In the forties of the last century, the Swiss company Oerlikon became the world's leading manufacturer of anti-aircraft artillery systems. In the mid-forties, shortly after the appearance of the first foreign projects of anti-aircraft guided missiles, similar work was unfolded at Oerlikon. Not wanting to lose leadership in the field of weapons for air defense, the Swiss company began developing the RSA project. The project was carried out jointly with the Contraves company. Later, these companies merged, but at that time they were independent and independent organizations. The former Oerlikon Contraves AG is now called Rheinmetall Air Defense.
The development of a promising anti-aircraft missile began in 1947. As part of the RSA project, it was supposed to use the latest technologies at that time, which in theory could provide sufficient combat characteristics. Nevertheless, the electronics of that time were not perfect enough, which is why during the project several times it was necessary to carry out serious modifications to both the rocket and the ground part of the anti-aircraft complex. It should be noted that the main features of the project, such as the guidance system or the general layout of the rocket, remained unchanged throughout the project.
In the early fifties, the RSA program reached the stage of missile construction and testing. By this time, the promising rocket was called RSC-50. A little later, after another revision, the rocket received a new designation - RSC-51. It was under this name that the anti-aircraft missile system was offered for export.
In the design of the RSC-51 rocket, some new ideas and solutions were used, but its general appearance was typical for equipment of this class, created in the forties. All the necessary units were placed inside a cigar-shaped metal case 5 meters long and with a maximum diameter of 40 cm. In the middle part of the hull, trapezoidal X-shaped wings with rudders were attached. An interesting design feature of the rocket was the method of assembling the parts. So, the body was proposed to be made from a stamped metal blank using glue. Wings were assembled using a similar technology.
A high-explosive fragmentation warhead weighing 20 kg with a radar fuse, control equipment, as well as a liquid-propellant rocket engine with fuel and oxidizer tanks were placed inside the rocket body. The engine of this type was chosen due to the lack of solid propellant engines with sufficient performance. Liquid engines of that time were not very convenient and reliable in operation, but the characteristics and the lack of suitable solid fuel units affected the final choice. The engine used could develop a thrust of up to 1000 kg for 30 seconds. With a rocket launch weight of about 300 kg, this provided it with fairly high performance. The design speed of the rocket was 1.8 times the speed of sound. The fuel supply and speed made it possible to hit subsonic targets at a distance of up to 20 km from the launcher. The estimated maximum target hitting height was close to 20 kilometers.
The radio electronic systems of the late forties could not be called perfect. Because of this, the Swiss designers had to conduct a comparative analysis of several guidance techniques and use the one that could provide high accuracy with an acceptable complexity of equipment. Following the comparison, the RSC-51 anti-aircraft complex used radio beam guidance. The complex included a separate guidance radar station, whose duties included target illumination with a radio beam. After launch, the rocket itself had to keep inside this beam, adjusting its trajectory when leaving it. According to some reports, the receiving antennas of the guidance system were located at the ends of the rocket's wings. The radio beam guidance system made it possible to simplify the missile onboard systems.
MX-1868
The applied guidance system was simple to manufacture and operate (in comparison with other systems), and was also protected from interference. However, the simplification of guidance systems, including its ground component, affected the accuracy. The guidance radar could not change the beam width, which is why, at a large distance from the station, the rocket, remaining inside the beam, could deviate greatly from the target. In addition, there were quite large restrictions on the minimum flight altitude of the target: the radio beam reflected from the ground interfered with the operation of the rocket electronics. Solving these problems was not considered a top priority. Nevertheless, in the course of the development of the RSC-51 project, some improvements were made aimed at increasing the accuracy of guidance and flexibility of use.
The ground part of the RSC-51 anti-aircraft missile system could be manufactured both in a self-propelled and in a towed version. The complex included two-boom launchers, as well as search and guidance radars on their own chassis. Each anti-aircraft battalion, armed with an RSC-51 air defense system, was supposed to consist of three batteries. The battery was supposed to include two launchers and a guidance radar. To search for targets, the division was proposed to be equipped with a common radar station capable of finding targets at a distance of up to 120 kilometers. Thus, the detection radar was supposed to monitor the situation and, if necessary, transmit information about the targets to the batteries. If necessary, the operators of the guidance radar could use optical means of detecting targets, but this reduced the capabilities of the complex as a whole.
