MILAN

Franco-German anti-tank missile

For the Italian city, see Milan. For other uses, see Milan (disambiguation).

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MILAN

MILAN missile launcher with tripod.

Type| Anti-tank missile
Place of origin| France, West Germany
Service history
In service| 1972–present
Used by| See operators
Wars| South African Border War
Chadian-Libyan conflict
Toyota War
Western Sahara War[1]
Lebanese Civil War
Iran–Iraq War
Falklands War
Gulf War
2003 invasion of Iraq
Iraq War
Opération Licorne[2]
Libyan Civil War
Northern Mali Conflict[3]
Operation Sangaris[4]
War in Iraq (2013–2017)
Syrian Civil War
Russian invasion of Ukraine
Production history
Designed| 1970s
Manufacturer| MBDA
Also produced under license by:
Bharat Dynamics (India)
BAe Dynamics (United Kingdom)
Unit cost| £7,500 (1984)[5]
Produced| 1971
No. built| 350,000 missiles, 10,000 launchers
Variants| See variants
Specifications (MILAN 3)
Mass| 16.4 kg[6]
Length| 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)
Diameter| 0.115 m (4.5 in)
Wingspan| 0.26 m (10 in)
Warhead| Single or tandem HEAT

Detonation
mechanism

| contact

* * *

Engine| solid-fuel rocket

Operational
range

| 200–2,000 m (660–6,560 ft);
3,000 m (MILAN ER)
Maximum speed | 200 m/s (660 ft/s)

Guidance
system

| SACLOS wire

Steering
system

| Jet deflector

Launch
platform

| Individual, vehicle

MILAN (French for Missile d'Infanterie Léger Antichar, "Lightweight Infantry Anti-tank Missile"; German for kite raptor or Milvus) is a Franco-West German anti-tank guided missile system. Design of the MILAN began in 1962; it was ready for trials in 1971, and accepted for service in 1972. It is a wire-guided semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) missile, which means the sight of the launch unit must be aimed at a target to guide the missile. The MILAN can be equipped with a MIRA or MILIS thermal sight to give it night-firing ability.

"Milan" is also a common name in French and German to designate a kite bird, thus falling in line with the Federal Defence naming convention to often use animal names as designators for high-value weapon systems.

## Background

[edit]

MILAN is a product of Euromissile, a Franco-West German missile development program dating back to the 1960s. The system entered service in 1972 as a second generation anti-tank weapon and soon became a standard anti-tank weapon throughout NATO, in use by most of the alliance's individual armies.[7]

Consisting of two main components, the launcher and the missile, the MILAN system uses a semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) command guidance system. It tracks the missile either by a tail-mounted infrared lamp or an electronic-flash lamp, depending on the model. Because it is guided by wire by an operator, the missile cannot be affected by radio jamming or flares. However, drawbacks include short range, exposure of the operator, and problems with overland powerlines.

The MILAN 2 variant, which entered service with the French, German and British armies in 1984, uses an improved 115 mm high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) shaped charge warhead. The MILAN 3 entered service with the French army in 1995 and features a new-generation localizer that makes the system more difficult to jam electronically.[8]

## Variants

[edit]

MILAN models

MILAN 1.

MILAN II with stand-off probe which almost doubles penetration.

View through the optical sight.

* MILAN 1: Single, main shaped charge warhead (1972), calibre 103 mm
* MILAN 2: Single, main shaped charge warhead, with standoff probe to increase penetration (1984) – see photo to right, calibre 115 mm
* MILAN 2T: Tandem shaped charge warheads to defeat reactive armour (1993)
* MILAN 3: Tandem, shaped charge warheads (1996) and electronic beacon to defeat Shtora jammer
* MILAN ER: Extended range (3,000 m) and improved penetration

The later MILAN models have tandem-charge HEAT warheads. This was done to keep pace with developments in Soviet armour technology: their tanks began to appear with explosive reactive armour (ERA), which could defeat earlier anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). The smaller precursor HEAT warhead penetrates and detonates the ERA tiles, exposing the way for the main HEAT warhead to penetrate the armour behind. Early missile versions used a simple flare to show the launch post their position left–right and above–below the crosshair, which then led to steering commands (SACLOS guidance). This was exploited with IR jammers such as Soviet Shtora that created a strong signal that was always on target, and thus led to wrong steering commands. The later electronic IR beacon used a coded signal sequence (switching between emitting and not emitting) that enabled the launch post to discern the missile's beacon from the jammer.

