A transporter erector launcher (TEL) is a

missile vehicle In the military, vehicles such as trucks or tractor units can be used to transport or launch missiles (rockets with warheads), essentially a form of rocket artillery. History The missile vehicle may be a self-propelled unit or the missile hold ...

with an integrated tractor unit that can carry, elevate to firing position and launch one or more

missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket ...

History

Such vehicles exist for both

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...

s and surface-to-surface missiles. Early on, such missiles were launched from fixed sites and had to be loaded onto trucks for transport, making them more vulnerable to attack, since once they were spotted by the enemy they could not easily be relocated, and if they were it often took hours or even days to prepare them for launch once they reached their new site. Usually a number of TELs and TELARs are linked to one command post vehicle (CP or CPV). They may use target information from target acquisition, designation and guidance radar (TADAGR or TAR).

Transporter erector launcher and radar

A transporter erector launcher and radar (TELAR) is a type of TEL that also incorporates part or all of the radar system necessary for firing the surface-to-air missile(s). Such vehicles have the capability of being autonomous, greatly enhancing their effectiveness. With this type of system each vehicle can fight regardless of the state or presence of support vehicles. The TEL or TELAR may have a rotating turntable that it can use to aim the missiles. The vehicle may have to turn to aim the missiles or they may fire straight up.

Related launchers

Transporter launcher and radar (TLAR)

A transporter launcher and radar (TLAR) is the same as a TELAR without the erector capability, because the missile in question is transported in the launch-ready position. An example is the

9K330 Tor The Tor (russian: Тор; en, torus) is an all-weather, low- to medium-altitude, short-range surface-to-air missile system designed for destroying airplanes, helicopters, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and short-range ballistic thr ...

, which mounts a

vertical launching system A vertical launching system (VLS) is an advanced system for holding and firing missiles on mobile naval platforms, such as surface ships and submarines. Each vertical launch system consists of a number of ''cells'', which can hold one or mor ...

-style block of SAMs.

Mobile erector launcher (MEL)

The Patriot missile system has a towed launch vehicle or mobile erector launcher (MEL).FM 44-94 Army Air and Missile Defense Command Operations. Glossary. Part I – Abbreviations and Acronyms
at

Federation of American Scientists The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is an American nonprofit global policy think tank with the stated intent of using science and scientific analysis to attempt to make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1946 by scientists who w ...

website

Rocket launch vehicle

spaceflight Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such as satellites in ...

, TELs are support structures used to transport a

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entir ...

launch vehicle A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload ( spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pads, supported by a launch control center and sys ...

horizontally from an assembly facility to a nearby fixed launch pad where it is raised vertical for launch. This system is used, for example, by SpaceX for its launch vehicles ( Falcon 9 & Heavy, not Starship), but they call it a "transporter erector".

Types

* Taian TA580/TAS5380 8×8 TEL * Wanshan WS51200 16 wheeled TEL * M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System * Pinaka multi barrel rocket launcher * S-300 missile system - 8 wheeled TEL or MT-T tracked transporter * Tupol ICBM system *

S-400 missile system The S-400 Triumf (russian: link=no, C-400 Триумф – Triumf; translation: Triumph; NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler), previously known as the S-300 PMU-3, is a mobile, surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed in the 1990s by Russ ...

* MAZ-547A/MAZ-7916 - 12 wheeled TEL * MAZ-7917 - 14 wheeled TEL * MZKT-79221 - 16 wheeled TEL *

ASTROS II Astros II (Artillery Saturation Rocket System) is a self-propelled multiple rocket launcher produced in Brazil by the Avibras company. It features modular design and employs rockets with calibers ranging from 127 to 450 mm (5–17.72 inche ...

6x6 wheeled rocket artillery launcher * SPYDER

Gallery

Image:s-300V.jpg, A Russian S-300V TELAR in transit mode. Image:sa10_1.jpg, A Russian S-300P TEL ready for launch. Image:Pluton 034.jpg, A French Pluton missile in transit mode. Image:Тягач МЗКТ-79221 (комплекс Тополь-М).jpg, MZKT-79221. Image:Moscow Parad 2008 Ballist.jpg, MAZ-7917 TEL. Image:Luna m frog 7 hameenlinna 1.jpg, 9P113 TEL with 9M21 rocket. Image:MLRS 05.jpg, MLRS. Image:MoscowParade2009 7.jpg, S-300 Image:SCUD 2.JPG,

MAZ-7310 The MAZ-543/MAZ-7310 "Uragan" (russian: МАЗ-543/МАЗ-7310 "Ураган"/Hurricane) is a Soviet/Belarusian 8×8 artillery truck designed and developed by MAZ (Minsk Automobile Plant), in what is now Belarus. MAZ-543 Designed in the 1960 ...

Image:German Patriot missile launcher.jpg, A German PATRIOT launcher. Image:19-03-2012-Parade-rehearsal - Topol-M.jpg, Russian Topol-M MZKT-79221. Image:Chinese HQ-9 launcher.jpg, HQ-9 TA580/TAS5380 launcher. Image:Buk-MB3K missile launcher (6).jpg, Belarusian Buk-MB3K TELAR on MZKT-69225 chassis

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transporter Erector Launcher Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapons Weapon fixtures Rocket launchers Missile launchers