Patriot(Long-range air defense missile system) The Patriot is a long-range air defense missile system. Its development commenced in the 1963.First tests of this air defense system took place in 1969-1970. The Patriot entered service with the US Army in 1982. Currently the Patriot and its upgraded variants are in service with 14 countries. The Patriot was first used in combat during the Persian Gulf War where it recommended itself well. Initial version of the Patriot used the MIM-104A missile, also known as the Standard. It had a range of about 100 km. The first version of the Patriot was used exclusively as anti-aircraft weapon. It had no capabilities against ballistic missiles. This capability was introduced in the late 1980s when Patriot received its first major system overhaul. Normally it includes a command post, radar, 8 launchers and support vehicles. The battery can engage up to 8 targets simultaneously. If required the battery can operate with up to 16 launchers. Launchers can be located up to 1 km from radar or command post vehicle. In order to establish effective and overlapping defenses batteries are located 30-40 km between each other. The radar detects fighters at a range of 110-130 km, bombers at a range of 160-190 km, missiles at a range of 85-100 km, warhead of the missile at a range of 60-70 km. Variants:- 1) PAC-1 (Patriot Advanced Capability) upgrade. 2) PAC-2 another upgrade of the Patriot:- It fires MIM-104C and MIM-104D missiles with a range of about 160 km. 3) PAC-3 another upgrade of the Patriot:- The PAC-3 has a further improved capabilities against ballistic missiles. A new MIM-104F missile was introduced. It is a lot smaller than older Patriot missiles. Four missiles are carried in a single container. So a single launcher has 16 missiles instead of 4. The missile has a range of about 40 km and altitude of 20 km. The radar has increased detection and tracking ranges. #KILLER
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 07:05:22 +0000
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