Both the explosive reactive armour and the guidance jamming provided excellent frontal protection for well-equipped Warsaw Pact main battle tanks against Milan and other 1980's SACLOS-guided anti-tank missiles until both were countered through technical means after the end of the Cold War.

## Combat use

[edit]

### Afghanistan

[edit]

MILAN missile systems were among the numerous weapons sent to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan in the 1980s by the United States to combat Soviet troops.[9] The MILAN had a devastating effect on Soviet armor, having a similar effect on tanks and armored personnel carriers as Stinger missiles had had on Soviet helicopters.[10] In 2010, French troops killed four Afghan civilians in Kapisa Province using a MILAN system during a firefight.[11]

### Chadian–Libyan conflict

[edit]

MILAN missiles provided by the French government saw common usage during the war between Chad and Libya where they were used by Chadian forces. Often mounted on Toyota pickup trucks, the missiles successfully engaged Libyan armour in the Aouzou Strip including T-55 tanks.[12]

### Falklands War

[edit]

In 1982, the ruling military junta in Argentina launched the invasion of the UK overseas territory of the Falkland Islands, leading to the Falklands War. British forces used MILAN, along with the M72 LAW and Carl Gustaf, in a 'bunker buster' role. The MILAN saw use in the battles for Goose Green, Mount Longdon, Two Sisters and Wireless Ridge.[13]

### Gulf War

[edit]

MILAN was used by both coalition and Iraqi forces during the Persian Gulf War, with a MILAN launcher operated by French forces claiming to have destroyed seven T-55 tanks.[14] Iraqi operated MILAN missiles were supplied by the French government during the 1980s and were used by Iraqi forces during both Gulf Wars.

### Iraq

[edit]

In 2015, Germany supplied the Peshmerga with 30 MILAN launchers and over 500 missiles.[15][16]

### Syria

[edit]

Syria ordered about 200 launchers and 4,000 missiles in 1977 which were delivered in 1978-1979 and used by the Syrians during the Lebanese Civil War. The Syrian army used Milan missiles against Israeli tanks in Lebanon in 1982.[17] The missiles were in service during the Syrian Civil War, fielded by the Republican Guard.[18] Syrian rebels captured some in depots, as did ISIL. The Kurdish YPG also used Milans supplied by the international coalition.[17]

Syrian Milan team in Lebanon, 1982.

### South Africa

[edit]

The first Milan version was delivered to the Special Forces and the antitank platoons in the late 1970s and 1980s at a scale of six launchers per platoon. Each platoon was organised into three antitank sections, with two ATGM launchers and two M40A1 106 mm recoilless guns or two rocket launchers.

Six SADF MILAN teams were deployed by the Special Forces in support of the Angolan UNITA guerrillas, in the Cazombo Salient in 1985 during Operation Wallpaper.

### Russian invasion of Ukraine

[edit]

France has sent MILAN missiles to Ukraine during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[19]

## Operators

[edit]

Operators:

Current

Former

Non state operators are not shown

### Current operators

[edit]

MILAN missiles

A Bundeswehr Marder infantry fighting vehicle firing.

2007.

German Army missile equipped with AGDUS combat simulator.

Vehicle mounted launcher and missiles in Egyptian service during Operation Desert Shield.

Strike on training target, 2001.

