Missile Milan

MILAN (Missile d'Infanterie Léger Antichar, "Lightweight Infantry Anti-tank Missile") is a Franco-West German second-generation anti-tank guided missile. Design began in 1962 under a joint program. The system was ready for trials in 1971, entered service in 1972, and became a standard anti-tank weapon across most NATO armies.

The system consists of a launcher and a missile. The missile is propelled by a solid-fuel rocket and steered by jet deflection. Guidance is wire-based semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS): the operator keeps the sight on the target, and the launch post tracks a tail-mounted infrared or electronic-flash lamp to generate steering commands. Wire guidance makes the missile immune to radio jamming and flares. Its drawbacks are short range, operator exposure, and vulnerability to overland power lines. MIRA or MILIS thermal sights provide night-firing capability. The weapon is fired from a tripod by infantry teams or mounted on vehicles.

Variants:

• MILAN 1 (1972): single shaped-charge warhead.
• MILAN 2 (1984): larger HEAT warhead with a stand-off probe that nearly doubles penetration. It entered French, West German and British service.
• MILAN 2T (1993): tandem shaped charges. The precursor charge detonates explosive reactive armour, clearing the path for the main charge.
• MILAN 3 (mid-1990s): tandem warhead and a coded electronic beacon that switches its emission on and off. This lets the launch post distinguish the missile from infrared jammers such as the Soviet Shtora, which emitted a constant signal that sent false steering commands to flare-tracked missiles.
• MILAN ER: extended range and improved penetration.

MILAN has been widely exported and license-produced in India and the United Kingdom. Current operators include France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Turkey, India, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Algeria, Syria and numerous African states. Bahrain and Jordan mount it on AIFV-B-Milan vehicles, and Mexico on Panhard VBL scout cars. In Germany it is fired from the Marder infantry fighting vehicle. France began replacing it with the MMP in 2017.

The British Army and Royal Marines used it as an infantry weapon and in the FV120 Spartan MCT turret until it was replaced by the FGM-148 Javelin in 2005. Ireland also replaced it with Javelin, Australia withdrew it in the early 1990s, and Belgium replaced it with Spike-LR in 2014. Non-state users have included UNITA, the PKK, the YPG, the Free Syrian Army and ISIL.

Combat use:

• Falklands War (1982): British forces used it against Argentine bunkers at Goose Green, Mount Longdon, Two Sisters and Wireless Ridge.
• Chadian–Libyan conflict: French-supplied missiles, often mounted on Toyota pickups, engaged Libyan armour, including T-55s, in the Aouzou Strip.
• Soviet–Afghan War: the United States supplied the system to the Mujahideen for use against Soviet armour.
• Lebanon: Syria took delivery in 1978–1979 and used the missiles in the Lebanese Civil War, including against Israeli tanks in 1982.
• Iraq: French-supplied missiles were used by Iraqi forces in both Gulf Wars.
• Gulf War (1991): a French-operated launcher claimed seven T-55s, and British forces also engaged T-55s.
• Angola (1985): South African Special Forces MILAN teams supported UNITA in the Cazombo Salient during Operation Wallpaper.

The system has also been used in the Western Sahara War, Opération Licorne, the Libyan Civil War, the Northern Mali conflict and Operation Sangaris. In 2010, French troops killed four Afghan civilians with a MILAN during a firefight in Kapisa Province.

In the Syrian Civil War it was fielded by the Republican Guard and captured from government depots by rebels and ISIL. In 2014, Germany supplied Peshmerga forces with MILAN 2 systems from storage, which were used against ISIL vehicle-borne IEDs. France delivered MILAN missiles to Ukraine in 2022 following the Russian invasion.