Escudo de la Dirección General de Desarrollos Espaciales

The

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

Condor missile was a multinational space research program started in the 1970s. It involved significant contract work being performed by German company MBB (now a group within

Daimler AG The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufactu ...

), but later developed into a

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 program.

Condor I

The original Condor had little military capability but helped build expertise later used for the ''Alacrán'' missile program. The Alacrán program developed a functional short-range ballistic missile.

Specifications (Condor I)

* Length: * Maximum diameter: * Stages: 1 * Fuel:

HTPB Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) is an oligomer of butadiene terminated at each end with a hydroxyl functional group. It reacts with isocyanates to form polyurethane polymers. HTPB is a translucent liquid with a color similar to wax paper ...

* Guidance system: inertial * Apogee: * Range: * Payload:

Alacrán (Condor IAIII)

The Alacrán missile was a

short range ballistic missile A short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range of about or less. In past and potential regional conflicts, these missiles have been and would be used because of the short distances between some countries and their relat ...

derived from the Condor Missile Program. Derived from the Condor IAIII prototype, the Alacrán missile had shorter stabilization fins, an

inertial guidance system An inertial navigation system (INS) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors ( accelerometers), rotation sensors ( gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning the position, the orientation, and the velocity ...

, and a 1000CAP1

cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study th ...

warhead.

Specifications (Condor IAIII - Alacrán)

* Length: * Maximum diameter: * Stages: 1 * Fuel:

* Guidance system: inertial * Apogee: * Range: * Warhead: 1000CAM1

cluster munition A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehic ...

warhead,

Condor II

During and after the 1982

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial ...

( es, Guerra de las Malvinas), France (which supplied missiles) placed an arms embargo on Argentina, causing the

Argentine Air Force "Argentine Wings" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 August (anniversary) 1 May (Baptism of fire during the Falklands War) , equipment = 139 aircraft , equipment_label = , battles = * Operation Independence * Operation Soberanía * Falkl ...

, under the command of Ernesto Crespo, to develop its own medium-range missile in the ''Condor II'' program. This program was undertaken in close collaboration with Egypt, and then

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 ...

(the Iraqi version was called BADR-2000), however it was discontinued in the early 1990s by President

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. He ...

because of political pressure from the United States. The missile was developed in Falda del Carmen, Córdoba Province. The Condor missile had a range of 800 km to 1,000 km and a 1000CAP1 500 kg

warhead. In 1997, the

reported to the

US Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

that it still possessed two of the missiles that were to be destroyed.

Condor III

There have been reports of a ''Condor III'' program. The Condor III would have an increased range to some with the same payload as the Condor II.

References

External links

Condor 1-AIII
{{Authority control Sounding rockets of Argentina Space programme of Argentina Short-range ballistic missiles Guided missiles of Argentina Abandoned military projects of Argentina Cancelled spacecraft Argentina–Germany relations Argentina–Egypt relations