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 A tractor unit (also known as a truck unit, power unit, prime mover, ten-wheeler, semi-tractor, tractor truck, semi-truck, tractor cab, truck cab, tractor rig, truck rig or big rig or simply a tractor, truck, semi or rig) is a characteristical ...

that can carry, elevate to firing position and launch one or more

missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocke ...

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 missile A surface-to-surface missile (SSM) or ground-to-ground missile (GGM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea and strike targets on land or at sea. They may be fired from hand-held or vehicle mounted devices, from fixed ins ...

s. 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 Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or e ...

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, which mounts a

vertical launching system A vertical launching system (VLS) is an advanced system for holding and firing missiles on mobile naval platforms, such as surface ships and submarines. Each vertical launch system consists of a number of ''cells'', which can hold one or mor ...

-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 website

Rocket launch vehicle

spaceflight Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such as satellites in o ...

, TELs are support structures used to transport a

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

launch vehicle A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload (spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pad, launch pads, supported by a missile launch contro ...

horizontally from an assembly facility to a nearby fixed

launch pad A launch pad is an above-ground facility from which a rocket-powered missile or space vehicle is vertically launched. The term ''launch pad'' can be used to describe just the central launch platform (mobile launcher platform), or the entire ...

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 Falcon 9 is a partially reusable medium lift launch vehicle that can carry cargo and crew into Earth orbit, produced by American aerospace company SpaceX. The rocket has two stages. The first (booster) stage carries the second stage and payl ...

Heavy Heavy may refer to: Measures * Heavy (aeronautics), a term used by pilots and air traffic controllers to refer to aircraft capable of 300,000 lbs or more takeoff weight * Heavy, a characterization of objects with substantial weight * 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 The TAIAN TA580/TAS5380 is a 20-ton 8x8 special heavy duty truck developed and built by Taian Special Vehicle Manufactory and used by the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China as a transport/Transporter erector launcher. Desc ...

8×8 TEL * Wanshan

WS51200 The WS51200 is an extremely large and heavy transporter erector launcher built by Wanshan Special Vehicle in China. The WS51200 is one of the largest in the WS family of transport trucks and TELs. The size of the WS51200 allows it to carry inter ...

16 wheeled TEL *

M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System The M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (M270 MLRS) is an American-developed armored, self-propelled, multiple rocket launcher. The U.S. Army variant of the MLRS vehicle is based on the chassis of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The first M270s wer ...

Pinaka multi barrel rocket launcher Pinaka (from Sanskrit: पिनाक, see Pinaka) is a multiple rocket launcher produced in India and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Army. The system has a maximum range of 40 km ...

S-300 missile system The S-300 (NATO reporting name SA-10 Grumble) is a series of long range surface-to-air missile systems developed and operated by the former Soviet Union, now fielded by the militaries of Russia and Ukraine as well as several other former Easte ...

- 8 wheeled TEL or MT-T tracked transporter * Tupol ICBM system *

S-400 missile system The S-400 Triumf (russian: link=no, C-400 Триумф – Triumf; translation: Triumph; NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler), previously known as the S-300 PMU-3, is a mobile, surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed in the 1990s by Russ ...

* MAZ-547A/MAZ-7916 - 12 wheeled TEL *

MAZ-7917 The MAZ-7917 (russian: МАЗ-7917) is a Soviet and Russian army 14×12 Twelve-wheel drive transporter-erector-launcher designed and developed by the Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ) in Belarus. Developed primarily for use as a Topol ICBM mobile la ...

- 14 wheeled TEL *

MZKT-79221 MZKT-79221 (russian: МЗКТ-79221) is a Soviet and Russian army 16x16 transporter-erector-launcher designed and developed by the MZKT in Belarus. Developed primarily for use as a RT-2PM2 Topol-M ICBM mobile launcher, the 79221 model is simila ...

- 16 wheeled TEL *

ASTROS II Astros II (Artillery Saturation Rocket System) is a self-propelled multiple rocket launcher produced in Brazil by the Avibras company. It features modular design and employs rockets with calibers ranging from 127 to 450 mm (5–17.72 inche ...

6x6 wheeled rocket artillery launcher *

SPYDER The SPYDER ("Surface-to-air Python and Derby") is an Israeli short and medium range mobile air defence system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems with assistance from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Rafael is the prime contractor a ...

Gallery

Image:s-300V.jpg, A Russian

S-300V The S-300 (NATO reporting name SA-10 Grumble) is a series of long range surface-to-air missile systems developed and operated by the former Soviet Union, now fielded by the militaries of Russia and Ukraine as well as several other former Easte ...

TELAR in transit mode. Image:sa10_1.jpg, A Russian

S-300P The S-300 ( NATO reporting name SA-10 Grumble) is a series of long range surface-to-air missile systems developed and operated by the former Soviet Union, now fielded by the militaries of Russia and Ukraine as well as several other former Ea ...

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,

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 The MAZ-543/MAZ-7310 "Uragan" (russian: МАЗ-543/МАЗ-7310 "Ураган"/Hurricane) is a Soviet/Belarusian 8×8 artillery truck designed and developed by MAZ (Minsk Automobile Plant), in what is now Belarus. MAZ-543 Designed in the 1960s, ...

Image:German Patriot missile launcher.jpg, A German PATRIOT launcher. Image:19-03-2012-Parade-rehearsal - Topol-M.jpg, Russian Topol-M

. Image:Chinese HQ-9 launcher.jpg, HQ-9

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