SSM-A-23 Dart
| Type: | Surface-to-surface anti-tank missile |
| Guidance: | Wire-guided electro-optical system |
| Warhead: | Anti-tank shaped charge |
| Propellant: | Single solid propellant engine |
| Range: | 10,000 feet (3,000m) |
| Speed: | Mach 1 (300m/s) |
| Length: | 5 feet (1.5m) |
| Diameter: | 8 inches (20cm) |
| Weight: | 100 pounds (45kg) |
| First firing: | August 1954 |
The Dart is a surface-to-surface anti-tank and anti-emplacement missile for use by forward ground troops. As a vehicle-launched missile, the Dart was one of the smallest in the Army’s inventory, weighing in at only 100 pounds. Traveling at Mach 1, it was powered by a single solid uncooled propellant engine burning smokeless fuel. The Dart was virtually jam-proof due to being wire-guided.
The Dart could be fired from fixed or mobile positions permitted by its standard lightweight launch vehicle. However, the system could be employed using a variety of available vehicles. The launching personnel had just one task to perform after launch: keep the Dart’s image system on the target’s image in the specialized telescope. The rest is done automatically by transmission through the guiding wire.
The Dart program was cancelled in September 1958 and was replaced by the MGM-21 SS.10 and the AGM-22 SS.11, both designed and manufactured by France’s Nord Aviation.
