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Shahine SAM

1980 COLD WAR MODERN

Shahine SAM Story

The Shahine Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) system is a French-developed "Crotale" SAM family with a six-missile launcher assembly and search/tracking system mounted on the chassis of the French AMX-30 Main Battle Tank (MBT) in Served in the Saudi Arabian army. Design work on the vehicle was carried out by Thomson-CF in the early 1970s and production began in 1980 and continued until 1990.

Shahine entered service in 1980, and at one point, Shahine was designated as the primary mobile defense system with approximately 17 mobile batteries. The Saudi vehicles were also seen during the liberation of Kuwait from Iraqi forces during the 1991 Gulf War.

The AMX-30 MBT itself produced 3,571 examples and served during the Gulf War. It has been exported to various countries including Saudi Arabia. Although no longer the premier frontline main battle tank, the Saudi Army continues the AMX-30 tradition by operating the Shahine SAM system.

Some ex-Saudi AMX-30 tanks were also sold to Tunisia.

Since then, two well-known Shahine variants have emerged - "Shahine 1" and "Shahine 2", also known as "Crotale 2000" and "Cortale 4000" respectively. The missile of choice was the R460, a heavier upgraded version of the original French Crotale missile, with a range of nearly 12 kilometers, capable of hitting air targets at an altitude of 6 kilometers. The missile is housed in six separate three-barreled ready-to-launch cylinders attached to each side of the launcher. The vehicle's landing gear is identical to that of the AMX-30 tank, and the trainable launcher is located on top of the hull, replacing the original turret mount.

This launcher with independent traverse and elevation capabilities can attack from almost any angle and does not require the fuselage to rotate in the direction of fire. The car is powered by a 690-horsepower Hispano-Suiza 110-series 12-cylinder diesel engine, which also features an auxiliary power unit (APU) to provide power when the engine is turned off. 4 smoke grenade launchers allow local inspection of vehicles. A typical Shahine combatant consists of three people and has a combat weight of 85,000 pounds.

Performance specs include 40 mph and a range of up to 370 miles.

The complete Shahine field also includes the Shahine Acquisition Unit (AU) - an AMX-30-based vehicle with special equipment for use with the Shahine launch vehicle. This model is equipped with a foldable Doppler E/F band search radar on the fuselage. Various other transport and supply vehicles accompany the Shahine launcher in operation.

Another related vehicle is the Shahine Air Transport Towed Shelter (ATTS), which features a towable six-wheel launcher mated to the Shahine SAM launcher unit, eliminating the complexity and operational commitments of the Shahine tracked version.