The proposed method of completing the divisions ensured sufficiently high combat characteristics. The RSC-51 air defense missile system division in just one minute could fire up to 12 missiles at targets, simultaneously attacking up to three enemy aircraft. Thanks to the self-propelled or towed chassis, all the facilities of the complex could be quickly transferred to the desired location.
Tests of anti-aircraft missiles created under the RSA program began in 1950. During the tests, the promising anti-aircraft missile system showed fairly high performance. Some sources mention that RSC-51 missiles were able to hit 50-60% of training targets. Thus, the RSC-51 air defense system has become one of the first systems of its class that have been tested and recommended for adoption.
The first customer of the RSC-51 anti-aircraft systems was Switzerland, which bought several divisions. The companies Oerlikon and Contraves, being commercial organizations, almost immediately offered a new missile system to third countries. Sweden, Italy and Japan have shown their interest in the promising system. However, none of these countries adopted the RSC-51 complex, since the purchases were carried out solely for the purpose of studying new weapons. The greatest success of the Swiss anti-aircraft systems was achieved in Japan, where they were in trial operation for some time.
In 1952, several launchers and radar stations, as well as 25 missiles, were sent to the United States. Despite the presence of several similar projects of its own design, the United States became interested in Swiss technology. The Pentagon was seriously considering the possibility of not only purchasing RSC-51 complexes, but also organizing licensed production at American enterprises. The leadership of the US armed forces was attracted not only by the characteristics of the missile, but also by the mobility of the complex. The option of using it to cover troops or objects at a short distance from the front was considered.
In the United States, the purchased air defense systems received the designation MX-1868. During the tests, all purchased missiles were used up, after which all work in this direction was stopped. The Swiss anti-aircraft system did not have any serious advantages over the existing or promising American ones, and the mere possibility of a quick transfer to the right place was considered an insufficient argument in favor of further purchases.
In the fifties of the last century, rocketry and radio-electronic technologies were constantly advancing, which is why the Swiss RSC-51 air defense system quickly became obsolete. In an effort to keep its performance at an acceptable level, the employees of Oerlikon and Contraves carried out several deep upgrades using new components and systems. Nevertheless, the use of radio beam guidance and a liquid-propellant rocket engine did not allow the new Swiss anti-aircraft systems to compete with modern foreign developments.
In the late fifties, the British company Vickers Armstrong approached Oerlikon and Contraves with a proposal to modify the RSC-51 complex for use as a shipborne anti-aircraft system. Such an air defense system could become part of the armament of a promising cruiser for the Venezuelan Navy, developed by a British company. Swiss designers have responded to the proposal. In the ship version, it was proposed to use two double-beam launchers on stabilized platforms and two magazines with 24 missiles in each. However, all the advantages of the modified missile system were leveled out by the power plant used. The idea of operating a liquid-propellant anti-aircraft missile on a ship was dubious, which is why work in this direction was curtailed.
At about the same time as the ship version, another project for the deep modernization of the RSC-51 air defense system, called the RSD-58, was being developed. From previous developments, the new complex differed in a greater range of destruction of targets (up to 30 kilometers) and a higher missile speed (up to 800 m / s). At the same time, the new rocket still used a liquid engine and a laser guidance system. In the late fifties and early sixties, several countries tested the RSD-58 anti-aircraft system, but it entered service only in Japan.
The Oerlikon / Contraves RSC-51 anti-aircraft missile system became one of the first representatives of its class to be tested and put into mass production. In addition, it was this anti-aircraft system that was first offered for export. However, despite such "achievements", the Swiss defense industry has not managed to create a commercially and technically successful air defense system. Most of the assembled missiles were used during various tests and only a few copies of the complex were able to take part in the exercises. Nevertheless, the RSA program made it possible to work out a number of important technologies and find out the prospects for a particular technical solution.