* Afghanistan – Afghan National Army:[20] 271
* Algeria – Algerian People's National Army:[20] 340
* Bahrain \- Royal Bahraini Army: mounted on 5 AIFV-B-Milan vehicles:[20] 343
* Bosnia and Herzegovina \- Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina:[20] 90
* Botswana \- Botswana Defence Force[21]
* Brazil – Brazilian Army:[20] 406
* Burundi \- Burundi Army (reported):[20] 465
* Cameroon \- Cameroon Army:[20] 466
* Chad – Chadian Ground Forces:[20] 469 mounted on light vehicles[22][23]
* Cyprus – Cypriot National Guard:[20] 95
* Egypt – Egyptian Army:[20] 345
* France – French Army: Infantry and vehicle-mounted weapon.:[20] 105 Will be replaced by Missile Moyenne Portée (MMP) from 2017.[24]
* Gabon \- Gabon Army:[20] 478
* Germany – Bundeswehr:[20] 109
* Greece – Hellenic Army:[20] 112
* India – Indian Army:[20] 34,100 MILAN-2T bought. License produced by Bharat Dynamics in India.[25]
* Indonesia \- Indonesian Army:[20] 276
* Iraq – Iraqi Army
* Kurdistan – Peshmerga: 30 launchers and 500 missiles, delivery in two portions was announced on 31 August 2014 by German Bundeswehr. These are 1980s Milan 2 replaced by later models but still in storage.[26][27] Used by the Kurds to stop ISIL vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs).[28]
* Italy – Italian Army Total of 714 launchers with 17,163 missile delivered in 1990. 807 MILAN 2T ordered in 2004 and delivered in 2005 (SIPRI).[29]
* Jordan \- mounted on 45 AIFV-B-Milan vehicles:[20] 358
* Kenya – Kenyan Army:[20] 483
* Lebanon – Lebanese Army:[20] 362
* Libya – Libyan National Army: 1,000 MILAN-3 exported between 2008 and 2011,[30] 400 systems in 2011.
* North Macedonia – Army of the Republic of Macedonia:[20] 126
* Mauritania – Mauritanian Army:[20] 365
* Mexico – Mexican Army: mounted on 8 Panhard VBL scout cars:[20] 427
* Morocco – Royal Moroccan Army:[20] 367
* Oman \- Royal Army of Oman and Royal Household:[20] 370
* Portugal – Portuguese Army; Portuguese Marines:[20] 137
* PKK:[31]
* Saudi Arabia \- Saudi Arabian Army:[20] 373
* Senegal \- Senegalese Army:[20] 496
* Singapore \- Singapore Army:[20] 307
* South Africa – South African Army: 375 missiles.[32][33][34][35][36]
* Syria – Syrian Army:[20] 377
* Free Syrian Army: Some captured.[37]
* YPG[17]
* Islamic State[17]
* Tunisia – Tunisian Armed Forces: 120 missiles.[32]
* Turkey – Turkish Army:[20] 154
* Ukraine: some donated by France to support the Ukrainian army in war against Russia.[38]
* United Arab Emirates:[20] 381
* Uruguay – Uruguayan Army:[20] 438
* Yemen – Yemeni Armed forces

### Former operators

[edit]

* Australia – Australian Army: Was used by infantry and mounted on vehicles. The Australian Army withdrew the MILAN from service in the early 1990s. The ADF now fields the FGM-148 Javelin system.
* Belgium – Belgian Army: Infantry weapon; replaced by Spike-LR in 2014[39]
* Estonia – Estonian Defence Forces[40]
* Ireland – Irish Army: Infantry weapon; replaced by the FGM-148 Javelin.
* Qatar[41]
* Somalia \- imported in 1978-1979[42]
* Spain – Spanish Army[43]
* UNITA: 150 missiles.[32]
* United Kingdom – British Army; Royal Marines – While primarily an infantry weapon, it was also used in the FV120 Spartan MCT turret. Over 50,000 missiles were purchased for use in the British Armed Forces. The MILAN was deployed against Argentine bunkers in the Falklands conflict[44] and later against T-55s during the Persian Gulf War.[45] It was replaced by the FGM-148 Javelin in mid-2005. Previously made under licence by British Aerospace Dynamics.[46]

## See also

[edit]

* Akeron MP - (France)
* Eryx - (France)
* HOT - (West Germany)
* BGM-71 TOW - (United States)
* HJ-8 - (China)

## References

[edit]

