SOUTH AFRICAN MISSILE MANUFACTURER Kentron unveiled a mock-up of its long-range anti-air missile (LRAAM) at the Paris air show in June. The weapon is now in development for an unspecified Asian customer. The missile uses the Kentron SAHV surface-to-air weapon, coupled with a Somchem ramjet and an imaging infra red (IIR) seeker. To avoid seeker-head heating during the missile's Mach 2.3 flight to the target, it is fitted with a cap, which is discarded only in the final stages of the engagement. The missile offers a considerably larger engagement envelope, than does the rocket-powered SAHV-IR. The company is also looking to develop a family of air-to-air weapons round the 180mm-diameter SAHV airframe with IIR and active-radar seeker. The latter programme dubbed Super Darter, is to meet a South African Air Force requirement, for a rocket/ramjet active radar beyond-visual-range missile, for the first decade of the next century.
Source: Flight International