EADS Trigat LR

     Notes:  This is a longer-ranged, heavier warhead version of the Trigat MR, primarily used as helicopter armament, but also fired from mast-mounted launchers on vehicles such as the Panther.  The missile is able to make a top attack by climbing above the target or being launched from above it, then diving downwards.  Budget difficulties are still delaying full deployment of the Trigat LR.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This missile is much rarer than the Trigat MR, not being fielded until 1997. 

Weapon

Weights

Missile Caliber

Guidance

Missile Speed

Prices

Trigat LR

(Launcher) Vehicle Only; (Missile) 49 kg

150mm

Semi-Active Laser Homing

2000

(Launcher) Vehicle Only; (Missile) $13098

 

Weapon

Reload

Round

Min Range

Max Range

Damage

Pen

Difficulty

Trigat LR

4

HEAT-T-TA

400

8000

C30  B55

162C/203C

ESY

 

EADS Trigat MR

     Notes:  This weapon is a joint project of France, Germany, and Great Britain.  Belgium and the Netherlands also use the missile.  It is a laser-guided missile with a tandem HEAT warhead.  The missile is prepacked in a container, and the firing post has a thermal imager.  The firing post electronics are not affected by EMP.  The Trigat can be mounted on a pintle in vehicles and Warrior ICVs.  In a pinch, the Trigat may be fired from Milan firing unit, but range is then limited to 2000 meters, and the Milan firing unit is not equipped with its own laser designator as the Trigat MR firing unit is. 

Weapon

Weights

Missile Caliber

Guidance

Missile Speed

Prices

Trigat MR

(Launcher) 17 kg; (Missile) 17 kg

152mm

Laser Designation

1150

(Launcher) $12130; (Missile) $2161

 

Weapon

Reload

Round

Min Range

Max Range

Damage

Pen

Difficulty

Trigat MR

2

HEAT-T

50

2400

C30  B55

162C/202C

ESY

 

Euromissile HOT 

     Notes:  HOT is a heavy antitank missile built by a collaboration of France and Germany.  It is in service with those countries and at least 14 others, and can be used from tripod, vehicle, and helicopter mounts.  The HOT launcher can fire the HOT-1, the HOT-2 with increased warhead and penetration, or the HOT-3 with a tandem HEAT top-attack warhead.  HOT is normally a missile fired from vehicular or helicopter launchers; though a tripod mount exists, it is extremely rare.  The HOT-1 Launcher is a basic launcher with a telescopic sight; HOT-2 launchers add an image intensifier; HOT-3 is very different as the guidance for a HOT-3 missile is different, and also uses a thermal imager for night vision.  HOT-1 and HOT-2 launchers may use HOT-1 or HOT-2 missiles; a HOT-3 launcher may fire any sort of HOT missile. 

     Twilight 2000 Notes: HOT-3 is not available.

Weapon

Weights

Missile Caliber

Guidance

Missile Speed

Prices

HOT-1

(Tripod Launcher) 26.8 kg; (Missile) 23.5 kg

136mm

Wire SACLOS

1250

(Launcher) $2335; (HE Missile) $292, (HEAT Missile) $322

HOT-2

(Tripod Launcher) 28.8 kg; (Missile) 23.5 kg

150mm

Wire SACLOS

1250

(Launcher) $2835; (HE Missile) $304, (HEAT Missile) $345

HOT-3

(Tripod Launcher) 39.5 kg; (Missile)

165mm

CCD Fire and Forget

1175

(Launcher) $6195; (HE Missile) $2450, (HEAT-T-TA Missile) $3396

 

Weapon

Reload

Round

Min Range

Max Range

Damage

Pen

Difficulty

HOT-1

2

HEAT

75

4000

C18  B45

137C

AVG

HOT-1

2

HE

75

4000

C28  B55

13C

AVG

HOT-2

2

HEAT

75

4000

C26  B50

198C

AVG

HOT-2

2

HE

75

4000

C39  B65

16C

AVG

HOT-3

3

HEAT-T-TA

75

4000

C36  B60

158C/198C

ESY

HOT-3

3

HE

75

4000

C54  B75

18C

ESY

 

