system, a new CWAR the AN/MPQ-62, added single-scan target detection capability, and upgraded the HPI to AN/MPQ-61 standard by addition of a Low-Altitude Simultaneous Hawk Engagement (LASHE) system. LASHE allows the Hawk system to counter saturation attacks by simultaneously intercepting multiple low-level targets. The ROR was phased out in Phase III Hawk units. Hawk Missile Restore Reliability (MRR) : This was a program that ran between 1982 and 1984 intended to improve missile reliability. Hawk ECCM : Running alongside the MMR program, this produced ECCM to specific threats, probably contemporary Soviet ECM pods such as the SPS-141 fitted to the Su-22, which proved moderately effective during the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Counci ...

. The MIM-23C and E missiles contain these fixes. Low clutter enhancements : Upgrades to the missile that takes it up to MIM-23G that enable the missile to deal with low flying targets in a high clutter environment. These were first deployed in 1990. Hawk missile ILM (Improved lethality modification) : To improve the lethality of the warhead of the missile against

ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within t ...

s, the warhead was redesigned to produce fewer larger fragments, typically 35 grams each comparable to a 12.7 mm projectile in mass. Hawk mobility and TMD upgrades : A Hawk mobility survivability enhancement programme has been developed following experience in the 1990

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. The aim of this programme was to reduce the number of support vehicles per battery and to increase survivability. Upgrades to the launcher allow missiles to be transported on the launcher itself, as well as replacing vacuum tubes with a

single-board computer A single-board computer (SBC) is a complete computer built on a single circuit board, with microprocessor(s), memory, input/output (I/O) and other features required of a functional computer. Single-board computers are commonly made as demonstrat ...

. A north finding system speeds orientation and launcher alignment. A field wire replaces heavy cables and allows for greater dispersion amongst battery vehicles from 110 m to 2 km. The upgrades were deployed by the US Marine Corps between early 1995 and September 1996. Phase IV : With both the Army and Marines abandoning the Hawk, phase IV was never completed. It was planned to include: :* High mobility continuous wave acquisition radar to improve detection of small UAVs. :* A new CW engagement radar. :* Anti-radiation missile decoys. :* An improved missile motor. :* An upgraded electro-optical tracker. :* Improved command and control. :* ATBM upgrades. Hawk XXI (Hawk 21) : The Hawk XXI or Hawk-21 is a more advanced, and more compact version of Hawk PIP-3 upgrade. Hawk-XXI basically eliminates the PAR and CWAR radars with the introduction of 3D MPQ-64 ''Sentinel'' radars. Norway's Kongsberg Company provides an FDC (Fire Distribution Center) as it is used in

NASAMS NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, also known as the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) is a distributed and networked short- to medium-range ground-based air defense system developed by Kongsberg Defence & Ae ...

system in Norway. The missiles are upgraded MIM-23K standard with an improved blast-fragmentation warhead that creates a larger lethal zone. The system is also effective against short-range tactical ballistic missiles. : A MPQ-61 HIPIR radar provides low altitude and local area radar coverage as well as continuous wave radar illumination for the MIM-23K Hawk missiles.

