Military

Rapier Field Standard C (FSC)

The Rapier missile development began in the 1960s, when a requirement was identified for a mobile, surface-to-air missile system for protecting strategic assets from attack by low-flying aircraft. Rapier was being designed to augment the larger, less maneuverable Bloodhound system.

A Rapier is an offensive weapon of bronze distinguished from the sword by the slenderness of its blade and the simple butt for rivet hafting, both of which would limit its usefulness to a thrusting, rather than a slashing blow. It developed in the Middle Bronze Age by lengthening of the dagger, and was replaced by the slashing sword in the Late Bronze Age of central and northwest Europe.

Rapiers and dirks are two-edged bladed weapons with the upper end of the blade widening into a flat butt or hilt-plate with rivet-holes or notches for attaching a hilt. The remains of hilts often consist of bone, ivory and horn. The only difference between a dirk and a rapier is that a Rapier is over 30cm long and therefore considered to be more of a thrusting weapon and a Dirk is under 30cm and so more useful for stabbing. Some rapiers could have been used as weapons but the fragility of a number of them, especially the ones found in rivers and bogs and other 'wet' contexts, indicates that perhaps they were votive offerings and not created to be used as weapons. Many dirks and rapiers show evidence of reworking and additional rivet holes and notches perhaps showing that they were of high value as they were not simply thrown away when damaged.

The British Aircraft Corporation had already been working on its own private venture system, Sightline, when the Ministry of Defence issued a requirement, ET.316, for a mobile surface-to-air system. Initially, the MoD was planning to buy the American Mauler missile system, but when Mauler was cancelled, they turned to the BAC Sightline project and provided financial assistance to ensure the development programme was successfully completed. During the early trials of the Rapier missile, as it became known, it was found to be very accurate, therefore it relied upon a direct impact on its target, rather than using large proximity fused warheads used by its competitor missiles.

The Rapier missile system entered service with the British Army and the Royal Air Force in 1971. It initially used and optical tracker but this was found to have limitations and so later versions were delivered with the Blindfire tracking radar.

A mobile tracked version of Rapier was developed for the Shah of Iran, but following the collapse of the Shah’s government before deliveries could take place the system was offered to the British Army. Tracked Rapier entered service with the British Army in Germany in 1982. The Rapier system has been continually developed and the latest version, Rapier FSC (Field Standard C) entered British Army service in 1996.

The Rapier FSC system provides a Low Level Air Defence (LLAD) capability over the battlefield. It consists of a launcher with 8 ready to fire missiles and an electro-optical tracker. Each fire unit can cover an Air Defence Area (ADA) of approximately 100 square kms.