Vipera (missile)
| Vipera | |
|---|---|
 Vipera being fired | |
| Type | Air-to-air missile Surface-to-air missile |
| Place of origin | Sylva |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1981-Present |
| Used by | Sylva Sieuxerr Maracaibo |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Selenia |
| Designed | 1972-1981 |
| Manufacturer | Selenia |
| Produced | 1981 |
| Variants | Block 1 Block 2 Block 3 Block 3VL Block 4VL |
| Specifications (Block 3VL) | |
| Weight | 220 kg |
| Length | 3.66 m (missile) 4.3 (VLS) |
| Diameter | 235 mm |
| Warhead weight | 35 kg |
Detonation mechanism | HE-FRAG |
| Engine | Solid fuel rocket |
Operational range | 38 km (Block 1) 45 km (Block 2) 80 km (Block 3) 40+ km (Block 3VL) |
| Speed | Mach 3.7 |
Guidance system | Active-radar homing with mid-course update datalink |
Launch platform | Ship |
The Vipera or Viper missile is a family of Sylvan air-to-air and surface-to-air launched missiles. It was developed by Selenia in the early-1970s into the 1980s and would become a mainstay of the Sylvan Air Force and Sylvan Navy. Vipera was developed with influences from froeign missile designs that were in service at the time. It has been mostly replaced by the Meteor and MICA missiles in the air-to-air role, however it has seen expanded use as a naval-based surface-to-air missile, becoming the standard medium-range air-defense missile. It replaced the Aster-15 in this role. The missile is notable for being one of the first missiles to employ active-radar homing on a wide scale.
Initial models of the Viper featured a semi-active radar homing seeker. In the 1990s with Viper 3, a new active-radar homing seeker and an improved rocket motor were added greatly increasing the effective range and overall combat abilities of the missile.
In the air defense role the missile originally was employed with an 8-missile box-launcher, typically the launcher had a magazine of 16 to 24 missiles, however some ships were known to not have an internal magazine. With the development of vertical-launch systems in the 1990s, the Sylvan Navy developed MAD ahead of the EC-wide SYLVER system. MAD was only used with the Vipera missile in single-missile cells. Later a quad-pack system was developed for the SYLVER cells by the mid-2000s.