The French company Thales has brought an individually laser-guided version of the well-known 70 mm unguided salvo rocket to series production at its Belgian ammunition branch FZ in Herstal. We spoke to FZ Sales & Marketing Director Daniel Emonts about the innovation and its advantages.
Mr. Emonts, anyone with an interest in the military has been familiar with the spectacular salvos from the containers with the many holes since Vietnam. Are these so-called “Hydra missiles” now to be replaced?
No, not replaced. But they are to be supplemented, made more intelligent and more economical. The FZ275-LGR missile now has a built-in laser seeker that can detect and capture a specially coded laser dot reflected from a target marked with it at ranges of up to six kilometers. This can be marked either before firing, after launch or even from an external, third-party source, such as a soldier on the ground or another flying platform such as a drone.
So this increases safety and the range of applications?
Yes, this versatility provides the helicopter with far greater survivability and the ability to make a true precision attack on a target from the distance without having to enter or linger too long in the area of enemy tube air defense or one-man air defense (note: manpads).
What requirements does the airplane or helicopter need for this?
Most of the sensors commonly used on helicopters today and which can be retrofitted include a laser marker. It also requires a helmet visor such as our Scorpion system. The guided version is compatible with our containers, which have been in use worldwide for decades with more than 2,000 units.
They come in three different sizes, don’t they?
Exactly: 7-, 12- or 19-tube, with interface for a wide variety of platforms. So for combat or light support aircraft, helicopters, UAVs, land vehicles and patrol boats. Guided and unguided versions can be mixed loaded and selectively chosen in one container for each reconnaissance position.
What about savings and efficiency?
No large air-to-ground missiles are required to combat pick-ups, lightly hardened vehicles, air defense positions, radars, communication points, parked aircraft or helicopters, smaller ships and speedboats, fighters in unfortified houses or snipers. The laser-guided 7 cm missile should be sufficient for 95 percent of targets in the helicopter segment and it only costs around 10,000 euros compared to the Hellfire, which costs around 100,000 euros.
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