SS.12

NORD SS.12/AS.12
Royal Navy AS.12, as carried by Westland Wasp helicopters
Type	Surface-to-surface or air-to-surface missile
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1960-
Production history
Produced	1957-1982
Number built	10000+
Specifications
Weight	76 kg
Length	1.87 m
Diameter	180 mm (body) 210 mm (warhead)
Warhead	28 kg
Engine	solid fuel rocket
Wingspan	650 mm
Operational range	7000/8000 m
Speed	370 km/h
Guidance system	wire MCLOS
Steering system	thrust deflection
Launch platform	Helicopter, aircraft, ground unit

External images

Aérospatiale SS.12/AS.12

AS.12(M)fitted Alouette III

AS.12(M) fired from French Navy LYNX

SS.12(M) fired from small patrol boat

AS.12(M) French Navy Alouette III

Manufacture's Fact Sheet

The SS.12 and AS.12 are two variants of the same missile: SS for surface-to-surface and AS for air-to-surface. It was designed in 1955-1957 by Nord Aviation, later Aérospatiale. It was a derivative of the NORD SS-10 and SS-11 missiles which were surface-to-surface wire-guided missiles for use by infantry, vehicle or a helicopter primarily in the anti-tank role, but also anti-material, anti-personnel and against light field fortifications. The SS.12/AS.12 was basically a scaled-up version of the SS.11/AS.11, with a massive increase in range and warhead weight. The SS.12/AS.12 original mission was primarily to be anti-shipping from naval helicopters and combat aircraft or ground launchers, and secondarily for use against heavy field fortification. Its range and the destructive power of the warhead are roughly equivalent to a 5 inch artillery shell.

The SS.12 was originally intended to be a surface-to-surface weapon. A naval surface-to-surface version, the SS.12M was developed at the same time. Trials of the weapon began in 1956. An air-launched version, the AS.12, was trialed in 1957.

The missile has a distinctive bulging nose and four clipped triangular wings. The missile has two solid fuel rocket motors. One is a powerful booster rocket that burns for 2.2 seconds and the second, is a sustainer motor that burns for 28 seconds. The booster motor exhausts through two nozzles on the sides near the trailing edge of the wings and the sustainer motor exhaust is located in the missile rear at the center. The wings are positioned at an angle of one degree to the direction of flight so that the missile spins, giving it stability. Two rearward-facing flares which ignite on launch make the missile more visible to the operator during flight. Two flares are mounted on the opposite side of the booster nozzles between the wings so as not to interfere with the two guidance wires spooling out of the rear section of the missile.

The missile steers using four metal vanes around the exhaust nozzle in a thrust vectoring system that directs the thrust of the sustainer motor exhaust nozzle. Steering signals are sent to the missile by means of two wires which pay out from two spools on the rear of the missile. A gas-operated arming mechanism is fed from the sustainer motor, arming the warhead 7.7 seconds after launch.