Rapier (missile)

Rapier
A Swiss Air Force Rapier SAM installation with the attached generator placed in the background (with fuel provided from three jerrycans beside it)
Type	Surface-to-air missile
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1971–present
Used by	See operators
Wars	Falklands War Iran–Iraq War Gulf War
Production history
Designer	British Aircraft Corporation
Designed	1963
Manufacturer	British Aircraft Corporation (1963–1977) BAe Dynamics (1977–1999) MBDA (UK) Ltd (since 1999)
Produced	1969–1990s
No. built	≈25,000 missiles, 600 launchers and 350 radars
Variants	Mk1 ("Hittile"), Mk2B (Missile)
Specifications
Weight	45 kg
Length	2.235 m
Diameter	0.133 m
Warhead	Blast fragmentation explosive close proximity warhead
Detonation mechanism	Proximity triggered chemical fuse
Engine	solid-fuel rocket
Wingspan	0.138 m
Operational range	400 – 8,200 m
Flight ceiling	3,000 m (Mk1 missile), 5,000m (Mk2)
Speed	Mach 2.5 (3,062.6 km/h; 1,903.0 mph; 0.85073 km/s)
Guidance system	Automatic command to line of sight
Steering system	flight control surface
Launch platform	vehicle or trailer

Rapier is a British surface-to-air missile developed for the RAF Regiment and the British Army. Entering service in 1972, it eventually replaced all other anti-aircraft weapons in Army service; guns for low-altitude targets, and the Thunderbird (missile), used against longer-range and higher-altitude targets. It replaced Bofors guns and Tigercat missiles in RAF service. As the expected air threat moved from medium-altitude strategic missions to low-altitude strikes, the fast reaction time and high manoeuvrability of the Rapier made it more formidable than either of these weapons, replacing most of them by 1977. It remains the UK's primary air-defence weapon after almost 35 years of service, and its deployment is expected to continue until 2020.

Rapier began development in 1961 as a private venture at British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) known as "Sightline". The project was to combat supersonic, low level, high manoeuvrability craft, eschewing any attempt at sensor guidance in favour of a purely optical system. The operator would keep the telescopic gunsight centred on the target, and the automated systems would guide the missile to that point. The optical system ensured high accuracy, so it was developed with the intent of directly hitting its target, reducing the size of the warhead required to guarantee a kill, and eliminating the need for a proximity fuse. BAC joked that the system was a "hit-ile", as opposed to a "miss-ile". The weapons system had entirely originated from research carried out by Bradford's Colin Baron and John Twinn at the Royal Aircraft Establishment in the 1960s.

At the time the British Army was planning on purchasing the advanced American MIM-46 Mauler system for its air-defence needs. When Mauler ran into problems in 1963, the Ministry of Defence issued requirement ET.316 and started funding Sightline as a backup in case Mauler did not deliver. That eventuality came to pass, and ET.316 was completely developed as "Rapier", with the first test firings of the missile taking place in 1966. Complete systems were tested in 1968, which led to a production contract issued in 1969. On a parallel track, the RAF Regiment had Tigercat developed for it in 1967 from the Seacat naval surface-to-air missile system. That system was introduced into service with No 48 Squadron RAF Regiment in 1968, giving the RAF Regiment the UK's first effective fully air portable low-level SAM system and valuable experience in operating systems of this type. In 1972 a trials unit known as the Rapier Pilot Battery was formed jointly by No 63 Squadron RAF Regiment and 9 (Plassey) Light Air Defence Battery Royal Artillery. Comprehensive trials ended in 1973 and the first Rapier unit in British service - No 63 Squadron - deployed to its operational station in Germany in mid-1974.