A transporter erector launcher (TEL) is a missile vehicle with an integrated

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

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

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

s or

missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...

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 or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

s and

surface-to-surface missile A surface-to-surface missile (SSM) 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 installations, or from a ship. They ar ...

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 vehicle (CP or CPV). They may use target information from

target acquisition Target acquisition is the detection and identification of the location of a target in sufficient detail to permit the effective employment of lethal and non-lethal means. The term is used for a broad area of applications. A "target" here is an e ...

, designation and guidance radar (TADAGR or TAR).

Transporter erector launcher and radar (TELAR)

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

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 vehicle may have to aim the missile, usually through a rotating turret, or they may fire straight up.

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 as default. 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 mo ...

(VLS)-style block of SAMs that correct their trajectory using rockets on the missile body itself.

Mobile erector launcher (MEL)

The Patriot missile system has a towed launch vehicle or mobile erector launcher (MEL).

Palletised erector launchers

Another sub-set of the TEL are erector-launchers mounted to pallets, which can then be carried by suitable vehicles to create a TEL. The

MBDA MBDA is a European multinational corporation specialized in the design, development and manufacturing of Missile, missiles and related systems.Sky Sabre missile is one example; a 15-tonne unit which is carried by MAN HX trucks in

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

service.

Rocket launch vehicle

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

, TELs are support structures used to transport a

launch vehicle A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...

horizontally from an assembly facility to a nearby fixed launch pad where it is raised vertical for launch. It is similar to TELs, except the fact that most space rockets must be erected and launched with the appropriate

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

, such as those found in a

spaceport A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word ''spaceport''—and even more so ''cosmodrome''—has traditionally referred to sites capable of ...

. This system is used by several space-launch agencies; the

Soyuz Soyuz is a transliteration of the Cyrillic text Союз (Russian language, Russian and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, 'Union'). It can refer to any union, such as a trade union (''profsoyuz'') or the Soviet Union, Union of Soviet Socialist Republi ...

has a TE that can be transported by

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an America, American space technology company headquartered at the SpaceX Starbase, Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. Since its founding in 2002, the compa ...

for its launch vehicles

Falcon 9 Falcon 9 is a Reusable launch system#Partial reusable launch systems, partially reusable, two-stage-to-orbit, medium-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured in the United States by SpaceX. The first Falcon 9 launch was on June 4, 2010, an ...

and Heavy (but 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 1 ...

). Some

small-lift launch vehicle A small-lift launch vehicle is a rocket orbital launch vehicle that is capable of lifting or less (by NASA classification) or under (by Roscosmos classification) of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). The next larger category is medium-lift l ...

s, such as Russian Start-1 and Chinese Kuaizhou series, can be launched from ordinary TELs from unprepared pads.

Types

* Taian TA580/TAS5380 8×8 TEL * Wanshan WS51200 - 16 wheeled TEL * M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System - tracked * Pinaka multi barrel rocket launcher * Kub missile system,

Buk missile system The Buk (; "beech" (tree), ) is a family of self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon, self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile systems developed by the Soviet Union and its successor state, the Russian Federation, and designed to counter ...

- tracked GM chassis, rarely wheel-based * S-300 missile system,

S-400 missile system The S-400 Triumf ( – 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 Russia's NPO Almaz as an upgrade to the S ...

- 8 wheeled truck-based TEL or MT-T tracked transporter * S-500 missile system * RT-2PM Topol, RT-2PM2 Topol-M * MAZ-547A/MAZ-7916 - 12 wheeled TEL * MAZ-7917 - 14 wheeled TEL * MZKT-79221 - 16 wheeled TEL * MAZ-7907 - 24 wheeled

gas turbine A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of Internal combustion engine#Continuous combustion, continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas gene ...

TEL * ASTROS II 6x6 wheeled rocket artillery launcher * SPYDER

Gallery

Image:s-300V.jpg, A Russian S-300V TELAR in transit mode Image:sa10_1.jpg, A Russian S-300P TEL ready for launch Image:Pluton 034.jpg, A French Pluton missile in transit mode Image:Moscow Parad 2008 Ballist.jpg, MAZ-7917 TEL Image:Luna m frog 7 hameenlinna 1.jpg, 9P113 TEL with 9M21 rocket File:1st Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment - 191106-A-BS310-0214.jpg, M270 MLRS Image:MoscowParade2009 7.jpg, S-300 Image:SCUD 2.JPG, MAZ-7310 Image:German Patriot missile launcher.jpg, A German PATRIOT launcher Image:19-03-2012-Parade-rehearsal - Topol-M.jpg, Russian Topol-M MZKT-79221 Image:Chinese HQ-9 launcher.jpg, HQ-9 TA580/TAS5380 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 Self-propelled rocket launchers Weapons platforms Rocket launchers Missile launchers Transporter erector launcher systems