Warbird Information Exchange

Chaparral III?.
Loral, along with other companies, was trying to interest the US Army and other potential customers in further modifications to increase Chaparral’s effectiveness and further extend its service life. This effort involved various options and has been known by the following names: Chaparral 2000, Roadrunner and Chaparral Chassis Service Life Extension Program (CCSLEP). Many of the upgrades offered for the Chaparral were developed privately by Loral and other contractor teams. These upgrades were revealed at the SafeAir 93 demonstrations held at the McGregor Range, New Mexico.

This Chaparral enhancement initiative includes several new configurations, offered under the overall designation Chaparral Chassis Service Life Extension Program (CCSLEP), as well as a new missile load assist device (LAD) that reduced the crew needed to operate the present Chaparral M730 series system. The CCSLEP, previously known as Roadrunner and also called Advanced Chaparral, was an outgrowth of the Chaparral system and included the following derivatives: Universal Carrier, designed XM1108; a modified version of the General Motors of Canada Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) 8x8, designated M1047A; and a trailer-mounted Pedestal design. The CCSLEP was a natural progression from the Chapfire demonstration held in the middle of 1992, the success of which led to development of the launcher hardware.

The launcher pallet allowed for the universal mounting of various pedestals equipped with launch rails specific to the required missile system. The use of identical pallets allowed interchangeable applications and the ability to tailor the weapon system for specific scenarios. The multi-weapon platforms have already been used to test fire HELLFIRE and Chaparral missiles and Hydra-70 rockets. MICOM identified a number of additional weapon candidates for future integration on the CCSLEP including: tail-control Chaparral; Stinger; Sparrow; AMRAAM; a lightweight version of the Line Of-Sight-Anti-Tank (LOSAT); and even TOW missile, once the latter is finally fire-and-forget. The tracked XM1108 carrier was believed to have been demonstrated for Egypt, which already operates a number of Chaparral SAM systems. Egypt may be interested in a version outfitted with both AMRAAM surface-to-air and HELLFIRE anti-tank missiles. Other interested customers included: the US Marine Corps for the LAV configuration; and the Norwegian army, which has shown interest in a variant carrying the AMRAAM. Both the tracked and wheeled CCSLEP systems remove the gunner from the Chaparral turret and place him under armor in the vehicle crew compartment. The trailer-mounted version of the CCSLEP also carries a combination of missile systems, allowing the weapons platform to be used around airfields and other fixed sites.

A version based on a stretch M113 chassis was developed in cooperation with FMC and the US Army Tank-Automotive Command (TACOM). The M113 armored personnel carrier was cut down and stretched with the addition of a sixth set of road wheels. The carrier crew compartment used the production model armored cab from the MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System), also made by FMC, and had space for three soldiers. This provided the crew the same level of ballistic protection found in the M113A3 APC and moved the gunner’s position to the armored cab. The system could normally be operated with a crew of only two, although the third person was required to conduct 24-hour operations. The prototype’s propulsion system was to be replaced by that to be used in the new XM8 Armored Gun System (AGS). The Roadrunner had a maximum gross weight of 16,329 kg. The M113 Common Carrier was designed to have a combat weight of 10,357 kg with an additional 189 kg dedicated platform growth. The remaining 5,783 kg have been allocated to payload weight capacity. A complete vehicle could be delivered three months after a contract award.

Loral was also experimenting with the addition of dual spectral (radio frequency and infrared) sensors and interactive missile guidance to expand the operational utility of the system beyond the Improved Chaparral. A dual spectral seeker would enable Chaparral to sense the radio frequency signals emitted when attacking aircraft switch on their radars for target acquisition and an early target approach. The infrared seeker would continue to be used for terminal guidance. Alternatively, target information from both the infrared and radio frequency seekers could be collated by a data fusion system. A tail control missile would provide an extended intercept range beyond 15 kilometers, while modifications to the rocket motor would reduce flight time to target intercept and simplify missile handling.

Other electronic based modifications included the addition of new sensors, such as the Thorn EMI Electronics ADAD (Air Defence Alerting Device) and the McDonnell Douglas Nighthawk target acquisition and designation system, and the adding of an Identification Friend-or-Foe (IFF) system.

Launcher Models.
The following describes the various launch platforms that were used by the Chaparral, which includes tracked, towed and shipborne versions.

Chapfire.
The US Army Missile Command and Loral have developed the Chapfire system, which is capable of firing both MIM-72 Chaparral anti-aircraft and AGM-114 HELLFIRE anti-tank missiles. The system is equipped with a new Allstar radar, an improved version of the Lockheed Sanders forward area alerting radar (FAAR) fielded with Chaparral units. This radar unit provided cueing and targeting information for Chapfire demonstrations. The Chapfire system uses a modified Chaparral launcher mounted on a wheeled trailer and equipped with two ready-to-fire Chaparrals and two HELLFIREs. The launcher is outfitted with a Texas Instruments FLIR target acquisition unit and a laser designator/rangefinder for the HELLFIRE missiles. The Chapfire also can be mounted on a fighting vehicle, trailer ship or fixed ground position. The Chapfire unit, without extra missiles, would be roughly $2.5 million.

The system has been demonstrated for various allied countries and the US Navy has been offered the system for use on its cargo vessels (although the latter service has declined the offer). The Chapfire concept origi-nated with the US Navy, which is seeking a low-cost shipboard air/surface defense system for defending lightly armed cargo vessels in coastal waters. The system eventually selected by the US Navy would be known as the Rapid Deployment Integrated Defense System.

Those are some sort of prototypes for a new Chaparral-based system. The first is a modified chassis similar to the M113-based chassis used for the M48, but with a fixed driving compartment (the normal M48 has a collapsible one) and the second a modified LAV-25.

A search of "Chaparral & Hellfire" brought me a reference to the "LAV MPLS" apparently developed in the 1990's in Canada (aka GDLS, the makers of the LAV) and a 1992 news article snippet that referenced a "Chapfire" system that had been demonstrated to the US Army.

This led me to a 1999 report by "Forecast International" that garnered this gem -



And this -