AS-20
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The AS-20 (Type 5110) was a French air-to-surface missile developed during the late 1950s. It was similar to the American Bullpup missile. The AS-20 was based on an earlier Nord Aviation air-to-air missile the AA-20 (designated Type 5103). Only minor changes were required to make it an air-to-surface missile, the size of the warhead was increased as a result of replacing the large proximity fuze with a simple impact fuze. Approximately 8,000 of the missiles were built, with the missile entering service in 1961. It was phased out of service in most countries in the 1970s, being replaced in France by the large AS-30.
The AS-20 had four steeply swept-back fins, cruciform in cross-section around the mid section of its body. It used a dual-thrust solid rocket motor, which exhausted through two large nozzles during the boost stage, and a single steerable centerline nozzle during the sustain stage. Flares on the missile's rear allowed it to be optically tracked, with steering command signals being sent to the missile via a radio link.
[edit] Specifications
- Length: 2.6 m
- Wingspan: 0.80 m
- Diameter: 0.25 m
- Peak velocity: Mach 1.7
- Range: 10 km
- Weight: 143 kg
- Warhead weight: 33 kg
