Air Defense Anti-Tank System
Encyclopedia
The Air Defense Anti-Tank System (ADATS) is a dual-purpose short range
surface-to-air
and anti-tank
missile system based on the M113
A2 vehicle. It is manufactured by the Swiss
company Oerlikon-Contraves, a member of the Rheinmetall Defence Group
of Germany
.
for the Forward Area Air-Defense (FAAD) program under the designation MIM-146 for the missile, but ultimately the FAAD contract was cancelled in the early 1990s after the end of the Cold War
. It is currently in service with the Canadian Army
as a mobile, M113 based system, and in Thailand
as a fixed, ground shelter defense system. The ADATS missile is a laser-guided
supersonic
missile with a range of 10 kilometres, with an electro-optical
sensor with TV and Forward Looking Infrared
(FLIR). The carrying vehicle has also a conventional two-dimensional radar with an effective range of over 25 kilometres.
and the Canadian Forces
announced a modernization program, transforming the ADATS and associated command, control and communications systems into a Multi-Mission Effects Vehicle (MMEV). The MMEV was to retain and enhance ADATS capability (85% or better engagement success rate) to meet new threats, and would be mounted on a LAV III
wheeled armoured vehicle. It was to be fitted with a 3D radar
, non-line-of-sight
(NLOS) missile (using unmanned aerial vehicle
s (UAVs) to gather required intelligence and target location at a range of 8 km or more) and low-cost precision kill (LCPK) missile (fireable on direct shot at an 8 km+ range), based on a 2.75-inch rocket and advanced Battle Management Command and Control Communication Computer and Information (BMC41), including Link 11
/16
, to provide the third dimension to the ISTAR
(Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance) infrastructure of the Army. The flexible ground-based multi-mission system would have provided military commanders with a homeland defence and expeditionary
air
, land, and maritime forces
capability for ground-based air defence/airspace
coordination and long-range direct fire/NLOS support for ground engagement to defend against asymmetric and conventional threats.
However, Canadian Forces Land Staff recommended in July 2006 for the Multi-Mission Effects Vehicle Project to be canceled, along with the Mobile Gun System. The latter recommendation was followed upon by the new Minister of National Defence
at the time Gordon O'Connor
.
Short Range Air Defense
Short Range Air Defense is a term used to describe a group of anti-aircraft weapons and tactics that have to do with defense against low-altitude air threats, primarily helicopters and low-flying close air support aircraft such as the A-10 or MiG-27...
surface-to-air
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
and anti-tank
Anti-tank guided missile
An anti-tank missile , anti-tank guided missile , anti-tank guided weapon or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily-armored military vehicles....
missile system based on the M113
M113 armored personnel carrier
The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier that has formed the backbone of the United States Army's mechanized infantry units from the time of its first fielding in Vietnam in April 1962. The M113 was the most widely used armored vehicle of the U.S...
A2 vehicle. It is manufactured by the Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
company Oerlikon-Contraves, a member of the Rheinmetall Defence Group
Rheinmetall
Rheinmetall AG is a German automotive and defence company with factories in Düsseldorf, Kassel and Unterlüß. The company has a long tradition of making guns and artillery pieces...
of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
History
The ADATS came about as the result of an extensive competition during which it was selected by the U.S. ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
for the Forward Area Air-Defense (FAAD) program under the designation MIM-146 for the missile, but ultimately the FAAD contract was cancelled in the early 1990s after the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. It is currently in service with the Canadian Army
Canadian Forces Land Force Command
The Canadian Army , previously called Land Force Command, is responsible for army operations within the Canadian Forces. The current size of the Army is 19,500 regular soldiers and 16,000 reserve soldiers, for a total of around 35,500 soldiers...
as a mobile, M113 based system, and in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
as a fixed, ground shelter defense system. The ADATS missile is a laser-guided
Laser guidance
Laser guidance is a technique of guiding a missile or other projectile or vehicle to a target by means of a laser beam. Some laser guided systems utilise beam riding guidance, but most operate more similarly to semi-active radar homing . This technique is sometimes called SALH, for Semi-Active...
supersonic
Supersonic
Supersonic speed is a rate of travel of an object that exceeds the speed of sound . For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C this speed is approximately 343 m/s, 1,125 ft/s, 768 mph or 1,235 km/h. Speeds greater than five times the speed of sound are often...
missile with a range of 10 kilometres, with an electro-optical
Electro-optics
Electro-optics is a branch of technology involving components, devices and systems which operate by modification of the optical properties of a material by an electric field...
sensor with TV and Forward Looking Infrared
Forward looking infrared
Forward looking infrared cameras, typically used on military aircraft, use an imaging technology that senses infrared radiation.The sensors installed in forward looking infrared cameras, as well as those of other thermal imaging cameras, use detection of infrared radiation, typically emitted from a...
(FLIR). The carrying vehicle has also a conventional two-dimensional radar with an effective range of over 25 kilometres.