Euromissile Milan

     Notes: Though Milan is a French acronym, the word Milan also means “kite” in French and “bird” in German.  Design of the Milan began in 1962, was ready for trials in 1971, and entered service in 1972.  The initial version was a wire-guided SACLOS missile, aimed by a large unitary firing post which may be ground or vehicle-mounted; Milan can also be fired from several models of helicopters.  Though the firing post has no night-vision capability of itself, but a MIRA thermal imager can be added to it.  Standard sights include a x7 day sight. Initially a French and German development, the Milan is now license-built by Italy, Spain, Britain, and India, and used by some 33 countries.

     The Milan missile is packaged as a round of ammunition in a cylindrical container that is attached directly to the firing post; in most cases, the round of ammunition is 1.2 meters long. The missile fires using an ejection charge that kicks the missile away before the main rocket charge fires; this charge also kicks the expended missile tube backwards off of the firing post.  Though quite accurate, range is short and a well-trained operator is required.  The warhead is HEAT; later developments include progressively more effective warheads, tandem warheads, and an extended-range motor.  The firing post is able to fire any of the different types of Milan missiles. Upgrading a Milan 1/2 firing post to the Milan 3 standard is a simple and inexpensive upgrade. Milan 1 and Milan 2 are basic, direct-action HEAT-warhead missiles, with Milan 2 having a heavier-caliber warhead that, due to better technology, is only fractionally heavier than Milan 1. 

     The Milan 2T has a pair of warheads (a tandem warhead) to help defeat ERA; the second warhead fires a few microseconds after the first one does, as the first warhead is primarily to detonate any ERA in the way.  It is therefore a bit heavier than a standard Milan 2 missile. The Milan 2T uses a long stand-off fuze which carries only a 30mm warhead, and does not have much penetration by itself. The precursor warhead and its fuze to not extend until the missile has cleared its launch tube and has traveled its minimum range, to provide extra protection against a premature detonation.

     The Milan 3 system uses a new firing post – it is still wire-guided, but it has a CCD localizer feature, which provides increased resistance from jamming (such as present in the various soft-kill APS systems today) and can also provide up to two seconds of self-guidance if the gunner’s attention strays due to enemy fire or suchlike.  The new firing post also has a thermal imager built in, which has a range of 7 kilometers. A Milan 3 missile, as such, does not exist – the improvements are in the launcher unit.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The Milan 3 firing post was not available in the Twilight 2000 timeline.  The Italians and Greeks used the Milan, as well as many NATO countries – and because of this, low-level Milan production took place in the Ukraine (for Soviet use) and Czechoslovakia.  In addition to most other NATO countries, US Marines in Europe and the Persian Gulf used small quantities of the Milan.

Weapon

Weights

Missile Caliber

Guidance

Missile Speed

Prices

Milan 1

(Launcher) 16.4 kg  (Missile) 11.5 kg

103mm

Wire SACLOS

1000

(Launcher) $2460  (Missile) $241

Milan 2

(Launcher) 16.4 kg  (Missile) 11.5 kg

115mm

Wire SACLOS

1000

(Launcher) $2460  (Missile) $243

Milan 2T

(Launcher) 16.4 kg; (Missile) 11.7 kg

117mm

Wire SACLOS

1000

(Launcher) $2460  (Missile) $274

 

Weapon

Reload

Round

Min Range

Max Range

Damage

Pen

Difficulty

Milan 1

2

HEAT

400

2000

C11  B30

75C

AVG

Milan 2

2

HEAT

400

2000

C15  B40

108C

AVG

Milan 2T

2

HEAT-T

400

2000

C1  B10/C16  B40

23C/110C

AVG

 

