The gunner sat between the missile pairs on the mount, aiming using a simple reflex sight. Four missiles were carried on the launch rails, with eight extras stored below the launcher with their fins and wings removed.
The launcher was capable of a full 360 degrees traverse and +90/-9 degrees of elevation. M730A1 had M113A2 improvements, while M730A2 was upgraded to M113A3 standard complete with diesel engine The complete system was known as the M48 Chaparral Intercept-Aerial Guided Missile System, composed of the M54 Launching Station atop the M730 carrier, a M113 variant. The first Chaparral battalion was deployed in May 1969.Ī small target-acquisition area radar, the AN/MPQ-49 Forward Area Alerting Radar (FAAR), was developed in 1966 to support the Chaparral/Vulcan system, although the FAAR is transported by the Gama Goat and thus not suitable for use in the front line. Ford developed the M730 vehicle, adapted from the M548, itself one of the many versions of the widely used M113. The first XMIM-72A missiles were delivered to the US Army in 1967. The studies were completed in 1965 and the Chaparral program was begun. Neither vehicle concept had room for a search radar, so a separate radar system using datalink was developed for this role. Both would be aimed manually, eliminating the delay needed for a fire control system to develop a "solution". The main concern was that at shorter distances the missile would not have time to lock onto the target before it flew out of range, so to serve this need a second vehicle based around the M61 Vulcan cannon was specified. MICOM's report was cautiously optimistic, concluding that the Sidewinder could be adapted very quickly, although it would have limited capability.Ī new concept, the "Interim Forward Area Air Defense" (IFAAD) evolved around the Sidewinder. On the downside, the missile required some time to "lock on", and the current generation seekers were only able to lock onto the tail of an aircraft. Since the Sidewinder was guided by an infrared seeker, it would not be confused by ground clutter like the radar-guided Mauler.
MICOM was directed to study whether or not the Navy's AIM-9D Sidewinder missile could be adapted for the ground-to-air role. For both of these reasons the Mauler program was scaled back in 1963 and alternatives were studied. More worrying, a new generation of Soviet attack aircraft was coming into service. Army strategy from the mid-1950s PENTANA study was based on having embedded mobile anti-aircraft capability, and Mauler's delays put this entire program in question. Others, like problems with the fire control and guidance systems, appeared to be more difficult to solve. Many of these were relatively minor, including problems with the rocket motors or fins on the airframe. In testing, Mauler proved to have numerous problems. The entire engagement would be handled by the fire control computer. Operation was to be almost entirely automatic, with the operators simply selecting targets from the search radar's display and then pressing "fire". Known as the MIM-46 Mauler, it was based on a modified M113 chassis carrying a large rotating A-frame rack on top with nine missiles and both long-range search and shorter-range tracking radars. Army MICOM (Missile Command) began development of an ambitious anti-aircraft missile system under their "Forward Area Air Defense" (FAAD) program.