Notes

1. ^ Delcour, Roland (19 January 1982). "À Ras-el-Khanfra, les efforts du Polisario pour rompre le mur de sécurité entourant le "Sahara utile" ont échoué". Le Monde (in French).
2. ^ Hofnung, Thomas (3 July 2006). "Soldats tués à Bouaké : la France a laissé faire". Libération (in French). Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
3. ^ Capdeville, Thibault (Spring 2014). "Infantry units fires during OP Serval" (PDF). Fantassins. No. 32\. pp. 55–58\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
4. ^ "RCA: violent accrochage entre Sangaris et des rebelles à Boguila". Radio France Internationale (in French). Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
5. ^ "Written Answers Defence: Weapons and Equipment (Costs)", Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), vol. 63, column 453W, 10 July 1984, archived from the original on 17 June 2016, retrieved 21 May 2016
6. ^ "Milan". Federation of American Scientists. Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
7. ^ ARG. "MILAN Anti-Tank Guided Missile". Military-Today.com. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
8. ^ Pike, John (9 March 2018). "Milan". GlobalSecurity.org. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
9. ^ Bobi Pirseyedi (2000). The Small Arms Problem in Central Asia: Features and Implications. United Nations Publications UNIDIR. pp. 17–. ISBN 978-92-9045-134-1.
10. ^ Jack Devine; Vernon Loeb (3 June 2014). Good Hunting: An American Spymaster's Story. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp. 103–. ISBN 978-0-374-13032-9.
11. ^ "French army claims responsibility for four civilian deaths in Afghanistan". France 24. 29 April 2010. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
12. ^ "TOPICS OF THE TIMES; Toyotas and Tanks". The New York Times. 16 August 1987. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
13. ^ Falklands War Operations Manual. Haynes, Chris McNab, 2018, ISBN 978 1 78521 185 0
14. ^ Bourque, Stephen Alan. Jayhawk! the VII Corps in the Persian Gulf War. United States Department of the Army.
15. ^ "Germany sends more MILAN rockets to thwart ISIS suicide bombers". Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
16. ^ "Kampf gegen IS: Mehr deutsche Waffen für Kurden". Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
17. ^ a b c d "Comment l'Etat islamique a récupéré des lance-missiles Milan français" [How ISIS got French Milan missiles]. France Soir (in French). 7 December 2018. Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
18. ^ "La 104ème brigade de la Garde républicaine syrienne, troupe d'élite et étendard du régime de Damas". France-Soir (in French). 20 March 2017. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
19. ^ "France sending 'significant equipment' to Ukraine to fight Russia". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af The Military Balance. Vol. 120\. International Institute for Strategic Studies. Routledge. 2020. pp. 257–504\. ISBN 978-0-367-46639-8.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: others (link)
21. ^ Martin, Guy (7 February 2013). "Botswana - defenceWeb". Defenceweb.co.za. Archived from the original on 21 July 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
22. ^ "Libye: le retour de la "cavalerie Toyota"". 30 March 2011. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
23. ^ La-Croix.com (30 January 2012). "Au Tchad, l'argent du pétrole finance surtout les armes". La Croix. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
24. ^ France Orders Anti-Tank Missile from MBDA – Defensenews.com, 5 December 2013
25. ^ "Kornet to Nag missiles: Army's anti-tank warfare capabilities have undergone paradigm shift". India Today. 2024-01-15. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
26. ^ "Unterstützung der Regierung der Autonomen Region Irakisch-Kurdistan bei der Versorgung der Flüchtlinge und beim Kampf gegen den Islamischen Staat im Nordirak (PDF)" (PDF). German Bundeswehr (in German). 31 August 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
27. ^ "Irak: Deutschland schickt Kurden Panzerabwehrraketen". Spiegel Online (in German). 31 August 2014. Archived from the original on 2 September 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
28. ^ French, American Weapons Take Toll on ISIS in Ground Combat Archived 12 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine \- Military.com, 16 November 2015
29. ^ "Nasce " Revestito " a Messina. Una Rivista on line per tutti. Per tutti coloro che non tollerano più demagogia, privilegio, mistificazioni di poteri grossi o piccoli, che hanno messo alle strette l´umanità, la libertà, e soprattutto la dignità. Revestito ha significato ambivalente: non occorre che sia messo a nudo il re, per evento eccezionale, affinchè la natura delle cose in qualche misura si disveli. La trasparenza dovrebbe essere alla base di ogni consorzio civile e di ogni Stato di diritto che tale pretenda definirsi". 23 April 2014. Archived from the original on 23 April 2014.
