Author: Lan Shunzheng
First published from: The internal version of "Modern Weapons".
At the beginning of this century, the British Ministry of Defense launched the "Future Air-to-Surface Guided Weapons (Light) Development Program", the purpose of which is to create light air-to-surface missiles for naval aviation carrier-based helicopters, mainly for anti-ship and anti-boat. In 2007, Thales Air Defense LLC first unveiled the concept of the Euro Swallow light multipurpose missile, becoming a pioneer in leading the program.
Flexible and compact "all-rounder"
As a light multi-purpose missile system, the Euro Swallow missile can be launched from a variety of tactical platforms, including fixed-wing or rotary-wing UAVs and various ground and surface platforms. The "Euro Swallow" can be called an all-rounder, capable of carrying out surface-to-air, air-to-ground, and ground-to-ground strike missions, including wheeled or tracked vehicles, towed artillery, or various stationary ground targets; surface targets such as various types of small boats and fast coastal attack boats, as well as air threats represented by various light aircraft and helicopters.
One Wildcat helicopter can carry up to 20 Euroswallow missiles
The design of the "Euro Yan" missile is mainly based on the body of the "Starburst" air defense missile, which is small in size and light in weight, with a length of 1.3 meters, a diameter of 76 millimeters, a wingspan of 260 millimeters, and a maximum weight of 13 kilograms. It is understood that a British Wildcat attack helicopter can carry up to 20 "Euroswallow" missiles, and because of its light weight, it can be manually mounted on the "Wildcat" without special handling equipment.
At the same time, in order to have a better storage environment, the missile is also packaged in a separate sealed barrel, and its maximum shelf life is up to 15 years, which greatly reduces the huge cost of daily maintenance of the missile. The "Euro Swallow" has no recoil when launched, the slender body can quickly accelerate to Mach 1.5, the maximum range is up to 8 km, the minimum effective range is 400 meters, its warhead consists of a multifunctional shaped charge and a prefabricated fragmentation warhead, and three different modes of operation can be selected depending on the target: triggered, air bomb or delayed.
In terms of guidance, the "Euro Swallow" can be equipped with different guidance systems, including semi-active laser guidance, laser beam guidance, INS inertial guidance + GPS + terminal infrared guidance, etc., and make corresponding adjustments according to different battlefield needs in order to maximize the effect. Take, for example, the use of semi-active laser beam guidance, in which the observer on board the helicopter before launch uses a stabilized EO camera and an automatic target tracker (ATT) to lock the laser designator to the target, the laser designator emits a coded low-power beam, and after launch, the two receivers mounted on the tail of the missile will detect the laser energy and remain locked until it hits the target.
The "European Swallow" can also be launched by individual soldiers
Although the Euro Swallow light missile is relatively slow compared to its predecessor, the Starburst missile, which has a maximum flight speed of Mach 4, it is more effective in adapting to different guidance systems and has an increased range. Such characteristics are enough to accomplish a variety of tasks such as air defense, storming, and combating light armored vehicles. The modular structure of the "Euro Swallow" also facilitates the possibility of being equipped with more advanced guidance systems and warheads in the future, so that it can have the potential for continuous upgrading.
In April 2011, the British Ministry of Defense and Thales signed a preliminary contract for the mass production of the Euro Swallow light missile. Under the terms of the contract, Thales is supposed to begin supplying the British army with 1,000 Euroswallow light missiles in 2015 for equipping carrier-based helicopters in the British Navy's AW159 Wildcat. However, due to the delay in design, it was not until 2020 that the Euro Swallow light missile was officially delivered to the British Navy. In May 2020, the Wildcat helicopter conducted its first test launch of the Euro Swallow off the west coast of Wales with satisfactory results.
The battleship's "close bodyguard"
At present, how to prevent small boats from attacking warships with the tactic of "sea swarm" is one of the key research projects of the navies of various countries. Helicopters, on the other hand, have the advantage of being fast, maneuverable, have a wide field of view, and are able to engage the enemy at a safer distance from the ship. Each "Wildcat" helicopter can be mounted with 20 "Euro Swallow" missiles, which can attack fixed targets and mobile targets at sea, especially after being equipped with an infrared seeker, the "Euro Swallow" will have the ability to launch and leave it alone, and when a cluster target is discovered, the helicopter can launch all 20 "Euro Swallow" missiles in a short period of time, so as to achieve the greatest lethal effect. In October 2021, during an exercise in the Pacific Ocean by the British Navy's new aircraft carrier battle group, the Wildcat helicopter of the 815 Squadron of Naval Aviation aboard the destroyer HMS Defender fired the Euroswallow missile at the sea-inflatable target ship known as the "Big Red Tomato" and successfully hit the target.
In addition to ground and surface targets, the Euro Swallow missile also performed well against air targets. According to reports, on April 10, 2022, Ukraine successfully test-fired the Euro Swallow missile supplied by the United Kingdom. The video provided by the British side shows that in the Kharkiv region, a Ukrainian soldier successfully shot down a Russian "Sea Hawk"-10 unmanned reconnaissance aircraft using a shoulder-fired launcher loaded with "European Swallow" missiles. The performance of the "Euro Swallow" in shooting down a high-speed unmanned target aircraft this time has once again confirmed its anti-aircraft capability. Therefore, the "European Swallow" makes sense as another layer of close defense of the ship.
The threat of the small boat "swarm" to modern warships cannot be ignored
The British Navy said that the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth, the frigate Kent, the frigate Richmond and the Type 45 destroyer Diamond can all carry Wildcat helicopters, which can add a layer of protection around the British Navy's aircraft carrier battle group. It is reported that in the future, in addition to replacing the "Starlight" short-range individual air defense missiles of the British Army and Marine Corps, the "Euro Swallow" missile will also replace the FASGW (H)/ANL anti-ship missiles of the European Missile Company, including the "Sea Venom" and AS15TT anti-tank missiles.