EXACTOR missile?

one day it will be interesting to find out what impact a capability like that had on the counter IED success rate….

I did find this link related to an SNP MP who was hoping to ask in parliament how many Exactor missiles had been fired in Afghanistan:

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2011-10-21a.75244.h&s=angus+robertson+%2B+Exactor#g75244.q0

Wonder what his motivation is? (I don’t know but i suspect it to be similar to those suggested by Fedaykin)

Until then, if that is the most concise headline the Guardian could manage, I think the MOD would have nothing to worry about:D

Hello.

I recently watched the BBC documentary “Bomb Squad” about British counter IED work in Afghanistan.

At one point in the documentary a team laying an IED was blown up by a missile launched from Camp Bastion.

Later on in the documentary one of the subjects referred to it as an “Extracter” missile but then corrected himself and said “Exacter”.

I have had a look online and it seems to be something that is not very official ( i found another reference on a forum but they were unsure of the weapon involved, and apparently questions have been tabled in parliament (or some such).

Does anyone have any information on this shadowy weapon deployment (is it fireshadow?)

Would have to guess its a Spike Extender,
they are a few variant’s SR and LR + Extender, sounds like exactor maybe
Spike Extender is what i would say was used.

Well this all spreads a light on the very murky world of British UOR’s in recent years.

Some UOR’s get a significant amount of publicity for example the Supercat Jackal (including a guest spot on Top Gear) to deflect criticism of procurement mess ups like FRES. Other UOR’s get little to no publicity like C-RAM, officially for operational security reasons but more often or not to cover aspects that the politicians or MOD find embarrasing.

Going on this video I would say SPIKE-NLOS role would be highly desirable in the counter IED role and the fact its M113 mounted fits in with the idea of an off the shelf purchase from Rafael.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0AZ-1mXfxQ&feature=related

Now the official reason for keeping the system secret due to operational security and protecting the troops is feasible but I see some issues. Firstly other systems in the public eye like Predator armed with Hellfire could and do perform the same role. The catch with Predator being it would be far more expensive to operate 24-7 then a SPIKE-NLOS troop in Bastion. Which then leads me to the other conclusion that the politicians and MOD find the weapons purchase problematic in a PR sense. The video actually shows that PR problem, if the army reveals it uses SPIKE-NLOS how long before there is a headline in the Guardian shouting:

“Missile used by the IDF in extrajudicial killings of Palestinians in the occupied territories now in service with British Army!”

Regardless of the lives of British soldiers saved by the system (at a saving to the tax payer to boot) the press with have a field day with it. Add to that the PR fallout in the Arab nations and Muslim world of an offensive missile system from Israel being used in a Muslim country.

well my interpretation of the sequence of events was that the missile was fired from Bastion and targeted individuals who were by the side of a compound (therefore needing input from another party to find the target).

And it certainly appeared that the army were observing the IED laying team, because we saw footage of it (apparently)….

Hmmm I’m sure I heard rumour a few years back that the prefered replacement for Milan in the British army was a SPIKE variant. I believe the politicos regarded a purchase of this type of weapon from Israel as politically sensitive and Javelin got selected instead. Not that I am saying that there is anything wrong with Javelin, I think the lads on the ground love it.

Looking at the video below of a SPIKE-NLOS launch I can see why it would be desirable in the counter IED role. I’m sure I saw another video of it being steered by a remote terminal, so a forward party observing the IED being layed could then control the missile fired from the base.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXw9SqnXqZQ

I believe Janes found out via the Beeb too as far as I can tell….?[/QUOTE]

Unlikely. Various people, including old Mercurius, have been trying to get to the bottom of this affair for some months now.

Obviously code words are used, but does anyone know what an ONSLAUGHT 85 missile might be? It seems to have at least HEAT and FRAG warheads and is used by the British in Afghanistan

I have my suspicions, but no hard evidence. I am still working on the problem.

thanks for the reply. That was suggested on another forum too. There aren’t too many choices really i suppose.

I believe Janes found out via the Beeb too as far as I can tell….?

Obviously code words are used, but does anyone know what an ONSLAUGHT 85 missile might be? It seems to have at least HEAT and FRAG warheads and is used by the British in Afghanistan

Definitely not Fire Shadow – Exactor has been in service for several years. Jane’s is suggesting that it’s Spike-NLOS. That sounds like a reasonable hypothesis.