MILAN

Missile d'Infanterie Léger Antichar (French for "Lightweight Infantry Anti-tank Missile") or MILAN 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. Background 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. 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.