Description

The Hawk system consists of a large number of component elements. These elements were typically fitted on wheeled trailers making the system semi-mobile. During the system's 40-year life span, these components were continually upgraded. The Hawk missile is transported and launched from the M192 towed triple-missile launcher. A self-propelled Hawk launcher, the SP-Hawk, was fielded in 1969, which simply mounted the launcher on a tracked M727 (modified M548), however the project was dropped and all activity terminated in August 1971. The missile is propelled by a dual thrust motor, with a boost phase and a sustain phase. The MIM-23A missiles were fitted with an M22E8 motor which burns for 25 to 32 seconds. The ''MIM-23B'' and later missiles are fitted with an M112 motor with a 5-second boost phase and a sustain phase of around 21 seconds. The M112 motor has greater thrust, thus increasing the engagement envelope. The original MIM-23A missiles used a parabolic reflector, but the antenna directional focus was insufficient, when engaging low flying targets the missile would dive on them, only to lose them in the ground clutter. The MIM-23B I-Hawk missiles and later uses a low side lobe, high-gain plane antenna to reduce sensitivity to ground clutter in addition to an inverted receiver developed in the late 1960s to give the missile enhanced ECCM ability and to increase the Doppler frequency resolution. A typical Basic Hawk battery consists of: * 1 × PAR: Pulse Acquisition Radar—a search radar with a 20 rpm rotation, for high/medium altitude target detection. * 1 × CWAR: Continuous Wave Acquisition Radar—a search doppler radar with a 20 rpm rotation, for low altitude target detection. * 2 × HPIR: High Power Illuminator doppler Radar—target tracking, illumination and missile guidance. * 1 × ROR: Range Only Radar—K-band pulse radar which provides range information when the other systems are jammed or unavailable. * 1 × ICC: Information Coordination Central * 1 × BCC: Battery Control Central * 1 × AFCC: Assault Fire Command Console—miniature battery control central for remote control of one firing section of the battery. The AFCC controls one CWAR, one HPI, and three launchers with a total of nine missiles. * 1 × PCP: Platoon Command Post * 2 × LCS: Launcher Section Controls * 6 × M-192: Launchers with 18 missiles. * 6 × SEA: Generators 56 kVA (400 Hz) each. * 12 × M-390: Missile transport pallets with 36 missiles * 3 × M-501: Missile loading tractors. * 1 × ucket loader* 1 × Missile test shop AN/MSM-43. A typical Phase-III Hawk battery consists of: * 1 × PAR: Pulse Acquisition Radar—a search radar with a 20 (+/−2) rpm rotation, for high/medium altitude target detection. * 1 × CWAR: Continuous Wave Acquisition Radar—a search doppler radar with a 20 (+/−2) rpm rotation, for low altitude target detection. * 2 × HIPIR: HIgh Power Illuminator doppler Radar—target tracking, illumination and missile guidance. * 1 × FDC: Fire Direction Center * 1 × IFF: Identification Friend or Foe Transceiver * 6 × DLN: Digital Launchers with 18 missiles. * 6 × MEP-816: Generators 60KW (400 Hz) each. * 12 × M-390: Missile transport pallets with 36 missiles * 3 × M-501: Missile loading tractors. * 1 × ucket loader

Missiles

The Hawk missile has a slender cylindrical body and four long chord clipped delta-wings, extending from mid-body to the slightly tapered boat-tail. Each wing has a trailing-edge control surface. * The MIM-23A is long, has a body diameter of , a wing span of and weighs at launch with a HE blast/fragmentation warhead. It has a minimum engagement range of , a maximum range of , a minimum engagement altitude of and a maximum engagement altitude of . * The MIM-23B to M versions are long, have a body diameter of and, with a larger warhead of , weighing at launch. An improved motor, with a total weight of including of propellant, increases the maximum range of the MIM-23B to M versions to and maximum engagement altitude to . The minimum range is reduced to . The MIM-23B has a peak velocity of around . The missile is fitted with both radio frequency proximity and impact fuses. The guidance system uses an X-band CW monopulse semi-active radar seeker. The missile can maneuver at 15 ''g''. In the 1970s,

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

used surplus Hawk missiles to create the Nike Hawk

sounding rocket A sounding rocket or rocketsonde, sometimes called a research rocket or a suborbital rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The rockets are used to ...

Basic Hawk: MIM-23A

The original missile used with the system. The warhead produces approximately 4,000 fragments that move at approximately in an 18 degree arc.

I-Hawk: MIM-23B

The MIM-23B has a larger blast-fragmentation warhead, a smaller and improved guidance package, and a new M112 rocket motor. The new warhead produces approximately 14,000 fragments that cover a much larger 70 degree arc. The missiles M112 rocket motor has a boost phase of 5 seconds and a sustain phase of 21 seconds. The motors total weight is including of propellant. This new motor improves the engagement envelope to in range at high altitude, and at low altitude, the minimum engagement altitude is . The missile was operational in 1971. All US units had converted to this standard by 1978. * MTM-23B training missile. * XMEM-23B Full telemetry version for testing and evaluation purposes.

System components

The Hawk and Improved Hawk structure was integrated into one system—AN/TSQ-73 air defense missile control and coordination system, called Missile Minder or Hawk-MM. It consists of the following components: MPQ-50 Pulse Acquisition Radar, MPQ-48 Improved Continuous Wave Acquisition Radar, TSW-8 Battery Control Central, ICC Information Coordination Central, MSW-11 Platoon Command Post, MPQ-46 High Power Illuminator, MPQ-51 Range Only Radar and the M192 Launcher.

