A transporter erector launcher (TEL) is a

missile vehicle A missile vehicle, also known as a missile carrier, missile truck, or (if capable of launching) missile launcher vehicle, is a military vehicle that is purpose-built and designed to carry missiles, either for safe transportation or for launching ...

with an integrated

tractor unit A tractor unit, also known as a truck unit, lorry unit, power unit, prime mover, ten-wheeler, semi-tractor, semi-truck, semi-lorry, tractor cab, truck cab, lorry cab, big rig tractor, big rig truck or big rig lorry or simply a tractor, truck, ...

that can transport, elevate to a firing position and launch one or more

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

s or

missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...

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 or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

s and

surface-to-surface missile A surface-to-surface missile (SSM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea and strike targets on land or at sea. They may be fired from hand-held or vehicle mounted devices, from fixed installations, or from a ship. They ar ...

s. 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 Target acquisition is the detection and identification of the location of a target in sufficient detail to permit the effective employment of lethal and non-lethal means. The term is used for a broad area of applications. A "target" here is an e ...

, designation and guidance radar (TADAGR or TAR).

Transporter erector launcher and radar (TELAR)

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

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 vehicle may have to aim the missile, usually through a rotating turret, or they may fire straight up.

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 as default. An example is the

9K330 Tor The Tor (; ) 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 threats (anti-munitions). Orig ...

, 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 mo ...

(VLS)-style block of SAMs that correct their trajectory using rockets on the missile body itself.

Mobile erector launcher (MEL)

The Patriot missile system has a

towed Towing is coupling two or more objects together so that they may be pulled by a designated power source or sources. The towing source may be a motorized land vehicle, vessel, animal, or human, and the load being anything that can be pulled. ...

launch vehicle or mobile erector launcher (MEL).

Palletised erector launchers

Another sub-set of the TEL are erector-launchers mounted to pallets, which can then be carried by suitable vehicles to create a TEL. The

MBDA MBDA is a European multinational corporation specialized in the design, development and manufacturing of Missile, missiles and related systems.Sky Sabre The CAMM (Common Anti-Air Modular Missile) is a family of surface-to-air missiles developed by MBDA UK for the United Kingdom. CAMM is derived from, and shares some common features and components with, the Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missil ...

missile is one example; a 15-tonne unit which is carried by

MAN HX The HX family are a range of purpose-designed tactical military trucks manufactured by Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV). The HX range was disclosed in 2003, and the first order was placed in 2004. The HX range replaced the earlier FX a ...

trucks in

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

service.

Rocket launch vehicle

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

, TELs are support structures used to transport a

launch vehicle A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...

horizontally from an assembly facility to a nearby fixed

launch pad A launch pad is an above-ground facility from which a rocket-powered missile or space vehicle is vertically launched. The term ''launch pad'' can be used to describe just the central launch platform (mobile launcher platform), or the entire c ...

where it is raised vertical for launch. It is similar to TELs, except the fact that most space rockets must be erected and launched with the appropriate

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

, such as those found in a

spaceport A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word ''spaceport''—and even more so ''cosmodrome''—has traditionally referred to sites capable of ...

. This system is used by several space-launch agencies; the

Soyuz Soyuz is a transliteration of the Cyrillic text Союз (Russian language, Russian and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, 'Union'). It can refer to any union, such as a trade union (''profsoyuz'') or the Soviet Union, Union of Soviet Socialist Republi ...

has a TE that can be transported by

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an America, American space technology company headquartered at the SpaceX Starbase, Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. Since its founding in 2002, the compa ...

for its launch vehicles

Falcon 9 Falcon 9 is a Reusable launch system#Partial reusable launch systems, partially reusable, two-stage-to-orbit, medium-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured in the United States by SpaceX. The first Falcon 9 launch was on June 4, 2010, an ...

and

Heavy Heavy may refer to: Measures * Heavy, a characterization of objects with substantial weight * Heavy, a wake turbulence category used by pilots and air traffic controllers to refer to aircraft with a maximum takeoff mass of 136,000 kgs or mo ...

(but not

Starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1 ...

). Some

small-lift launch vehicle A small-lift launch vehicle is a rocket orbital launch vehicle that is capable of lifting or less (by NASA classification) or under (by Roscosmos classification) of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). The next larger category is medium-lift l ...

s, such as Russian

Start-1 Start-1 is a Russian satellite launch vehicle based on the RT-2PM Topol, a Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile developed by Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology. History The Start-1 launch vehicle derives its name from the Strategi ...

and Chinese

Kuaizhou Kuaizhou (KZ, , meaning "speedy vessel") (also called Feitian Emergency Satellite Launch System, Feitian-1, FT-1) is a family of Chinese "quick-reaction" orbital launch vehicles. Flying since 2013, Kuaizhou 1 and 1A consist of three solid-fueled ...

series, can be launched from ordinary TELs from unprepared pads.

