ERYX

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ERYX
History

Type	Anti-tank
Nationality	France
Era	Cold War, modern
Launch platform	Individual, Vehicle
Target	Vehicles, fortifications, helicopters
Builder	MBDA
Date of design
Production period	1989
Service duration	1994
Operators	Canadian, French, Norwegian armies
Variants
Number built
Specifications
Type
Diameter	0.136 m
Wing span
Length	0.905 m
Weight	10.2 kg (13 kg with launcher, Firing post weight 4.5 kg)
Propulsion
Steering
Guidance	SACLOS wire
Speed	18 m/s (65 km/h) at launch to 245 m/s (880 km/h) at 600 m
Range	50–600 m
Ceiling
Payload
Warhead	137 mm diameter 3.6 kg tandem HEAT (penetrating 0.9 m through RHA behind reactive armour, or 2.5 m through concrete)
Trigger

This article is about the guided anti-tank missile. For other uses of the word Eryx, see Eryx (disambiguation).

ERYX is a short-range man-portable SACLOS-based wire-guided anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) produced by European company MBDA. It is used by several countries, including the Canadian, French, and Norwegian armies. The weapon can also be used against bunkers and pillboxes. It also has some capability in the anti aircraft role to bring down low flying helicopters, due to its wire guided system.

1 Development
2 Description
3 Operators
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Development

An agreement was reached in 1989 between the French and Canadian governments to co-produce the ERYX missile system. It entered service in 1994.

[edit] Description

The missile uses a low-speed "soft launch" that enables it to be fired from confined spaces. This enables it to be used effectively in an urban setting. The missile is then accelerated by a sustainer motor to its maximum speed of 245 m/s at 600 m, which it reaches in 4.3 seconds. The missile's initial low speed is controlled by use of thrust vectoring; the missile has two exhausts around the mid section which fire as the missile rotates.

The missile uses SACLOS guidance, the launcher tracks a light source on the rear of the missile and compares its position with the centre of the launcher's crosshair, sending corrective signals down a trailing control wire. The missile increases resistance to jamming by pulsing the light source on the rear of the missile.

The missile uses two warheads ("tandem" warheads) in order to defeat reactive armour; a small warhead at the front of the missile and a larger warhead at the rear.

According to MBDA claims the missile has achieved a hit rate of 95%, based on 1,000 test firings.