Modernisation program
In September 2005, the Canadian GovernmentGovernment of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
and the Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
announced a modernization program, transforming the ADATS and associated command, control and communications systems into a Multi-Mission Effects Vehicle (MMEV). The MMEV was to retain and enhance ADATS capability (85% or better engagement success rate) to meet new threats, and would be mounted on a LAV III
LAV III
The LAV III armoured vehicle is the latest in the Generation III Light Armoured Vehicle series built by General Dynamics Land Systems, entering service in 1999. It is based on the Swiss MOWAG Piranha IIIH 8x8....
wheeled armoured vehicle. It was to be fitted with a 3D radar
3D radar
3D radar provides for radar coverage on three dimensions unlike the more common 2D radar. While the normal 2D radar provides range and azimuth, the 3D radar provides elevation information with range and azimuth...
, non-line-of-sight
Indirect fire
Indirect fire means aiming and firing a projectile in a high trajectory without relying on a direct line of sight between the gun and its target, as in the case of direct fire...
(NLOS) missile (using unmanned aerial vehicle
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
s (UAVs) to gather required intelligence and target location at a range of 8 km or more) and low-cost precision kill (LCPK) missile (fireable on direct shot at an 8 km+ range), based on a 2.75-inch rocket and advanced Battle Management Command and Control Communication Computer and Information (BMC41), including Link 11
TADIL-A
TADIL-A/Link 11 is a secure half-duplex TADIL radio link used by NATO that receives or transmits--but not both simultaneously--a sequential data exchange digital link. It exchanges digital information among airborne, land-based, and ship-board tactical data systems. It is the primary means to...
/16
Link 16
Link 16 is a military tactical data exchange network created and used by the United States and adopted by some of its Allies and by NATO. Its specification is part of the family of Tactical Data Links....
, to provide the third dimension to the ISTAR
ISTAR
ISTAR stands for Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing the information they gather.Information is collected on...
(Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance) infrastructure of the Army. The flexible ground-based multi-mission system would have provided military commanders with a homeland defence and expeditionary
Canadian Expeditionary Force Command
Canadian Expeditionary Force Command is an operational element of the Canadian Forces for operations outside of Canada....
air
Canadian Forces Air Command
The Royal Canadian Air Force , formerly Canadian Forces Air Command, is one of three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
, land, and maritime forces
Canadian Forces Maritime Command
The Royal Canadian Navy , is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the unified Canadian Forces. Operating 33 warships and several auxiliary vessels, the Royal Canadian Navy consists of 8,500 Regular Force and 5,100 Primary Reserve sailors, supported by...
capability for ground-based air defence/airspace
Airspace
Airspace means the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere....
coordination and long-range direct fire/NLOS support for ground engagement to defend against asymmetric and conventional threats.
However, Canadian Forces Land Staff recommended in July 2006 for the Multi-Mission Effects Vehicle Project to be canceled, along with the Mobile Gun System. The latter recommendation was followed upon by the new Minister of National Defence
Minister of National Defence (Canada)
The Minister of National Defence is a Minister of the Crown; the Canadian politician within the Cabinet of Canada responsible for the Department of National Defence which oversees the Canadian Forces....
at the time Gordon O'Connor
Gordon O'Connor
Gordon James O'Connor, is a retired Brigadier-General, businessman, lobbyist, and current Canadian Member of Parliament and the Minister of State and Chief Government Whip....
.
Missile
- Length: 2.05 m
- Diameter: 125 mm
- Launch weight: approx. 51 kg
- Speed: Mach 3+
- Range: 10 km
- Ceiling: 7,000 m
- Warhead: 12.5 kg high explosive (HE) fragmentationFragmentation (weaponry)Fragmentation is the process by which the casing of an artillery shell, bomb, grenade, etc. is shattered by the detonating high explosive filling. The correct technical terminology for these casing pieces is fragments , although shards or splinters can be used for non-preformed fragments...
/shaped chargeShaped chargeA shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Various types are used to cut and form metal, to initiate nuclear weapons, to penetrate armor, and in the oil and gas industry...
, impactFuse (explosives)In an explosive, pyrotechnic device or military munition, a fuse is the part of the device that initiates function. In common usage, the word fuse is used indiscriminately...
and proximity fuzeProximity fuzeA proximity fuze is a fuze that is designed to detonate an explosive device automatically when the distance to target becomes smaller than a predetermined value or when the target passes through a given plane...
. - Penetration: 900 mm rolled homogeneous armourRolled homogeneous armourRolled homogeneous armour is a type of steel which is used to armour vehicles.-Composition:Armoured steel must be hard yet impervious to shock in order to resist high velocity metal projectiles. Steel with these characteristics is produced by processing cast steel billets of appropriate size and...
(RHA) - Guidance: Digitally coded laserLaserA laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
beam-ridingBeam ridingBeam-riding, also known as beam guidance, is a technique of directing a missile to its target by means of radar or a laser beam. The name refers to the way the missile flies down the guidance beam, which is aimed at the target...
.
External links
- ADATS at the Canadian Army
- ADATS at FAS.org
- ADATS at Army Technology
- Oerlikon/Lockheed Martin MIM-146 ADATS at designation-systems.net Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles