Polyphem
The Polyphem was a proposed European light-weight fibre-optic wire-guided surface-to-surface missile with a range of 60 km.[1] The project was cancelled in 2003.
Synopsis
[edit | edit source]Polyphem is the German name of Polyphemus, the cyclops in the Odyssey that got his eye stabbed out by Ulysses.
The Polyphem missile uses a sealed round, a solid propellant booster rocket to launch the missile out of its canister to an initial height, so that the wings and control surfaces can unfold, and a more fuel economic turbojet cruise engine kicks in to propel the missile.
The missile can be programmed to follow a preset course, using GPS or inertial guidance. An infrared seeker can be used to automatically pick a target and for the terminal guidance phase, but it is also possible to transfer the thermal images back to the launching platform via a 200 MBit/s data link provided by an optical fibre, and manually select the target.
The Polyphem program was started in 1994 by Germany, France and Italy. Italy later left the project.[1]
A naval version, called Polyphem-S, was initially selected for the Braunschweig class corvette as anti-ship and land-attack missile, but that has been cancelled.
The Polyphem program as a whole was cancelled in 2003.[2]
The system is roughly comparable to the Serbian ALAS missile.
Specifications
[edit | edit source]- Speed: 120—180 m/s (around 430—650 km/h)
- Range: up to 60 km
- Altitude: 20 to 600 m above ground (variable)
- Missile mass: around 130 kg
- Length: 2.70 m
- Warhead: up to 20 kg
See also
[edit | edit source]- ALAS
- CM-501G
- FOG-MPM
- MGM-157 EFOGM
- XM501 non-line-of-sight launch system
- Type 96 multi-purpose missile system