Airborne: A Guided Tour of an Airborne Task Force

the AT-4 capable of defeating over 95 percent of the armored targets found on the modern battlefield.

The AT-4’s firing sequence is as easy as could be: simply pull the safety pin, unsnap the shoulder stop, and place the weapon on your shoulder. Next you release the sight, pull the cocking lever, and aim at the target. All there is left to do is to push the red safety catch and pull the trigger. You needn’t brace yourself for a tremendous recoil either — the average recoil force for the AT-4 is comparable to that of the M16 combat rifle. Once the missile leaves its launch tube, it flies a flat trajectory to the target. Once the missile hits the target, the powerful HEAT warhead detonates, destroying (hopefully) the target.

The AT-4 has been a good value for the U.S. military. The weapon’s light weight makes it easy for one soldier to carry and use. It is also extremely rugged, and has demonstrated a reliability of over 95 percent in combat. However, the AT-4 has two drawbacks. The first of these is that it is not capable of destroying heavy tanks or vehicles fitted with reactive armor. The second problem is that the AT-4 is unguided, so accuracy is not up to par with that of a guided missile such as TOW or Javelin. One of the ways that the military has been able to dramatically increase AT-4 gunner performance is with extensive use of the M287 trainer model. The firing sequence is exactly the same as that for the AT-4 except that instead of firing a rocket, a 9mm tracer bullet is fired, showing the user where the round has hit. This enables any soldier to inexpensively train for actual AT-4 use without the high cost of expending actual rounds. However, there is already a program to replace the AT-4 in at least part of its mission. The new weapon is called Predator.

Predator Antitank Missile

The two primary shortcomings of the AT-4 (no guidance system and a lack of reactive armor penetration) caused the Army to quickly realize that eventually the rocket would need to be replaced. The Marines took the lead on this effort, because like the airborne, they needed to deal with heavy armored threats while also balancing their need to remain light rapid-response troops. They were the first service to decide to begin a program to replace the AT-4 beginning in the next century. What the Marines decided they wanted was a disposable, short-range, man- portable, day/night/adverse-weather, guided weapon capable of defeating any heavy armored threat into the foreseeable future. Five companies were selected in 1989 to participate in Phase I of what became known as the Short Range Attack (SRAW) missile program. After being overlooked in Phase I, Loral Aeronutronic (now part of Lockheed Martin) won the SRAW competition in 1990, and was awarded a demonstration/validation contract. The missile was named Predator, and is designed to put a powerful guided antitank weapon into the hands of any ordinary foot soldier.

With a range of over 750 meters and the capability to defeat heavy armor, the Predator will soon enter service with the U.S. Marine Corps. The U.S. Army, while seeing the need for a weapon like Predator, was slower to respond. Most likely, it did not want to jeopardize the funding for the Javelin program. If the Army had asked the DoD or Congress for the cheaper (and shorter-range) Predator, the funding for the Javelin might have been cut. Recently, though, the Army has decided that more than a short-range antiarmor weapon, it needs a direct-attack weapon to defeat bunkers. This resulted in what the Army calls the Multi-Purpose Individual Munition (MPIM) SRAW. The missile uses the same launcher and nearly the same missile as the Marines’ Predator, though with a different warhead. The MPIM/SRAW can be used to attack such targets as bunkers, reinforced concrete structures, and light armored vehicles. Because the launcher is the same for the Predator as for the MPIM/SRAW, all the Army would have to do to acquire an antitank variant would be to start buying the Predator missiles under the Marine program. Either way, the Predator/MPIM systems will dramatically change the way a soldier of the future views any obstacles his enemy can throw his way.