Improved ECCM

* MIM-23C Introduced around 1982 with improved ECCM capabilities. * MIM-23D Unknown upgrade to the MIM-23C. The C and D missile families remained separate until the missiles' exit from service. It is not clear exactly what the difference between the two missiles - however it seems likely that the D family missiles represent an alternative guidance system, possibly ''home on jam'' developed in response to Soviet ECM techniques that were used by

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

during the Iran-Iraq War. Low level/multi jamming * MIM-23E/F An upgraded to the MIM-23C/D missiles improved guidance for low level engagements in a high clutter/multi-jamming environment. Introduced in 1990. New body section * MIM-23G/H A 1995 upgrade consisting of a new body section assembly for the MIM-23E/F missiles. New warhead + fuzing (anti-TBM) * MIM-23K/J Introduced around 1994. Enhanced lethality configuration warhead with 35 gram (540 grain) fragments instead of the I-Hawks 2 gram (30 grain) fragments. MIM-23K Hawk missiles are effective up to 20,000 m altitude and up to 45 km in range. The missile also includes a new fuze to make it effective against ballistic missiles. New fuzing + old warhead * MIM-23L/M Retains the I-Hawks 30 grain warhead, but with the new fuze.

Radars

The original Hawk system used 4 or in some models 6

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, Marine radar, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor v ...

s: to detect (PAR and CWAR), to track (CWAR and HPIR) and to engage (HPIR and ROR) targets. As the system was upgraded the functionality of some of the radars was merged. The final iteration of the system consists of only 2 radars, an enhanced phased array search radar and an engagement radar (HPIR). MIM-23 HAWK PAR radar 2

;PAR Pulse Acquisition Radar: The pulse acquisition radar is a long-range, high-altitude search radar. * AN/MPQ-35 (Basic Hawk) The search radar used with the basic Hawk system, with a radar pulse power of 450 kW and a pulse length of 3 µs, a Pulse Repetition Frequency of 800 and 667 Hz alternately. The radar operates in the 1.25 to 1.35 GHz range. The antenna is a elliptical reflector of open lattice construction, mounted on a small two-wheeled trailer. Rotation rate is 20 rpm, the BCC – Battery Control Central and the CWAR are synchronized by the PAR revolutions and the PAR system trigger. * AN/MPQ-50 (Improved Hawk to Phase III) Introduced with the I-Hawk system, the improved-PAR. The system introduces a digital MTI (Moving Target Indicator) that helps separate targets from ground clutter. It operates in the 500 to 1,000 MHz ( C-band) frequency range with radar pulse power of 450 kW. * Range (source ''Janes''): ** (high PRF) to (low PRF) versus target. ** (high PRF) to (low PRF) versus target. ** (high PRF) to (low PRF) versus target. ELEC AN-MPQ-64 Sentinel Radar lg

* AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel (Hawk XXI) A X-Band 3D range-gated doppler radar system used with the Hawk XXI system. It replaces both the CWAR and PAR components of the Hawk system. MPQ-64 ''Sentinel'' provides coverage out to a range of , rotating at 30 rpm. The system has a mean time between failure of around 600 hours, and can track at least 60 targets at once. It can elevate up to +55 degrees and depress to −10 degrees. ;CWAR Continuous Wave Acquisition Radar: This X Band Continuous wave system is used to detect targets. The unit comes mounted on its own mobile trailer. The unit acquires targets through 360 degrees of azimuth while providing target radial speed and raw range data. * AN/MPQ-34 (Basic Hawk) MPQ-34 Hawk CW Acquisition radar with a power rating of 200 W and a frequency of 10 GHz ( X-Band) Built by Raytheon. Replaced by MPQ-48. * AN/MPQ-48 (Improved Hawk) The Improved Hawk version of the CW acquisition radar doubled the output power and improved the detection ranges: * Range (source ''Janes''): ** (CW) to (FM) versus target. ** (CW) to (FM) versus target. ** (CW) to (FM) versus target. * AN/MPQ-55 (Phase I – Phase II) Hawk Improved Continuous Wave Acquisition Radar or ICWAR. The output power is doubled to 400 W, this increases the detection range to around . The radar operates in the 10–20 GHz (

J band J, or j, is the tenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is ''jay'' (pronounced ), with a now-uncommon varia ...

). Other features include FM ranging and BITE (Built in test equipment). Frequency modulation is applied to the broadcast on alternate scans of the ICWAR to obtain range information. * AN/MPQ-62 (Phase III) Some changes to the signal processing allow the radar to determine the targets' range and speed in a single scan. A digital DSP system is added which allows a lot of the processing work to be done on the radar directly and forwarded directly via a serial digital link to the PCP/BCP. Hawk rada hpir

;HPIR High Power Illuminating Radar: The early AN/MPQ-46 High Power Illuminator (HPIR) radars had only the two large dish-type antennas side by side, one to transmit and one to receive. The HPIR automatically acquires and tracks designated targets in azimuth, elevation and range. It also serves as an interface unit supplying azimuth and elevation launch angles computed by the Automatic Data Processor (ADP) in the Information Coordination Centre (ICC) to the IBCC or the Improved Platoon Command Post (IPCP) for up to three launchers. The HPIR J-band energy reflected from the target is also received by the Hawk missile. These returns are compared with the missile reference signal being transmitted directly to the missile by the HPIR. Target tracking is continued throughout the missile's flight. After the missile intercepts the target the HPIR Doppler data is used for kill evaluation. The HPIR receives target designations from one or both surveillance radars via the Battery Control Centre (BCC) and automatically searches a given sector for a rapid target lock on. The HPIR incorporates ECCM and BITE. * AN/MPQ-33/39 (Basic Hawk) This X Band CW System is used to illuminate targets in the Hawk Missile Battery. The unit comes mounted on its own mobile trailer. Unit automatically acquires and tracks designated targets in azimuth elevation and range rate. The system has an output power of around 125 W operating in the 10–10.25 GHz band. MPQ-39 was an upgraded version of the CWIR, Continuous Wave Illumination Radar, MPQ-33. * AN/MPQ-46 (Improved Hawk – Phase I) The radar operates in the 10–20 GHz (

) region. Many of the electron tube components in earlier radars are replaced with solid-state technology. * Range (source ''Janes''): ** (high PRF) to (low PRF) versus target. ** (high PRF) to (low PRF) versus target. ** (high PRF) to (low PRF) versus target. * AN/MPQ-57 (Phase II) The majority of the remaining tube electronics are upgraded to solid state. Also, an electro-optical tracking system, the daytime only OD-179/TVY TAS (Tracking Adjunct System) is added for operation in a high ECM environment. The TAS was developed from the US Air Forces TISEO (Target Identification System, Electro-Optical) by Northrop. It consists of a video camera with a ×10 zoom lens. The I-TAS which was field tested in 1992 added an Infra Red capability for night operation as well as automatic target detection and tracking. :* HEOS Germany, Netherlands and Norway modified their Hawk systems with an alternative IR acquisition and tracking system known as the Hawk Electro-Optical Sensor (HEOS) in place of the TAS. HEOS operates in the 8 to 11 µm band and is used to supplement the HPI to acquire and track targets before missile launch. * AN/MPQ-61 (Phase III) Upgraded with the addition of the LASHE (Low-Altitude Simultaneous Hawk Engagement) system, which allows the Hawk to engage multiple low level targets by employing a fan beam antenna to provide a wide-angle, low-altitude illumination pattern to allow multiple engagements against saturation raids. This antenna is rectangular. This allows up to 12 targets to be engaged at once. There is also TV/IR optic system for passive missile guidance. ;ROR Range Only Radar: Pulse radar that automatically comes into operation if the HPIR radar cannot determine the range, typically because of jamming. The ROR is difficult to jam because it operates only briefly during the engagement, and only in the presence of jamming. * AN/MPQ-37 (Basic Hawk) * AN/MPQ-51 (Improved Hawk – Phase II) A Ku Band (Freq: 15.5–17.5 GHz) pulse radar, the power output was 120 kW. Pulse length 0.6 µs at a pulse repetition frequency of 1600 Hz. Antenna: dish. * Range ** versus target. ** versus target. ** versus target. FDC (Hawk Phase III and Hawk XXI) – Fire Distribution Center. C4I unit, enabling modern command, control, communications and Force Operation. Color displays with 3D map overlays enhance the situation awareness. Introduces the real-time exchange of air picture and commands between the Hawk units. Make-ready capability for SL-AMRAAM and SHORAD/vSHORAD systems.