Hughes/Gyconsa TOW LWL

     Notes:  The TOW LWL (LightWeight Launcher) was developed jointly by Hughes Aerospace of the US and Gyconsa of Spain in the late 1980s and early 1990s.  Initial development was done at the behest of the Spanish Army and Marines, but it was later picked for use by the US, particularly by light formations and special operations for use on small vehicles like Fast Attack Vehicles.  The LWL is basically a TOW launcher with miniaturized components that are smaller and lighter.  The LWL includes an integral 2nd generation thermal imager with a magnification of 15.3x or 5.1x, and an optical sight with a magnification of 10x.  It may operate from vehicle or battery power.  Unlike a standard TOW launcher, the sight and guidance units are integrated into a single package.  The LWL is not capable of firing TOW 3 missiles, but may fire any other sort of TOW series missile. 

Weapon

Weights

Missile Caliber

Guidance

Missile Speed

Prices

TOW LWL

(Launcher) 73 kg; (Missile) See TOW Series

127mm or 152mm

Wire SACLOS

See TOW Series

(Launcher) $12800; (Missiles) See TOW Series

 

Weapon

Reload

Round

Min Range

Max Range

Damage

Pen

Difficulty

TOW-1 (BGM-71A)

3

HEAT

65

3000

C16  B40

104C

DIF

TOW-1A (BGM-71B)

3

HEAT

65

3750

C16  B40

104C

AVG

I-TOW (BGM-71C)

3

HEAT

65

3000

C16  B40

114C

AVG

TOW-2 (BGM-71D)

4

HEAT

65

3750

C23  B50

134C

AVG

TOW-2A (BGM-71E)

5

HEAT

65

3750

C27  B50

135C/169C

AVG

TOW-2B (BGM-71F)

5

EFP-T-TA

65

3750

C23  B70

147C/184C

AVG

TOW-2C (BGM-71G)

5

HEAT-T-TA

65

3750

C30  B55

147C/184C

AVG

TOW-BLAAM (BGM-71TBD)

7

EFP-HEDP

65

3750

C35  B70

96C

AVG

 

Oto-Melara/ORBITA MAF 

     Notes:  This advanced man-portable ATGM was developed jointly by OTO-Melara of Italy and ORBITA of Brazil.  The missile consists of a missile in its container and a firing post.  There is an ejection charge that kicks the missile out of the launcher and a sustaining charge that powers the missile for flight.  The missile is guided by laser, and has a high-resistance to jamming.  The firing post incorporates thermal vision for night use.  The MAF was designed for man-portable, vehicular, and helicopter use.  The MAF is an ADATS missile, meaning is may also be used against low-flying, slower aircraft.  In emergencies, the MAF can be fired as an unguided rocket.  Though the MAF was developed in response to a Brazilian request for an advanced, lightweight ATGM, the development cost got away from them, and the project was eventually cancelled.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: Most MAF’s were actually used during the Twilight War by Italy.  Some were also supplied to Libya, and there was reportedly some use of the MAF by Pact special operations units and by Iraq.  The Brazilians probably had fewer than 40 of the launchers, with perhaps as little as 200 missiles total. 

     Merc 2000 Notes: The Italians were eventually able to interest the armies of Libya, Iraq, Iran, and Vietnam in the MAF, and did some pretty good business with the missile system.  (Where the Vietnamese got the money is unknown; there may have been some oil concessions in the Spratelys made.)

Weapon

Weights

Missile Caliber

Guidance

Missile Speed

Prices

MAF

(Launcher) 23 kg; (Missile) 20 kg

130mm

Laser SACLOS

1450

(Launcher) $10780; (Missile) $1413

 

Weapon

Reload

Round

Min Range

Max Range

Damage

Pen

Guidance

MAF

2

HEAT

70

3000

C22  B45

149C

Laser

(Unguided)

2

HEAT

0

500*

C22  B45

149C

None

*When fired in this mode, the MAF is treated as a rocket launcher.