Starstreak

Starstreak
A British Royal Artillery soldier protects an airfield with a man-portable Starstreak HVM system
TypeMan-portable/vehicle mounted surface-to-air missile
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1997–present
Used bySee § Operators
WarsRusso-Ukrainian War
Production history
Designed1980s
ManufacturerThales Air Defence
ProducedNovember 1986
No. built7,000
VariantsSee § Variants
Specifications (Starstreak High Velocity Missile)
Mass14 kg (31 lb)[1]
Length1.397 m (4 ft 7 in)
Diameter13 cm (5.1 in)

Effective firing rangeStarstreak: 0.3–7 km (0.186–4.35 mi)
Starstreak II: >7 km (4.35 mi)[2][3]
WarheadThree explosive sub-munitions ("darts")
Warhead weight3×0.9 kg (2.0 lb) tungsten alloy darts, 450 g (16 oz) PBX-98 per dart
Detonation
mechanism
Impact delay

EngineFirst stage: Royal Ordnance 'Brambling' cast double-based propellant blip rocket motor.
Second stage: Royal Ordnance 'Titus' cast double-based propellant
Flight ceiling7 km (22,966 ft)
Maximum speed More than Mach 3 at second stage burnout[4][3]
Guidance
system
SACLOS, Laser-beam guidance

Starstreak is a British short-range surface-to-air missile that can be used as a man-portable air-defence system (MANPADS) or used in heavier systems. It is manufactured by Thales Air Defence (formerly Shorts Missile Systems) in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is also known as Starstreak HVM (High Velocity Missile). After launch, the missile accelerates to more than Mach 4,[4][3] making it the fastest short-range surface-to-air missile in existence.[5] It then launches three laser beam-riding submunitions, increasing the likelihood of a successful hit on the target. Starstreak has been in service with the British Army since 1997. In 2012 Thales relaunched the system as ForceSHIELD.[5]

  1. ^ "Precision guidance with immunity to countermeasures" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  2. ^ "Starstreak II". thalesgroup.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05.
  3. ^ a b c "Starstreak II > High Velocity Missile (HVM)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-01-08. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  4. ^ a b "Starstreak – CLOSE AIR DEFENCE MISSILES". Defence Journal. January 1999. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference DN20140114 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).