Country-specific modifications

* Israel The Israelis have upgraded the Phase 2 standard with the addition of a Super Eye electro-optical TV system for detection of aircraft at 30 to 40 km and identification at 17 to 25 km. They have also modified their system for engagements at altitudes up to 24,000 m. * Sparrow Hawk A composite system firing

AIM-7 Sparrow The AIM-7 Sparrow (Air Intercept Missile) is an American, medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile operated by the United States Air Force, United States Navy, and United States Marine Corps, as well as other various air forces ...

missiles from a modified 8 round launcher. The system was demonstrated at the China Lake weapons test site in 1985. There are currently no users of the system. * Hawk AMRAAM At "Safe Air 95" AMRAAM missiles were demonstrated being fired from a modified M192 missile launcher. The normal battery radar is used for the engagement, with the missile's own radar used for terminal homing. Raytheon and Kongsberg are offering this system as an upgrade to the existing Hawk system. This proposal is aimed particularly at Hawk operating countries that also have AIM-120 AMRAAM in their inventory. Norway is currently operating this type of system as

. * Iran As part of what became known as the Iran–Contra affair, Hawk missiles were some of the weaponry sold to Iran, in violation of an arms embargo, to fund the

Contras The Contras were the various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing rebel groups that were active from 1979 to 1990 in opposition to the Marxist Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction Government in Nicaragua, which came to power in 1979 foll ...

. The

Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force , patron = , motto = , "Skyhigh is my place" , colours = Ultramarine blue , colours_label = , march = , mascot ...

used a number of MIM-23 Hawk missiles for carriage on

F-14 Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic aircraft, supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experi ...

fighters in the air-to-air role under a program known as Sedjil, or Sky Hawk. Iran has also modified its ground-based Hawk systems for carriage on a convoy of 8×8 wheeled vehicles and adapted the launchers to carry Standard RIM-66 or AGM-78 missiles with two Standard missiles per launcher. The Iranian Air Force has its own version of the MIM-23 Hawk. Their copy of the overall system is called Mersad. Iran produces two missiles for use with their Mersad system,

Shalamcheh Shalamcheh ( fa, شَلَمچه) is a town located in Khuzestan Province, Iran. It is situated on the border with Iraq, north-west of Abadan. The town was one of the main sites of invasion of Saddam Hussein's Iraq in the Iran–Iraq War The ...

missiles and ''Shahin'' missiles. Iran claims both missiles are under production. In November 2018, Iran unveiled a canister launcher for its Mersad system with the Shahin and

missiles modified into the body of a Sayyad-2. It appeared again in November 2019, but with 3 canisters instead of 2. The systems was named Mersad-16. * Norway Norway has developed its own Hawk upgrade scheme known as the Norwegian Adapted Hawk (NOAH) which involves the lease of I-Hawk launchers, HPI radars and missile loaders from the United States and their integration with

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud, Viken county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms produ ...

'Acquisition Radar and Control System' (ARCS) battle management stations and Hughes (now Raytheon) AN/TPQ-36A airspace surveillance radars. The NOAH system became operational in 1988. It was replaced by

in the period 1995–98, which retains ARCS but replaces the Hawk missiles with

AIM-120 AMRAAM The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM (pronounced ), is an American beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. It is 7 inches (18 cm) in diameter, and employ ...

launchers. * ACWAR Future developments were expected to include the introduction of an Agile CW Acquisition Radar (ACWAR), an evolution of the Hawk CW radar technology. It would perform full 3-D target acquisition over a 360° azimuth sector and large elevation angles. The ACWAR programme was initiated to meet increasingly severe tactical air defence requirements and the equipment is being designed for operation of Hawk in the late 1990s and beyond. However, the ACWAR programme was terminated in 1993.

