Starburst surface-to-air missile

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Starburst
History

Type	Short-range surface-to-air missile
Nationality	United Kingdom
Era	Present day/Recent Past
Launch platform	Shoulder Mounted
Target	Air Units
Builder	Shorts Missile Systems (Thales Air Defence Limited)
Date of design
Production period
Service duration	1990
Operators	United Kingdom, Canada, Kuwait, Malaysia (504 missiles)
Variants
Number built	10,000 built by 1999
Specifications
Type
Diameter
Wing span	0.194 m
Length	1.394 m
Weight	15.2 kg (in launch tube)
Propulsion	2 stage solid fuel rocket motor
Steering
Guidance	Laser beam SACLOS
Speed	> Mach 1
Range	0.3 - 7 km
Ceiling
Payload
Warhead	2.74 kg HE fragmentation
Trigger	Proximity and contact fuze

Starburst is a British man-portable surface-to-air missile produced by Shorts Missile Systems of Belfast (since 2002 known as Thales Air Defence Limited). It is used by the British Army, Malaysian Army and Canadian Army. It can be fired from the shoulder or from a launcher known as Starburst LML - Lightweight Multiple Launcher.

The missile is a development of Javelin missile, retaining the Javelin missile body but replacing the radio command system with a laser transmission system. This is much more difficult to jam than the radio based system. It entered service in 1990 and replaced the Javelin by 1993. In 1992 the proximity fuze was improved. Starburst was first used in combat in the 1991 Gulf War.

It is being replaced in British service by the Starstreak missile.