Shorads on the move: vehicle-mounted, short-range air-defence systems that are able to be operational within seconds of pulling the vehicle's hand brake are evolving to counter a broad range of threats, particularly to protect convoys from air attacks.

Armada International › Vol. 33 Nbr. 1, February 2009

Author: Kemp, Ian

Position:: Vehicles: air-defence

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Summary

Vehicles: air-defence

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Shorads on the move: vehicle-mounted, short-range air-defence systems that are able to be operational within seconds of pulling the vehicle's hand brake are evolving to counter a broad range of threats, particularly to protect convoys from air attacks.

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While anti-aircraft barrelled weapons mounted in turrets usually require heavier chassis, recoil-less missiles can afford much lighter vehicles. The advent of the Stinger and Mistral shoulder- or light tripod-fired air-defence missiles in the early 1980s has contributed to the development of this relatively new trend.

The Avenger

On 1 November 2008 Boeing marked the 20th anniversary of the delivery of its first M1097 Avenger short-range air-defence (Shorad) fire unit to the US Army. Since then more than 1100 Avengers have been produced for the active army, the Army National Guard and the US Marine Corps with additional systems sold to US Foreign Military Sales customers.

The Avenger was developed in the 1980s to be a low-cost, highly-mobile shorad s...

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