Combat history

* August 1962: agreement in principle was reached between the US and Israeli governments for the sale of Hawk missiles to Israel. * October–November 1962: the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

necessitates a request for a total of 304 missiles to be delivered at an average turnaround of three days per missile. * February–March 1965: the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

deploys Hawk at

Da Nang Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is on ...

and

Hill 327 Hill 327 (also known as Brigade Ridge, Camp Perdue, Camp Reasoner, Division Hill, Division Ridge or Freedom Hill) is a former U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base southwest of Da Nang in central Viet ...

. This was both the first USMC deployment of the Hawk, and also the first deployment of the Hawk in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

. * March 1965: the first Hawk battalion was deployed to Israel. * June 5, 1967: in an unusual incident an Israeli MIM-23A shot down a damaged Israeli Dassault MD.450 Ouragan that was in danger of crashing into the

Negev Nuclear Research Center The Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center ( he, קריה למחקר גרעיני – נגב ע"ש שמעון פרס, formerly the ''Negev Nuclear Research Center'', unofficially sometimes referred to as the ''Dimona reactor'') is an Israe ...

near Dimona, being the first combat firing of the Hawk and the first combat kill attributed to the Hawk system. * March 21, 1969: a Hawk battery deployed at Baluza, in the Sinai region, detected an Egyptian MiG-21 aircraft which took off from Port Said airport. The aircraft was tracked on the radar and when the MiG-21 broke to a course heading towards the Hawk battery, a missile shot it down. *

War of Attrition The War of Attrition ( ar, حرب الاستنزاف, Ḥarb al-Istinzāf; he, מלחמת ההתשה, Milhemet haHatashah) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies fro ...

: Hawk batteries shot down between 8 and 12 aircraft. Jane's reports 12 kills as one Il-28, four

Su-7 The Sukhoi Su-7 ( NATO designation name: Fitter-A) is a swept wing, supersonic fighter aircraft developed by the Soviet Union in 1955. Originally, it was designed as a tactical, low-level dogfighter, but was not successful in this role. On the ...

, four MiG-17 and three MiG-21. * May 1972: improved Hawk support equipment first deployed to Germany. * 1977: all US Army units in Europe and Korea completed conversion of Basic to Improved Hawk by the end of the year. *

1980–1988: at least 40 Iraqi aircraft were destroyed by Iranian Hawk missiles during the Iran–Iraq War. On February 12, 1986, nine Iraqi aircraft downed by a Hawk site near al-Faw in southern Iraq during

Operation Dawn 8 The First Battle of al-Faw was a battle of the Iran–Iraq War, fought on the al-Faw peninsula between 10 February and 10 March 1986. The Iranian operation is considered to be one of Iran's greatest achievements in the Iran–Iraq War. The ...

. Among the aircraft are Su-22s and MiG-23s. Additionally, Iranian Hawk sites shot down three friendly F-14 Tomcats and one F-5 Tiger II.

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Ku ...

also shot down an Iranian F-5. * March 1985: DA and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) approved the development of an anti-tactical missile (ATM) mission for Hawk. * September 7, 1987: the French Army's 403nd Air Defense Regiment in

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

shot down a

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

n Tu-22B on a bombing mission with an MIM-23B during the Chadian–Libyan war. The particularity of this event is with its geographical situation, a few miles from a border. The attack began outside the Chadian territory proper and left the French with only a very small window of opportunity to shoot the intruder. The interception took place almost at the vertical of the battery. Debris and unexploded bombs from the Tu-22 rained over the position but injured no one. * August 2, 1990: Hawk missiles defending Kuwait against the Iraqi invasion in August 1990 are claimed to have shot down up to 14 Iraqi aircraft. Only two kills have been verified, a MiG-23BN and a Su-22. In response, an Iraqi Su-22 from the No.109 Squadron fired a single

Kh-25 The Kh-25/Kh-25M (russian: Х-25; NATO: AS-10 'Karen) is a family of Soviet lightweight air-to-ground missiles with a modular range of guidance systems and a range of 10 km. The anti-radar variant (Kh-25MP) is known to NATO as the AS-12 ' K ...