^{A cutaway of the Lockheed Martin Loral Anti-Tank Missile.}

^{JACK RYAN ENTERPRISES, LTD., BY LAURA ALPHER}

FIM-92 Stinger/Avenger Surface-to-Air Missile System

Is it possible for a weapon system to have such great value on the battlefield that it actually turns the political tide of a war? If so, the man-portable Stinger SAM is just such a system. In the 1980s the Reagan Administration made the decision to supply advanced Stinger man-portable surface-to-air missiles to the Mujahadeen rebels fighting the occupying Soviet armies in Afghanistan. Several years later, the Soviets withdrew their forces — defeated. Many in both America and the former Soviet Union firmly believe that if any single factor contributed to this withdrawal, it was the fact that the Russian helicopters and aircraft were unable to fly unhindered and gain control of the air in such a fashion as to provide support for their troops on the ground. Stingers in the hands of the Mujahadeen were the reason.

What type of weapon can have this type of impact? Well, the Stinger missile was designed to replace the Redeye man-portable SAM system which entered service with the U.S. military in 1967. The problem with the Redeye was that it was a “tail-chase” weapon, which meant that the Redeye’s infrared seeker needed a very hot heat source to home in on in order to lock onto its target. This was usually possible only when chasing after the heat plume coming from the rear of a jet’s engine. Unfortunately, soldiers usually only see the rear of an enemy aircraft’s jet after it drops its bombs onto the target. Thus the Redeye could usually engage the aircraft only after it was too late. Another disadvantage of the Redeye system was that it could only attack aircraft that were flying Mach 1. Thus, if an enemy pilot wanted to escape a Redeye, all he needed to do was speed up. A final problem for Redeye was that it was a very easy missile to decoy. Even as the Redeye began to enter service in 1967, the Army and Marine Corps were aware that a somewhat more advanced man-portable SAM was needed. Design, development, and testing of a Redeye replacement took nearly a decade. It was worth the wait, however, and the result was the FIM-92 Stinger missile, which began to enter service in 1979.

The Stinger missile, manufactured by Hughes Missile System Company, is a truly incredible system which has been combat-proven time and time again. The system itself, sometimes referred to as MANPADS Stinger (Man-Portable Air-Defense System), consists of a fiberglass launcher assembly with missile, a grip stock, an argon gas-charged Battery/Coolant Unit (BCU), and an Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) Interrogator. The FIM-92 missile has a two-stage solid-propellant rocket motor with different types of infrared and/or ultraviolet guidance systems fitted for subsequent models of the missile (FIM-92A, 92B, 92C, etc.).

Stinger MANPADS are usually accompanied by a crew chief, a gunner, and some type of vehicle carrying extra Stinger reloads (often an HMMWV). Once a target is sighted, the gunner can interrogate it using the IFF transponder to establish if it is hostile. Seven tenths of a second after the IFF switch is pressed, an audible tone will inform the gunner if the target is friend or foe. Should the target prove hostile, the gunner can activate the system by energizing the BCU with the impulse generator switch. When sufficient UV/IR energy is received to get a lock-on, another audible signal indicates that the missile is ready for launch. The gunner then depresses the firing trigger and less than two seconds later, the ejector motor has ignited and the missile is on its way. Once Stinger has been launched, it is very difficult to decoy. This is especially true of later versions of the missile, which are highly jam- and decoy-resistant. After the entire launch sequence, the MANPADS crew can reload and engage another target almost immediately. The only drawback is that MANPADS cannot fire on the move.

To remedy this problem the Army and Marine Corps began buying the Avenger Pedestal-Mounted Stinger system. Manufactured by Boeing Defense and Space Group, the Avenger is the first successful fire-on-the-move SAM system to enter production. It combines the technology of the Stinger missile with the speed and mobility of the HMMWV chassis. The system has eight missiles fitted in a turret mounted on the Hummer. The system is highly mobile and can be carried into the field by transport aircraft as small as a C-130, as well as CH-46E and CH-47D helicopters. The entire system is somewhat more capable than the Stinger MANPADS system because the vehicle allows more capable targeting equipment to be carried. Examples of this are a low-cost FLIR sensor, an eye-safe laser range finder, and a heads-up optical sight. Another interesting capability of the Avenger is its ability to allow the crew to engage targets from remote positions over 150 feet/45.7 meters away from the fire unit by using a