In the mid-1980s, based on practical experience such as the Falklands War, Britain put forward new requirements for high-speed air defense missiles. Shorts developed a new portable air defense missile, the Starstreak HVM, on the basis of the newly commissioned Javelin air defense missile.Starlight is a relatively special weapon, with missiles sealed in launch tubes. Three versions have been developed according to the requirements of the British government: single soldier portable, tripod mounted triple, and vehicle mounted, which can meet the needs of different combat units. It also has certain anti armor capabilities.

The Starlight missile is driven by two-stage rocket engines. When launched, the first stage engine pushes the missile out of the launch tube, which has a small impact force and will not cause damage to the shooter and sighting equipment. When the missile flies about 4 meters away, the second stage main engine ignites, and a short period of violent combustion can push the missile to a speed of 4 Mach. High speed can shorten the attack time and prevent the target from reacting in time.

The combat part of the missile consists of three bullet heads mounted on the warhead, each resembling a small missile. The bullet heads are made of tungsten alloy, weighing approximately 900 grams, measuring 396 millimeters in length and 22 millimeters in diameter. The tail of the bullet head has an X-shaped stabilizing fin, and the front has a small duckwing. The bullet itself has a certain degree of maneuverability and can adjust its flight trajectory slightly based on target information. However, it is not achieved through pneumatic control surfaces. According to some articles, there is a rotating body at the position of the bullet, which changes its speed through the brake to achieve steering. This may be due to the use of gyroscopic effect. When the second stage rocket engine of the missile is about to burn, it releases three bullets, which are dispersed and fly towards the target at intervals of more than one meter. The bullets do not receive laser reflected back from the target object, but establish two-dimensional coordinates through laser irradiation from the aiming unit. The bullets adjust their own trajectories based on the information in the coordinates. The three bullets do not interfere with each other, calculate their own trajectories and adjust them until they hit or lose the target. This laser guidance technology allows the aiming unit to illuminate the target with a wider laser beam without affecting the accuracy of the missile, making it easier to operate. Although the bullet head is small in size, its killing power is not low. The bullet body is filled with about 450 grams of explosives, almost half of the weight of the bullet head. The tungsten alloy material provides stronger penetration ability. The bullet head uses an impact delay fuse, which can enter the target object and explode. The shattered tungsten alloy bullet body splashes and causes greater damage. The effective combat range of Starlight missile is 300-7000 meters, and the improved version of the missile in this century has increased its combat altitude to 5000 meters. The hit probability of a single missile is 96%. Coupled with its extremely fast attack speed, low flying helicopters and slow fixed wing aircraft find it difficult to escape its attack.

In the 1990s, Britain conducted anti armor tests using Starlight missiles, with bullets hitting and penetrating armored vehicles at a speed of 1200 meters per second. It is said that its kinetic energy is equivalent to 40mm Bofors ammunition, which is sufficient to deal with targets with thin armor. However, it should be pointed out that Starlight does not have a dedicated anti armor warhead, and the load-bearing capacity of land vehicles and aircraft is different. Its anti armor combat effectiveness is still not comparable to professional anti tank missiles, and it may be powerless against main battle tanks with thicker armor.

Source: Military of Strong Countries