Air Defense Anti-Tank System

ADATS
ADATS on display for the 2008 Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo
Type	Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon
Place of origin	Switzerland
Service history
Used by	Canada Thailand
Specifications
Weight	15.8 tonnes
Length	4.86 m
Width	2.69 m
Crew	3 (commander, driver, system operator)
Armor	12–38 mm aluminium
Main armament	8 ADATS missiles
Secondary armament	-
Engine	6-cylinder two-stroke diesel General Motors/Detroit Diesel 6V53 212 hp (158 kW)
Power/weight	13 hp/tonne
Suspension	torsion-bar
Operational range	400 km
Speed	58 km/h (36 mph)

The Air Defense Anti-Tank System (ADATS) is a dual-purpose short range surface-to-air and anti-tank missile system based on the M113A2 vehicle. It is manufactured by the Swiss company Oerlikon-Contraves, a member of the Rheinmetall Defence Group of Germany. The ADATS missile is a laser-guided supersonic missile with a range of 10 kilometres, with an electro-optical sensor with TV and Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR). The carrying vehicle also has a search radar with an effective range of over 25 kilometres.

Intended for sales to the US Army and Canadian Army, the system was developed and produced at a new facility in Quebec. In spite of successfully developing the system, by the time it was ready for service the ending of the Cold War led the US Army to cancel its orders, after Oerlikon invested over CHF 1 billion in the project. A small number of vehicles, many of them the development prototypes, entered service with the Canadian Army.

ADATS entered service with the Canadian Army (in 1989) as a mobile, M113 based system.

First systems were deployed as part of Canada's NATO contribution in West-Germany. 36 systems were delivered by 1994. Cost of the system was initially $650 million. Over the life of the project, total cost reached $1,1 billion.

After their return from Germany, Canadian ADATS systems were only operationally deployed once: In June 2002, they were used to defend the airspace of the G8 summit held in Kananaskis, Alberta. Canadian ADATS were never operationally deployed in Bosnia or Afghanistan. As of late 2012, the ADATS has been withdrawn from Canadian service with no planned replacement announced.