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RSE Kriens | |
---|---|
Kriens RSe Missile on a duplex launcher at the Flieger-Flab-Museum | |
Type | Surface-to-air missile |
Place of origin | Switzerland |
Service history | |
In service | no |
Production history | |
Designed | 1959 |
Manufacturer | Oerlikon Contraves |
Produced | 1958–1966 |
Specifications | |
Mass | missile: 800 kg (empty 360 kg) |
Length | 5.4 m (17 ft 9 in) |
Diameter | 42 cm (1 ft 5 in) |
Warhead | 70 kg warhead |
Engine | Solid fuel |
Wingspan | 2.0 m (6 ft 7 in) |
Operational range | 35 km (22 mi) |
Flight ceiling | 27,000 m (89,000 ft) |
Maximum speed | Mach 2.9 |
Guidance system | Beam control |
Steering system | control surface |
Launch platform | vehicle or trailer |
RSE Kriens was a Swiss-developed air defence missile. It never entered service. It was named Kriens after Kriens, a village located in the canton of Lucerne.
From 1959 to 1966, Contraves, along with many other Swiss companies, developed the Kriens, while drawing on the experience of the guided missile system RSC / D, RSD 58. The missile project was funded by both private Swiss companies, as well as the federal government, and was developed up to production-ready stage. The first flight was on 23 March 1964.
The missile's modular system used advanced technology for the ground equipment and the missiles, and the whole system could be interconnected to a multi-part cluster, which included several radars and missile launchers. However, after introduction of the British Bristol Bloodhound as the BL-64 the project was cancelled by the EMD, and the missile was never mass-produced, neither for Switzerland nor for another nation. For export, the system was given the name 'Micon'.
A launcher with two missiles is held at the Flieger-Flab-Museum.
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Contraves built the research rocket Zenit-C using their experience and expertise from designing the Kriens.
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List of abbreviations, acronyms and initials related to military subjects such as modern armour, artillery, infantry, and weapons, along with their definitions.
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