The Mathogo (Acronym for ''Misil Anti-Tanque Hilo Guiado'' - en, Wire Guided Anti-Tank Missile) is an Argentine first-generation
wire-guided
A wire-guided missile is a missile that is guided by signals sent to it via thin wires connected between the missile and its guidance mechanism, which is located somewhere near the launch site. As the missile flies, the wires are reeled out behi ...
anti-tank missile
An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...
.
Background
The anti-tank missiles (
ATGW, anti-tank guided weapons) evolved in the late 1950s from the portable anti-tank rockets (ATR) like the
bazooka
Bazooka () is the common name for a man-portable recoilless anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the "stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was among the ...
, which required the operator to be close to the target, to overcome the limitations of these.
History
The Mathogo was developed by
CITEFA
The Institute of Scientific and Technical Research for Defense ( es, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas para la Defensa, also known for its acronym CITEDEF), is an Argentine federal agency in charge of research and development i ...
(''Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de las FFAA'' - the Armed Forces Scientific and Technical Research Institute) in the 1970s to supplement and eventually replace the Argentine
105-mm recoilless rifles. In design it is similar to the Swedish
BANTAM by Bofors - which is reported to have been bought in limited numbers for the Argentine Marine Corps - only slightly larger and with a pointed nose section with the first versions. Some news report photo captions have even mistaken it for the BANTAM. Development was completed in the late 1970s and various reports have stated that it is no longer in production.
The Mathogo's warhead is capable of penetrating 400mm of
rolled homogeneous armor
Rolled homogeneous armour (RHA) is a type of vehicle armour made of a single steel composition hot-rolled to improve its material characteristics, as opposed to layered or cemented armour. Its first common application was in tanks. After World ...
.
The missile achieved operational status in 1978 and is in use by the
Argentine Army
The Argentine Army ( es, Ejército Argentino, EA) is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander- ...
. The missile has been approved for launch from the
Agusta A109
The AgustaWestland AW109, originally the Agusta A109, is a lightweight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter designed and initially produced by the Italian rotorcraft manufacturer Agusta. It was the first all-Italian helicopter to ...
helicopter, although the missile's accuracy reportedly suffers when used in this role.
[ATW, p. 15]
Variants
* Mathogo 1
* Mathogo 2 - improved warhead and higher speed
Users
*
Argentine Army
The Argentine Army ( es, Ejército Argentino, EA) is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander- ...
See also
*
List of anti-tank guided missiles
This is a list of anti-tank guided missiles developed by different countries.
Australia
* Malkara
Argentina
* Mathogo
Belarus
*Shershen
Brazil
*MSS-1.2
* FOG-MPM
* ALAC
Canada
*Eryx
China
* CM-501G
* AFT-10
* PA02-MA
* PA01-G ...
;Related development:
*
CIBEL-2K
*
MARA (anti-tank weapon)
The MARA is a portable one-shot 78 mm unguided anti-tank weapon, designed and manufactured in Argentina by Fabricaciones Militares (DGFM). The solid rocket propulsion unit was developed by CITEFA.
History
In the 1990s, the Argentine ...
;Similar weapons:
*
Cobra (anti-tank missile)
The Cobra was a Swiss/West German anti-tank missile designed by the Oerlikon-Contraves and Bölkow GmbH companies. It entered service with the German Army in the late 1950s. It was followed by the Cobra 2000 and Mamba missile systems, which were ...
* Bofors
Bantam (missile)
*
Nord SS.10
The Nord Aviation SS.10 was a MCLOS wire-guided anti-tank missile designed by the French engineer Jean Bastien-Thiry. In American service, the missile was called the MGM-21A. The missile entered service in 1955 with the French Army. It was ...
anti-tank missile
An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...
* Aerospatiale
ENTAC
ENTAC ("Engin Téléguidé Anti-Char") or MGM-32A was a French MCLOS wire-guided Anti-tank missile. Developed in the early 1950s, the weapon entered service with the French army in 1957. Production ended in 1974 after approximately 140,000 had ...
*
Vickers Vigilant
The Vickers Vigilant was a British 1960s era MCLOS wire-guided anti-tank missile used by the British Army. It was also licence-built in the United States by Clevite for the US Marine Corps, and sometimes known as Clevite rounds in this case. It ...
References
Notes
Bibliography
* (AD) Zarzecki,Thomas. ''Arms Diffusion: The Spread of Military Innovations in the International System'', Psychology Press, 2002.
* (ATW) Norris, John. ''Anti-tank weapons'', London: Brasseys, 1996.
* (JALW) Lennox, Duncan. ''Jane's Air-Launched Weapons'', Coulsdon: Jane's Information Group, 2000.
* (JIW) Hogg, Ian. ''Jane's Infantry Weapons 1995-96'', London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1995.
* (JWS) ''Jane's Weapons Systems 1988-89'', London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1989.
Further reading
* Cruces, Nestor J. ''70 años para siete dias''. Planeta, Espejo de la Argentina. Buenos Aires, 1993.
* Zarzecki,Thomas W. ''Arms Diffusion: The Spread of Military Innovations in the International System''. Psychology Press, Issues in globalization, 2002.
External links
CITEFA web site(also in English)
picture of the missile in its transporter/launcher box
*{{in lang, es}
Mathogo missile mentioned in the equipment list and its status (site visited 15:33, 22 December 2007 (UTC))
Anti-tank guided missiles of the Cold War
Guided missiles of Argentina
Military equipment introduced in the 1990s