ERYX

Eryx is a French short-range portable semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) based wire-guided anti-tank missile (ATGM) manufactured by MBDA France and by MKEK under licence. The weapon can also be used against larger bunkers and smaller pillboxes. It also has some anti-aircraft warfare ability, to bring down low flying helicopters, due to its wire-guidance system. An agreement was reached in 1989 between the French and Canadian governments to coproduce the Eryx missile system. It entered French service in 1994 and will be replaced by the upcoming AT4 F2. Development The Eryx began as a project in the late 1970s by the French Ministry of defense to replace the short range Luchaire's LRAC F1 STRIM 89mm rocket launcher in the French Army. The requirement was for a cost-effective antitank weapon that could defeat any known or future main battle tank at a maximum range of 600 meters with considerable accuracy, including on windy days. Aérospatiale, the French defense and aerospace firm, believed it was, from a practical standpoint, impossible to design an unguided antitank rocket that could meet the strict requirements. The weapon system that Aérospatiale offered was basically a mini-short range wire guided antitank missile, the ACCP (Anti Char Courte Portée) which in French translates to Short Range Anti-tank Weapon System. The first prototype was delivered to the French Ministry of Defense for testing in 1982. The concept firing post (See: ACCP image) used a scaled-down version of the MILAN tracking and guidance system, but was found in field condition tests to be impractical both from a technical and cost standpoint.