Starburst (missile)
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Starburst is a British man-portable
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 ...
produced by Shorts Missile Systems of
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
(since 2002 known as
Thales Air Defence Thales Air Defence Limited (TADL), formerly Shorts Missile Systems (SMS), is a defence contractor based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, producing short range air defence missiles. Shorts Missile Systems was established as a joint venture betwee ...
). It was used by the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...
(as Javelin S15),
Malaysian Armed Forces The Malaysian Armed Forces (: MAF; ms, Angkatan Tentera Malaysia; Jawi: ), are the armed forces of Malaysia, consists of three branches; the Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Malaysian Air Force. The number of MAF active p ...
, and in the
Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...
as the Javelin until 2005. It can be fired from the shoulder or from a launcher known as Starburst LML – Lightweight Multiple Launcher. It has been replaced in British service by the
Starstreak missile Starstreak is a British short-range surface to air missile that can be used as a man-portable air-defence system (MANPADS) or in heavier systems, manufactured by Thales Air Defence (formerly Shorts Missile Systems), in Belfast, Northern Ireland. I ...
.


Development

The missile was a development of Javelin missile, retaining the Javelin missile body but replacing the
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...
command system with a
laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The ...
guidance system similar to that used by the
Starstreak Starstreak is a British short-range surface to air missile that can be used as a man-portable air-defence system (MANPADS) or in heavier systems, manufactured by Thales Air Defence (formerly Shorts Missile Systems), in Belfast, Northern Ireland. ...
missile that was already under development. This is much more difficult to jam than the radio based system used by Javelin. It entered service in 1990, and was deployed to protect British troops during the 1991 Gulf War.


Variants

* Starburst LML (Lightweight multiple launcher) * Starburst VML (Vehicle multiple launcher) * Starburst NML (Naval multiple launcher) * Starburst starlite thermal imager * Starburst SR2000


Operators

; ;:
Kuwait Air Force The Kuwait Air Force ( ar, القوات الجوية الكويتية , al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya) is the air arm of the Armed Forces of Kuwait. The Air Force headquarters is located at Abdullah Al-Mubarak Air Base, with the remaining ...
;:
Malaysian Army The Malaysian Army ( ms, Tentera Darat Malaysia; Jawi: تنترا دارت مليسيا) is the land component of the Malaysian Armed Forces. Steeped in British Army traditions, the Malaysian Army does not carry the title ‘royal’ () as do th ...
and
Royal Malaysian Air Force The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF, ms, Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia; TUDM; Jawi: ) was formed on 2 June 1958 as the Royal Federation of Malaya Air Force (; ). However, its roots can be traced back to the Malayan Auxiliary Air Force format ...
: To be replaced by the Starstreak. ; ; ;:
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...
: Replaced by Starstreak.


See also

* Anza *
Misagh-2 The Misagh-2 (Also known as Mithaq-2) is an Iranian man-portable infrared-guided 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 ...
*
Qaem The Qaem (or Ghaem; ) refers to two completely separate Iranian weapons: an air-to-ground glide bomb and a surface-to-air missile. These two weapons are similarly sized and identically named, and are both developed from the Toophan missile, but a ...


References

* * ''Jane's Land-Based Air Defence 2005–2006'', * Surface-to-air missiles of the United Kingdom Military equipment introduced in the 1990s Short Brothers missiles {{missile-stub