30. ^ Small Arms Survey (2015). "Trade Update: After the 'Arab Spring'" (PDF). Small Arms Survey 2015: weapons and the world (PDF). Cambridge University Press. p. 102\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
31. ^ "Kampf gegen IS-Miliz: Ausrüstung der Bundeswehr möglicherweise in die Hände der PKK gelangt". Der Spiegel. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
32. ^ a b c "Trade Registers". Armstrade.sipri.org. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
33. ^ B A Lowe (4 January 2009). "SADF Arms Purchases". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016. "75 MILAN launchers ordered in 1973 and delivered in 1974"
34. ^ Moukambi, Victor (December 2008). RELATIONS BETWEEN SOUTH AFRICA AND FRANCE WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MILITARY MATTERS, 1960-1990 (PDF) (Doctoral dissertation thesis). Stellenbosch: Military Science, Stellenbosch University. p. 116\. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017. "In December 1973, it was reported that [Pretoria] signed a contract.. for the supply of 50 Matra 550 air-to-air missiles ..[and] a contract over the supply of 1500 Milan missiles. Source: French Defence Ministry; Historical Archives, Paris, Box No. 14 S 295, Monthly report of the French Military Attaché in South Africa, Imports from France, November 1973. Report of the French Military Attaché in South Africa, November 1973."
35. ^ Leon Engelbrecht (8 October 2008). "SANDF Army, SOF "operationalising" MILAN". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016. "The launchers were received in 1974, but were placed in storage in 1996. SA employed the MILAN in combat in southern Angola in the 1980s. Under Project Kingfisher, 30 launchers were upgraded to Milan ADT-ER status and 300 missiles were acquired for R167.4 million."
36. ^ Leon Engelbrecht (24 May 2011). "SA Army stocks up on Milan 3". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016. "The SANDF has ordered an undisclosed further number of Milan missiles..The R57 990 630.80 purchase order was awarded to Euromissile [sic] last week. It takes the known value of Project Kingfisher – according to the Armscor Bulletin System (ABS) – to R271 076 483.37...The Kingfisher contract was placed on December 20, 2006, and initially escaped media notice. In March 2009 the military ordered a further 13 Milan ADT firing posts and four simulators under a contract worth €10.7 million (about R129.3 million at then exchange rates, but R81.5 million on the ABS."
37. ^ "Syrian rebels captured ammunition depot with Milan / Konkurs anti-tank missiles and rockets". Armyrecognition.com. 5 August 2013. Archived from the original on 10 August 2013.
38. ^ Follorou, Jacques (9 March 2022). "La France livre des missiles antichars Milan à l'Ukraine". Le Monde.fr. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
39. ^ Belgium selects Spike missile to replace Milan Archived 29 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine – Armyrecognition.com, 3 January 2013
40. ^ The Estonian Defence Forces and the Estonian Defence League will improve their antitank armament. Centre for Defence Investments. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
41. ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies (2019). "Chapter Seven: Middle East and North Africa". The Military Balance. 119 (1): 364. doi:10.1080/04597222.2018.1561033. S2CID 219628874.
42. ^ Small Arms Survey (2012). "Surveying the Battlefield: Illicit Arms In Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia". Small Arms Survey 2012: Moving Targets. Cambridge University Press. pp. 339–340\. ISBN 978-0-521-19714-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
43. ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies (2015). "Chapter Seven: Middle East and North Africa". The Military Balance. 115 (1): 136. doi:10.1080/04597222.2015.996348. S2CID 219628714.
44. ^ "British Land Weapons and Vehicles". www.britains-smallwars.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2005.
45. ^ Zaloga (2004), p. 36.
46. ^ "British Army - The Infantry - Milan 2 - Armed Forces - a5a14". www.armedforces.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 March 2008. Retrieved 1 April 2008.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to MILAN.

* Technical data sheet on the website of MBDA
* GlobalSecurity.org
* Information about The British Army's MILAN 2

Video link

* British army MILAN training video on YouTube

* v
* t
* e

Current French infantry weapons and cartridges

Handguns|

* PAMAS
* MAC Mle 1950
* Glock 17

Rifles|

| Assault rifles|

* FAMAS
* SIG SG 550 (and variants)
* HK 416

|

Sniper rifle|

* FR F2
* FR F1
* FN SCAR

Anti-materiel rifle|

* PGM Hécate II

Shotguns|

* Benelli M4

Submachine guns|

* MP5
* P90

Machine guns|

* M2HB
* AA52
* Minimi

Grenade launchers|

* M203
* LGI Mle F1

Mortars|

* LGI Mle F1
* LLR 81mm
* MO-120-RT-61

Rockets|

* LRAC F1
* ABL

Missiles|

* MILAN
* Eryx
* Mistral
* FGM-148 Javelin
* Akeron MP

Cartridges|

* 12-gauge
* 5.7×28mm
* 9×19mm NATO
* 5.56×45mm NATO
* 7.62×51mm NATO
* 12.7×99mm NATO

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