Finnish Army Buys More RBS-70 MANPADS
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Saab Bofors Dynamics has signed a SEK 600 million (currently about $85.4 million) contract for the RBS-70 short-range, man-portable air defense system (MANPADS) with the Finnish army, including missiles and maintenance equipment. First delivery is expected at the end of 2008, and the order secures production of the RBS-70 until 2010. Saab release.
Unlike competitors such as Raytheon’s FIM-92 Stinger, MBDA’s Mistral, or KBM’s SA-18 Igla, the RBS-70 is an ‘unjammable’ laser beam-riding missile with no seeker head at the front….
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The RBS-70 is a bit heavy for shoulder firing, and is handled from a tripod. The system can be carried in its component parts by 3 infantry soldiers. Target acquisition includes an IFF phase, but once fired, the missile locks on and vents its propulsion exhaust through the mid-section. This allows the laser beam riding system to fit in the tail, where it is extremely difficult to jam.
Its GlobalSecurity.org entry adds that the RBS-70 Mk 2 uses the Linear Quadratic Method based on the Kalman Theory for missile guidance, whereupon it delivers a 1-2 punch using a shaped charge surrounded by more than 3,000 tungsten pellets.
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The Bolide missile is an RBS 70 Mk 2 upgrade that is faster (Mach 2 vs Mach 1.6), with a range up to 8 km (4.8 miles), an adaptable proximity fuse that gives it full effectiveness against a wider variety of targets, and new reprogrammable electronics. The 4th generation system incorporates the BOLIDE all-target missile, BORC clip-on thermal imager, a digital IFF Interrogator, a PC-based training simulator, and an external power supply for training. These improvements reportedly allow the RBS-70 Bolide to be deployed against surface targets as well, which makes it an especially interesting choice for naval use given the proliferation of small fast attack boat threats.
In a complete air defense system configuration, up to 9 RBS-70 firing tripods can be connected to a surveillance radar like Ericsson’s Giraffe 75, enabling all C3I functions. If the missile firing positions are set 4 km apart, the resulting networked VSHORAD battery protects an area of 175 square kilometers. A number of radar options are available for the RBS-70, including automatic threat evaluation, autonomous operations, et. al.
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Beyond Sweden, RBS-70 sales have been made over the years to Argentina, Bahrain, Brazil, Indonesia, Iran, Republic of Ireland, Norway, Pakistan, Singapore, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates. All together, Saab says that more than 16,000 missiles have been produced over 4 product generations.
In the last 3-4 years, the Australians have retired their Rapier systems in favour of the RBS-70 system (SEK 600M, incl. SEK 150M for 170 new Bolide missiles). Lithuania received RBS-70 missiles as a gift from Norway to protect critical infrastructure like the Ignalina nuclear plant, while Latvia (ex-Swedish launchers, unspecified missiles for SEK 185M) and the Czech Republic (SEK 204M, 16 launchers & 200 missiles) have also purchased the RBS-70, and Finland now adds an additional order to the $30 million order of RBS-70 missiles in 2002, as part of its $120 million, 16 vehicle ASRAD-R system order.
DID would add that that the SIPRI “Register of the transfers of major conventional weapons from Sweden 1995-2005” [PDF format] also lists Mexico (100 missiles, supplier uncertain in 1993) and Thailand (85, in 1996 & 2001) as having these missiles in inventory. GlobalSecurity.org adds Venezuela’s Air Force, and the FAV Club site claims that an RBS-70 was successfully used to shoot down an OV-10 during a 1992 coup attempt.
Additional Readings
- Saab – RBS 70
- Army Technology – RBS 70 Short-Range Anti-Aircraft Missile, Sweden
