| Type 87 Chu-MAT | |
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The Type 87 launcher and laser designator on a single tripod. |
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| Type | Laser guided anti-tank missile |
| Place of origin | Japan |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1989 - present |
| Used by | Japan |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Defense Agency Technical Research and Development Institute |
| Designed | Late 1970s |
| Manufacturer | Kawasaki Heavy Industries[1] Mitsubishi Motors |
| Produced | 1987 to present |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | Missile 12 kg System 140 kg[2] |
| Length | 1 m |
| Crew | 3 |
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| Caliber | Between 110 and 120 mm[3] |
| Effective range | 2,000 m |
| Sights | Laser assisted sights |
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| Guidance system |
Laser |
The Type 87 Chū-MAT (87式対戦車誘導弾 87-shiki tai-sensha yūdō-dan) Chū-MAT is a Japanese laser guided anti-tank missile in service with the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces. It had been created as a front-line replace for the Type 64 MAT, pressed into service with the Type 79 Jyu-MAT.
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Development of the system began in 1976, missile trials were conducted in 1982, with a complete prototype system delivered in 1985.[4] The first units entering service with the JGSDF in 1989.[4] The system consists of a launcher, and laser designator mounted on a heavy tripod.
As of 2007, a project had been conducted by the Ministry of Defense Technical Research and Developmental Institute for testing on a new Anti-tank missile platform that would eventually replace the Type 87 in front-line service. As of now, the project's code name is known in the JSDF as the Shin Chu-MAT.[5]
The unit is situated on a tripod unit with the missile launcher and laser designator on it. The designator and launcher can be separated from each other by up to 200 meters, or can be mounted together on the same tripod, although Jane's notes that the exhaust gas from the missile may interrupt the designator laser.[3]
Like the Type 64 MAT and the Type 79 Jyu-MAT, it can be mounted onto a Mitsubishi Type 73 jeep or the Komatsu LAV for anti-armor roles.