Roland (air defence)
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| Roland | |
|---|---|
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| Basic data | |
| Function | Surface to air missile |
| Manufacturer | Euromissile |
| Entered service | |
| General characteristics | |
| Engine | Dual-thrust solid-fueled rocket:
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| Launch mass | 67 kg |
| Length | 2.40 m |
| Diameter | 16 cm |
| Wingspan | 50 cm |
| Speed | Mach 1.6 |
| Range | 8000 m |
| Flying altitude | 5500 m |
| Warhead | 6.5 kg (14.3 lb) pre-fragmented high-explosive |
| Guidance | tracking radar |
The Roland is a Franco-German mobile short-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system. The Roland is one of a very few foreign SAM system to be purchased for the US Army.
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[edit] Versions
Four different versions of Roland have been produced so far:
- Roland 1 - manual optical tracking and guidance, entered service 1977
- Roland 2 - full automatic tracking and guidance with radar, 1981
- Roland 3 - extended range, enlarged warhead, 1988
- Roland VT1 - hypervelocity missile
Current systems are capable of launching Roland 2, 3 or VT1 missiles.
[edit] Carriers
The Roland system has been installed on a variety of platforms, amongst them:
- tracked
- wheeled
An airliftable shelter named Roland CAROL has also been developed, which is a 7.8t container that can be deployed on the ground to protect fixed assets like airfields or depots or fitted on a truck.
[edit] Users
Roland is currently in service with the defence forces of France, Argentina, Brazil, Nigeria, Qatar, Slovenia (9x Roland II), Spain, and Venezuela. It is no longer in service in Germany, the USA[1] or Iraq.
[edit] Rolandgate
In 2003, controversy erupted between Poland and France when Polish forces from the Multinational force in Iraq found French Roland surface-to-air missiles and Polish and international press reported that Polish officers claimed had been manufactured in 2003. France pointed out that the latest Roland missiles were manufactured in the early 1990s and thus the manufacturing date was necessarily an error (it turned out it was probably the expiry date that was indicated), and affirmed that it had never sold weapons to Iraq in violation of the embargo. Investigations by the Polish authorities came to the conclusion that the persons responsible for the scandal were low level commanders, Wojskowe Służby Informacyjne the Polish Army's intelligence had not verified their claims before they were leaked to the press. Poland apologized to France for the scandal, but these allegations against France worsened the already somewhat strained relationships between the two countries. The entire incident was called sarcasticly "Rolandgate" by the Polish media, using the unofficial naming conventions of US political scandals after Watergate.
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
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