Martel (missile)

Martel (AS 37)
Martel AS.37 on display at RAF Museum Cosford.
Type	standoff anti-radar missile (AS 37) / air-to-surface (AJ.168)
Place of origin	UK/France
Service history
Used by	Royal Air Force Armée de l'Air
Wars	Operation Epervier
Production history
Manufacturer	Hawker Siddeley, Matra
Produced	1984
Number built	300 antiradar (150 for both France and UK), plus an unknown number of TV version (only for UK)
Variants	AS 37 "Martel" radar, AS37 "Armat", AJ 168 "Martel" Video
Specifications
Weight	550 kg
Length	4.18 m
Diameter	0.4 m
Warhead	150 kg and fitted with a Misznay–Schardin plate
Detonation mechanism	proximity fuze
Engine	two stage solid propellant rocket motors
Wingspan	1.2 m
Operational range	60 km max (estimated, and depending on the launch conditions)
Flight ceiling	?
Speed	Mach 0.9 +
Guidance system	passive radar homing,video guided
Steering system	?
Launch platform	fixed wing aircraft

Royal Air Force

The Martel is an Anglo-French anti-radiation missile (ARM). The name Martel is a contraction of Missile, Anti-Radiation, Television, referring to the guidance options. There are two variants, the passive radar guided (AS 37) and the video guided (AJ 168).

The aircraft that used these missiles were the Blackburn Buccaneer (up to three TV or four ARM variant), the SEPECAT Jaguar (two), the Mirage III/F1 (one or two), and the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod (at least one). The Martel was suited to anti-ship attack with its long range and heavy warhead. There was not, at the time, a small radar homing missile like the AGM-84 Harpoon with an active radar, so the only viable solution was a TV or ARM sensor. With a relatively long range, a heavy payload, and a subsonic speed, this missile compares more to an anti-ship weapon like the Exocet or the AS.34 Kormoran than an anti-radar missile. It weighs three times as much as the AGM-45 Shrike, with half the speed but much greater range and explosive power.

It was possible to adapt the Martel ARM to be used against different wavelength radars. It was an improvement compared to the early Standard ARM missiles, that had only one narrow-band homing sensor. But the ARM sensor was only selectable on the ground, not in flight and so before taking-off it was necessary to know what kind of radar should be attacked.

The UK has used both types, the French only the radar-equipped variant. The Martel fuselage forms the basis for the Sea Eagle anti-ship missile with a turbojet to improve range, while the French used it to develop ARMAT, an advanced ARM missile in the 1980s. For ARM functions, the RAF adopted a totally new and much smaller missile, the ALARM.