A transporter erector launcher (TEL) is a

missile vehicle In the military, vehicles such as trucks or tractor units can be used to transport or launch missiles (rockets with warheads), essentially a form of rocket artillery. History The missile vehicle may be a self-propelled unit or the missile hold ...

with an integrated tractor unit that can carry, elevate to firing position and launch one or more missiles.

History

Such vehicles exist for both

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 ...

s and surface-to-surface missiles. Early on, such missiles were launched from fixed sites and had to be loaded onto trucks for transport, making them more vulnerable to attack, since once they were spotted by the enemy they could not easily be relocated, and if they were it often took hours or even days to prepare them for launch once they reached their new site. Usually a number of TELs and TELARs are linked to one command post vehicle (CP or CPV). They may use target information from target acquisition, designation and guidance radar (TADAGR or TAR).

Transporter erector launcher and radar

A transporter erector launcher and radar (TELAR) is a type of TEL that also incorporates part or all of the radar system necessary for firing the surface-to-air missile(s). Such vehicles have the capability of being autonomous, greatly enhancing their effectiveness. With this type of system each vehicle can fight regardless of the state or presence of support vehicles. The TEL or TELAR may have a rotating turntable that it can use to aim the missiles. The vehicle may have to turn to aim the missiles or they may fire straight up.

Related launchers

Transporter launcher and radar (TLAR)

A transporter launcher and radar (TLAR) is the same as a TELAR without the erector capability, because the missile in question is transported in the launch-ready position. An example is the

9K330 Tor The Tor (russian: Тор; en, torus) is an all-weather, low- to medium-altitude, short-range surface-to-air missile system designed for destroying airplanes, helicopters, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and short-range ballistic thre ...

, which mounts a vertical launching system-style block of SAMs.

Mobile erector launcher (MEL)

The Patriot missile system has a towed launch vehicle or mobile erector launcher (MEL).FM 44-94 Army Air and Missile Defense Command Operations. Glossary. Part I – Abbreviations and Acronyms
at

Federation of American Scientists The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is an American nonprofit global policy think tank with the stated intent of using science and scientific analysis to attempt to make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1946 by scientists who wo ...

website

Rocket launch vehicle

In spaceflight, TELs are support structures used to transport a rocket launch vehicle horizontally from an assembly facility to a nearby fixed launch pad where it is raised vertical for launch. This system is used, for example, by

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal of ...

for its launch vehicles ( Falcon 9 & Heavy, not

Starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 188 ...

), but they call it a "transporter erector".

Types

* Taian TA580/TAS5380 8×8 TEL * Wanshan WS51200 16 wheeled TEL * M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System * Pinaka multi barrel rocket launcher * S-300 missile system - 8 wheeled TEL or MT-T tracked transporter * Tupol ICBM system * S-400 missile system * MAZ-547A/MAZ-7916 - 12 wheeled TEL * MAZ-7917 - 14 wheeled TEL * MZKT-79221 - 16 wheeled TEL * ASTROS II 6x6 wheeled rocket artillery launcher * SPYDER

Gallery

Image:s-300V.jpg, A Russian S-300V TELAR in transit mode. Image:sa10_1.jpg, A Russian S-300P TEL ready for launch. Image:Pluton 034.jpg, A French

Pluton In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...

missile in transit mode. Image:Тягач МЗКТ-79221 (комплекс Тополь-М).jpg, MZKT-79221. Image:Moscow Parad 2008 Ballist.jpg, MAZ-7917 TEL. Image:Luna m frog 7 hameenlinna 1.jpg, 9P113 TEL with 9M21 rocket. Image:MLRS 05.jpg, MLRS. Image:MoscowParade2009 7.jpg, S-300 Image:SCUD 2.JPG, MAZ-7310 Image:German Patriot missile launcher.jpg, A German PATRIOT launcher. Image:19-03-2012-Parade-rehearsal - Topol-M.jpg, Russian Topol-M MZKT-79221. Image:Chinese HQ-9 launcher.jpg, HQ-9 TA580/TAS5380 launcher. Image:Buk-MB3K missile launcher (6).jpg, Belarusian Buk-MB3K TELAR on MZKT-69225 chassis

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transporter Erector Launcher Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapons Weapon fixtures Rocket launchers Missile launchers