Iran exporting Rapier.

Iran exporting its military hardware to 48 countries and this is one of the missiles they put on show for export. Of course this is the dummy, you can tell from its blue color.




[edit on 29-9-2004 by persian]

Wait a minute. Wasn't the Rapier an American SAM system? I could be wrong. So any specs or prices, if they're any good and the price is right I might want to buy one for my lawn (if only I could do that).

Hmm.. a lawn SAM, that would be fun I think its an Iran made weapon, I've herd several things about this.

Wait a minute. Wasn't the Rapier an American SAM system?

No my friend, Rapier was made by British.

[edit on 30-9-2004 by persian]

Thanks for clearing up who made the Rapier. So if the Rapier is British why is Iran making it. I didn't think Britain would allow Iran to get a license to produce and export it.

How sad does a countries military have to be for Iranian weapons to be an improvement?!?

[edit on 1-10-2004 by mwm1331]

Please see the bottom in bold for the explanation of the Iranian version





The BAe Rapier system had it roots in the 70's and was used in combat in the Falklands War in 1982

More recent at Farnborogh (2nd sept 1996) BAe caused a storm when it release a video showing the Rapier track the B-2 Stealth bomber in IR as it did fly past.

BAe saw flypast as the ideal opportunity to test their systems against the bomber.

Experts operating a Rapier FSC system at RAF Honington in Suffolk managed the feat and later provided video evidence to the Americans.

British Aerospace, which manufactures the Rapier, was jubilant and said it proved how effective it was against all types of aircraft.

The Pentagon fired back, saying it had allowed the Stealth - known as the USAF Northrop Gruman B2 Spirit - to be tracked for safety reasons and that it could disappear off the screen again whenever it wanted.

However, some doubt was cast on the explanation by the fact that other British systems had failed to track the plane.

The Rapier works by using infra-red systems to look for changed in heat in the atmosphere. Although the B2 is supposed to be able to disguise its heat emissions, sufficient traces must have remained for the Rapier to lock on.

The British also fields the Blindfire Rapier which is a radar-equipped version of the Rapier SAM defence system used by the RAF Regiment and British Army for point air defence. The operator still retains the option of optical targeting if the radar fails to lock onto the target, but if radar is selected the engagement sequence is automatic. The radar has a range of about 12km. The fire unit usually carries four missile ready to fire and can be manually reloaded. It also requires a separate generator and, if required, radar units. The Tracked Rapier version is a tracked flatbed self-contained truck mounting a Rapier fire unit on its bed holding eight missiles ready for launch. The system is in constant development and can be made ready to fire (Tracked Rapier) in less than fifteen seconds.

Currently, Rapiers are in service in countries like Australia, Brunei, Switzerland, United States, Abu Dhabai, Iran, Oman, Qatar, Turkey, Zambia, and Singapore. The system is also used to protect the USAF bases in the United Kingdom.

Oman, Singapore, Switzerland and Turkey have had their Rapier systems upgraded for the Mk 2 missile. Mark 2 is part of a continual follow-up program by Matra Bae Dynamics (UK). In their outer appearance the new and the current missiles are very similar. But inside the missile most components were improved or replaced by new technologies. By doing this, efficiency and reliability of the entire missile are considerably increased.

The Mark 2 is equipped with a proximity fuze. Small targets such as RPVs and cruise missiles can be effectively engaged. The Mark 2 has a greater range, improved acceleration and higher speed. This results in an execellent manoeuvrability, which is of great use for the engagement of suddenly appearing targets at short ranges.

Rapier was developed to replace the Thunderbird in British Army service. Thunderbird (I & II) missiles (with range of 30km) were the predecessors of the Bloodhound (I & II) systems. Highly mobile and capable of being mounted on a trailer or on a tracked vehicle, Rapier showed its worth in the Falklands War.

The Rapier B1X air defence system introduces digital technology to the established and proven Rapier B1 capability. This gives the user greatly improved system performance plus increased reliability, availability and maintainability.

Rapiers were also deployed in air operations during Operation Granby (the Gulf War 1991).

The RAF Regiment provides ground and surface-to-air defence for the RAF. It consists of four Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) squadrons, all of which are equipped with the Rapier Field Missile Standard C missile system. Jernas is the export name for the Rapier FSC (Field Standard C) air defence system developed by MBDA (formerly Matra BAe Dynamics, UK).

Jernas is based on the Rapier Mk 2 missile and launcher, the Blindfire tracking radar and the Dagger surveillance radar. Jernas is in service with the British Army and Royal Air Force.

JERNAS provides defence against unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles, and fixed and rotary wing aircraft. Highly mobile and can comprise three modules, namely the eight missile Launcher, with passive Electro Optical (EO) tracking device, a 3D Surveillance Radar for target detection and a high resolution Radar Tracker to defeat small stealthy targets in all weathers. The system may be towed behind a medium sized vehicle or can be transported by transport aircraft or underslung by medium lift helicopter.



Tracked Rapier - a modified form of the towed Rapier SAM. Pedestal mounted on a highly modified M-548 tracked load carrier. The mount is supplied with some degree of stabilization and fire control to allow some degree of fire on the move.



Originally designed for the needs of the Iranian Army (under the regime of the Shah) in the late 1970s, the Tracked Rapier was cancelled by the new Iranian government after it cut ties with Western countries after the revolution.



Picture of an early variant of the series, the Rapier [Behr] - the Iranian version with launcher mounted on the rear of a Behr 8X8 truck chassis.





[edit on 1-10-2004 by Popeye]

thx for the info