Cobra-1 Surface-to-Air Missile System
From Themarshallwiki
The Cobra-1 is a highly advanced, integrated surface to air missile and gun system that is produced by by a consortium of Latin American armament companies. It services with all three parts of the Latin American armed forces including the Ejercito, Armada, Infanteria de Marina, and Fuerza Aerea.
The system consists of the following:
- A pulse doppler phased array Surveillence Radar
- A phased array Tracking/Fire Control Radar
- An Electro-optical Tracker
- A Laser Range Finder
- An Infrared Tracker
- 8 Cobra-1 Missiles
- 2 35mm Oerlikon KD series Cannon
In the Army, and Infanteria de Marina, it is a mobile short range air defence platform that provides protection for fast moving formations. For this, it is mounted on the TLAM chassis as the VCDA (Spanish: Vehiculo de Combate de Defensa Aerea). In this configuration, two operators sit inside the turret, with the missiles mounted on the turret sides. On the rear of the turret is an elevated structure that houses the surveillence radar, and the two 35mm cannon, which have a firing rate of 550 rpm each.
For lighter Army units it is mounted on the semi-armoured MAN 15t 8x8 truck in a demountable shelter and fire unit.
The Navy and Air Force use it in a containerised form as the Cobra-1 SCDA (Spanish: Sistema en Contenedor de Defensa Aerea; Containerised Air Defence System). This is used for the static close range air defence of airfields, and ports. The system is based on a standard 40' ISO Container, which contains a cabin for two operators, plus all required electrical generation, and electronic components. A low profile turret holds the radars, missiles, and guns. The Navy also uses this system on pre-positioning ships, civilian ships requisitioned for war, auxiliary ships, and has tested the system on container trucks and trains.
The radar has a range of twenty kilometres. The phased array tracking/fire control radar can track six targets, and can direct missiles to three separate targets within a 90 degree arc of the front of the vehicle. The surveillence radar rotates, while the tracking radar is steered electronically, and consists of two panels, one fixed at 20 degrees above boresight, the other fixed at 60 degrees above boresight, giving azimuth coverage of 90 degrees, and elevation coverage of -10 to +105 degrees.
The missile tubes can elevate to 70 degrees, and the guns to 85 degrees (reflecting the short range use of the guns)
The turret system, truck-mounted shelter and fire unit, and containerised system are available for export. All versions have 8 missiles, 2 cannon, and 340 rounds of 35mm ammunition in two 170 round containers (one to each gun).
Both operators have identical controls, and one operator can do all tasks, however it is normal to allocate one operator (the senior operator) to finding targets, and another to act as gunner.
The system can be fired in the semi-automatic mode, in which the crew designate a target and press the firing button. The Cobra-1's computer will then execute the fire mission automatically, firing the missiles when in range, and using the guns if the missile misses. The semi-automatic mode is IFF-dependent. If the computer registers a friendly IFF rturn from a target, semi-automatic mode will not function. The weapon can also be fired manually. If the tracking/fire control radar is down, the crew can aim and fire from the surveillence radar. If all radars are down, the EO, or IR trackers can be used to aim and fire. The weapon can also be fired directly at ground target, and is devastating against light armour. Normally a number of anti-tank rounds are carried for self defence.
The Missile
The Cobra-1 is a hyper velocity automatic command to line of sight guided missile, with a semi-automatic back up mode. It has three stage solid fuel rocket motor. The first stage is a launch motor that pops the Cobra-1 from its launch tube burning out shortly after. The second state is a boost motor that accelerates the missile to Mach 2.7. The final stage is the flight motor that sustains it to its maximum range of 15km. The missile has a 10kg blast fragmentation warhead that can destroy any aircraft. The Cobra-1 missile has a limited capability against armour.