Types

* Taian TA580/TAS5380 8×8 TEL * Wanshan

WS51200 The WS51200 is an extremely large heavy goods vehicle built by Wanshan Special Vehicle in China, converted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea into a single-use transporter erector launcher (TEL). The WS51200 is one of the largest in th ...

- 16 wheeled TEL *

M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System The M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (M270 MLRS) is an American armored self-propelled multiple launch rocket system. The U.S. Army variant of the M270 is based on the chassis of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The first M270s were delivere ...

- tracked *

Pinaka multi barrel rocket launcher Pinaka () is a multiple rocket launcher produced in India and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Army. The system has a maximum range of for Mark-I Enhanced and for Mark-II ER version, and can ...

* Kub missile system,

Buk missile system The Buk (; "beech" (tree), ) is a family of self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon, self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile systems developed by the Soviet Union and its successor state, the Russian Federation, and designed to counter ...

- tracked

GM chassis (Russian: ''Gusenichnaya Mashina'', ''Гусеничная машина'', lit. ''tracked machine'') is a series of tracked vehicle chassis. Generally, the series is produced by Russia's '' Mytishchi Machine-Building Plant''. Some older series ...

, rarely wheel-based *

S-300 missile system The S-300 (NATO reporting name SA-10 Grumble) is a series of long-range surface-to-air missile systems developed by the former Soviet Union. It was produced by NPO Almaz for the Soviet Air Defence Forces to defend against air raids and cruise ...

S-400 missile system The S-400 Triumf ( – 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 Russia's NPO Almaz as an upgrade to the S ...

- 8 wheeled truck-based TEL or MT-T tracked transporter *

S-500 missile system The S-500 Prometheus (), also known as 55R6M "Triumfator-M", is a Russian surface-to-air missile/anti-ballistic missile system supplementing the S-400 and the A-235 ABM missile system. The S-500 was developed by the Almaz-Antey Air Defence Co ...

RT-2PM Topol The RT-2PM Topol (; NATO reporting name SS-25 Sickle; GRAU designation: 15Ж58 ("15Zh58"); START I designation: RS-12M Topol) was a mobile intercontinental ballistic missile designed in the Soviet Union and in service with Russia's Strategic Miss ...

RT-2PM2 Topol-M The RT-2PM2 «Topol-M» (, NATO reporting name: SS-27 "Sickle B", other designations: SS-27 Mod 1, RS-12M1, RS-12M2, formerly incorrectly RT-2UTTKh) is one of the most recent intercontinental ballistic missiles to be deployed by Russia, and the f ...

* MAZ-547A/MAZ-7916 - 12 wheeled TEL *

MAZ-7917 The MAZ-7917 () is a Soviet and Russian army 14×12 Twelve-wheel drive transporter-erector-launcher designed and developed by the Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ) in Belarus. Developed primarily for use as a Topol ICBM mobile launcher, the earli ...

- 14 wheeled TEL *

MZKT-79221 The MZKT-79221 () is a Russian army 16x16 transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) designed and developed by the MZKT in Belarus. It was developed in 1996-1997, and serial production began in 2000. Developed primarily for use as a RT-2PM2 Topol-M TEL, ...

- 16 wheeled TEL * MAZ-7907 - 24 wheeled

gas turbine A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of Internal combustion engine#Continuous combustion, continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas gene ...

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 The SPYDER ("Surface-to-air Python and Derby") is an Israeli short and medium range mobile air defence system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems with assistance from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Rafael is the prime contractor an ...

Gallery

Image:s-300V.jpg, A Russian

S-300V The S-300 (NATO reporting name SA-10 Grumble) is a series of long-range surface-to-air missile systems developed by the former Soviet Union. It was produced by NPO Almaz for the Soviet Air Defence Forces to defend against air raids and cruise ...

TELAR in transit mode Image:sa10_1.jpg, A Russian

S-300P The S-300 (NATO reporting name SA-10 Grumble) is a series of long-range surface-to-air missile systems developed by the former Soviet Union. It was produced by NPO Almaz for the Soviet Air Defence Forces to defend against air raids and cruise ...

TEL ready for launch Image:Pluton 034.jpg, A French

Pluton In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...

missile in transit mode Image:Moscow Parad 2008 Ballist.jpg,

TEL Image:Luna m frog 7 hameenlinna 1.jpg, 9P113 TEL with 9M21 rocket File:1st Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment - 191106-A-BS310-0214.jpg,

M270 MLRS The M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (M270 MLRS) is an American armored self-propelled multiple launch rocket system. The U.S. Army variant of the M270 is based on the chassis of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The first M270s were delivered ...

Image:MoscowParade2009 7.jpg, S-300 Image:SCUD 2.JPG,

MAZ-7310 The MAZ-543/MAZ-7310 "Uragan" (/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 1960s, the MAZ-543 was presented on 7 November 196 ...

Image:German Patriot missile launcher.jpg, A German PATRIOT launcher Image:19-03-2012-Parade-rehearsal - Topol-M.jpg, Russian Topol-M

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 Self-propelled rocket launchers Weapons platforms Rocket launchers Missile launchers Transporter erector launcher systems