The Antelope air defense system () is a Taiwanese short range
ground-to-air anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
defense system in operation with the
Republic of China Army
The Republic of China Army (ROCA), previously known as the Chinese Nationalist Army or Nationalist Revolutionary Army and unofficially as the Taiwanese Army, is the largest branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. An estimated 80% of th ...
.
Description
The Antelope system employs a battery of four
Sky Sword I (TC-1) missiles mounted atop a wheeled vehicle (such as a truck or
humvee
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the ...
).
The system can either be employed as a stand-alone
point defense system or as part of an integrated area air defense system.
The Antelope system collectively includes targeting, guidance, communications components as well as the missiles themselves. It was developed beginning in 1995 as an outgrowth of the
Tien Chien-I missile development program.
The precise operating range of the Antelope system is variously reported as 9 km,
18 km,
and "4 miles".
The system has a crew of two, one gunner and one observer. The system can be controlled from the truck's cabin or from a mobile control console that can be located up to 70m away from the vehicle to increase operator safety and survivability.
The Antelope system's TC-1L interceptors employ
infrared guidance
Infrared homing is a passive weapon guidance system which uses the infrared (IR) light emission from a target to track and follow it seamlessly. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "heat-seekers" since infrared is radi ...
and the system is similar in design to the United States-made
Chaparral
Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterrane ...
system which historically was a mainstay of Taiwan's SHORAD network.
It can be used to intercept low-flying helicopters, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, and bombers.
The system can engage targets on the move.
CS/MPQ-78 radar
The system's CS/MPQ-78 radar was developed in the early 1990s and is a 3D
pulse doppler radar
A pulse-Doppler radar is a radar system that determines the range to a target using pulse-timing techniques, and uses the Doppler effect of the returned signal to determine the target object's velocity. It combines the features of pulse radars and ...
with full look down-shoot down capability. Max radar range is 46.3km and ceiling is 30,480m.
See also
*
Sea Oryx
The Sea Oryx ( zh, t=海劍羚飛彈系統, p=Hǎi jiàn líng fēidàn xìtǒng) is a lightweight, infrared homing short-range air defense system developed for the Republic of China Navy, Republic of China (Taiwan) Navy. Based on the Sky Sword ...
*
Sky Bow
The Sky Bow, or Tien Kung (), are a series of surface-to-air anti-ballistic missile and anti-aircraft defense systems developed by Taiwan. The TK-2 and TK-3 are in service with the Military of the Republic of China.
Development
The development o ...
*
HQ-16
The HQ-16 () is a medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) from the People's Republic of China. It is derived from earlier versions of the Russian Buk missile system.
Development
Development began in 2005, and was reportedly assisted by the Alm ...
*
HQ-17
The HQ-17 () is an all-weather, low to medium altitude, SHORAD, short-range surface-to-air missile system derived from the Tor missile system, Tor-M1.
Development
In 1996, China ordered 14 Tor-M1 missile systems from Russia, delivered under contra ...
*
Multi-Mission Launcher
The Multi-Mission Launcher (MML) is an open-systems architecture multi-role missile launching system created by the United States Army's Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center.
Development
The MML has its roots in ...
External links
* Manufacturer's video
References
Surface-to-air missiles of the Republic of China
Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapons
Military vehicles introduced in the 1990s
{{Taiwan-mil-stub