MILAN anti-tank missile

Design work on the MILAN infantry anti-tank missile was started back in the 1960s by the Franco-German Euromissile consortium, a

Above: The Land Rover supplied to US Rangers for special operations also mounted the MILAN anti-tank missile. (ST)

Joint venture between Messerschmidt-Bolkow-Blohm GmbH and Aerospatiale Matra; British Aerospace joined in about 1973 to produce MILANs for the British Army. The first prototypes appeared in 1969, with the first production examples being delivered in 1973.

MILAN {missile iVinfanterie leger anti-char - infantry light anti-tank missile) is a second-generation tube-launched spin-stabilised antitank guided weapon (ATGW). MILAN carried a sealed 103mm HEAT warhead, which was guided to the target by a ‘semi-automatic command to line of sight’ (SACLOS) system operating via feedback from an infra-red (IR) tracking module. Designed to be launched either from the ground or from a vehicle mount, the weapon had a range of approximately 2,200yds (2,012m).

The entry into service of the heavily-armoured T-72 tank with Warsaw Pact forces almost led to the cancellation of the MILAN project, but the improved MILAN 2 appeared in 1984 specifically to deal with this particular threat. MILAN 2 then entered service with the French, German and British Armies. In 1993 the tandem-warhead MILAN 2T variant was announced, designed to defeat explosive reactive armour (ERA). This used the improved 115mm-calibre warhead of MILAN 2 but with the addition of a 30mm diameter HE primary charge mounted in a nose probe. MILAN 3 was then developed to reduce susceptibility to electronics jamming systems, and entered service with the French Army in 1995. MILAN 3 used the tandem-warhead and an improved guidance system not affected by decoys.

Operation of the weapon is virtually foolproof. The missile tube is simply clipped to the firing post, aimed at a reference point above the target, using the optical or thermal-imaging sight, and fired by pressing a button. Initial ejection from the tube is by compressed gas, which means that no specific protection is required to prevent blow-back damage to the vehicle, and there is no distinctive ‘firing signature’. Sufficient gas remains to eject the tube from the post ready for the next round to be positioned immediately. It is possible for a well-trained crew to achieve a rate of fire of three rounds a minute.

As soon as the missile is released, the fins open and the main propulsion motor ignites. All the gunner has to do is to keep the crosshairs of the sight on the target; the missile remains connected to the firing module by wire until the moment of impact.

The lightweight of the system, and ease of mounting, maked it easily adaptable to a range of vehicles. The Defender provides a typical vehicle mount and other nations have used similar machines - the French, for example, have used both the Hotchkiss M201 and the Peugeot P4, whilst the Belgian Army have fitted the system to the Minerva Land Rover. The standard catalogue version offered by Land Rover is the Defender 110, but MILAN has also been mounted on the Defender 90 and the Defender 130 pick-up, as well as on the Defender 90 MRCV chassis.

As installed in the vehicle, the MILAN system consists of little more than a firing post bolted into the rear, slightly ahead of the rear axle. Four missiles are carried in sealed transport tubes in a rack across the rear of the vehicle, with the tailgate generally removed, or in a rack against the rear of the front seats; the MRCV carries eight missiles, in two racks, placed on either side of the wider load bed. The height of the post precludes the fitting of a top or frame, but a protective roll bar is fitted across the body behind the front seats.

Above: A Wolf Defender fitted with the British Army's weapons mount installation kit (WMIK). This includes a circular mount for a heavy machine gun. (BM)