MP anti-radar missile against a

Failaka Island Failaka Island ( ar, فيلكا '' / ''; Kuwaiti Arabic: فيلچا ) is a Kuwaiti Island in the Persian Gulf. The island is 20 km off the coast of Kuwait City in the Persian Gulf. The name "Failaka" is thought to be derived from the ancie ...

battery. This forced a radar shutdown on the Hawk. It was later captured by Iraqi special forces. Iraqi forces captured four or five Kuwaiti Hawk batteries. * November 1990: Task Force Scorpion, a U.S. Army Hawk-Patriot electronic task force, becomes operational and assumes the air defense mission for Desert Shield units forming up in Saudi Arabia. * February 1991: Bravo Battery, 2-1 ADA moves into Iraq and establishes Hawk missile sites near as-Salman. * A SAFE AIR demonstration was conducted at WSMR to display the effectiveness and versatility of several existing and new United States Army weapon systems in providing air and surface defense. Emphasis was placed on defeating cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The Hawk system successfully engaged two surrogate cruise missiles, one UAV, and one fixed wing drone. * The United States Marine Corps successfully tested its Hawk Mobility and theater missile defense (TMD) software upgrades at White Sands Missile Range. Hawk acquired the three LANCE targets, two of which were successfully engaged and destroyed. This was the first time the entire USMC ATBM system had been tested. * At the end of March 2020, Turkey deployed at least one HAWK missile battery in the Syrian Idlib province, following a brief armed confrontation with Syria after a Syrian and Russian airstrike that killed 34 and wounded 36 Turkish soldiers in Balyun on 27 February 2020. *At the end of June 2020, Turkey deployed HAWK missile batteries to defend Mitiga, Tripoli and the newly captured

Al-Watiya Air Base al-Watiya Air Base also known as Okba Ibn Nafa Air Base is a military airport in the Nuqat al Khams district of western Libya. It was named after Uqba ibn Nafi, the Islamic general who conquered North Africa. It is east of the Tunisian border ...

in Libya. * 4 July 2020, unidentified non-Libyan warplanes aligned to the LNA targeted

. A GNA official in Tripoli acknowledged that the airstrikes destroyed GNA defenses including MIM-23 Hawk and KORAL Electronic Warfare System stationed in the base. The Defense Ministry of Turkey acknowledged that the strikes damaged some of their defense systems. Turkish officials stated no one died in the attack and vowed retribution, indicating the attack could have been perpetrated by Emirati Dassault Mirage aircraft. According to Russian sources the attack left at least 3 MIM-23 Hawk destroyed as well as a radar and an electronic warning system. Another Libyan source indicated one MIM-23 defense battery and 3 radars destroyed, as well as 6 Turkish servicemen killed. * 3 December 2022, Ukraine started to use the system to defend against the Russian invasion. The first system was made operational on 3 December. Western analyists puts its accuracy at 85% chance of hitting a target.

Operators

Current operators

Phase I

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and a ...

* Egypt * Greece *

Produced locally in

as the Mersad missile * Japan *

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 Ara ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

* Spain * Sweden *

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

(

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...

) – to be replaced by Tien Kung 3. * UAE

Phase II

These countries have implemented Phase I and Phase II improvements. * Greece

Phase III

* Egypt – on 25 Feb 2014, ordered 186 new rocket motors. * Greece * – to be replaced by David's Sling.. *

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

– on 25 Feb 2014, ordered 114 new rocket motors. *

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

* Romanian Air Force (former Dutch systems) *

* Spain * Sweden *

– to be replaced by Tien Kung 3. * UAE *

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

– Spain provided six Hawk launchers (4+2).

Hawk XXI

* Turkey deployed in Syria and Libya as of 2020 *

Former operators

Phase I

* United States (phased out) * (phased out in 1998) * Germany (phased out in 2005) * France (phased out in 2012.) * Italy (phased out in 2011)

Phase II

* Belgium (phased out 2004) * (phased out) * France (phased out) * Germany (phased out in 2005) * Italy (phased out in 2011) * United States (phased out)

Phase III

* Netherlands (phased out 2004) * France (phased out) * Germany (phased out in 2005) * United States (phased out) *

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its ea ...

– 8 batteries (phased out, replaced by KM-SAM)

References

* ''Jane's Land-Based Air Defence 2005–2006'',

External links

MIM-23 Hawk at Designation-Systems.net

{{Authority control Raytheon Company products MIM023 MIM-023 Military equipment introduced in the 1960s