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Thales Air Defence Starstreak
Thales Air Defence · Surface-to-Air · UK · Modern (1992–2009)
Starstreak is a British short-range surface-to-air missile that can be used as a man-portable air-defence system (MANPADS) or used in heavier systems. It is manufactured by Thales Air Defence in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is also known as Starstreak HVM. After launch, the missile accelerates to more than Mach 4, making it the fastest short-range surface-to-air missile in existence. It then launches three laser beam-riding submunitions, increasing the likelihood of a successful hit on the target. Starstreak has been in service with the British Army since 1997. In 2012 Thales relaunched the system as ForceSHIELD.
Specifications
- Category
- Missiles
- Sub-Category
- SAM
- Domain
- Defence
- Era
- Modern (1992–2009)
- Country
- UK
- Manufacturer
- Thales Air Defence
- Operator
- UK/export
- Primary Role
- Surface-to-Air
- Status
- In Service
- Service Entry
- 1997
- Produced
- 7000
- Unit Cost (2026$)
- $150K
- Propulsion
- Rocket
- Engine
- Royal Ordnance 2-stage solid-fuel rocket
- Thrust / Power
- None (rocket)
- Launch
- Ground/Air/Sea-launched
- Length (ft)
- 4.4
- Wingspan (ft)
- 0.6
- Empty Weight (lb)
- 16
- MTOW (lb)
- 35
- Payload (lb)
- 7
- Service Ceiling (ft)
- 16400
- Range (mi)
- 4
- Max Speed (mph)
- 2684
- Max Speed (Mach)
- 3.5
- Armament
- 3x tungsten dart kinetic / blast