History
Rapier began development in 1961 as a private venture at British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) known as "Sightline". The project was to combat supersonic, low level, high manoeuvrability craft, eschewing any attempt at automated guidance in favor of a purely optical system. The optical system ensured high accuracy, so it was developed with the intent of directly hitting its target, reducing the size of the warhead required to guarantee a kill, and eliminating the need for a proximity fuse. BAC joked that the system was a "hit-ile", as opposed to a "miss-ile".
At the time the British Army was planning on purchasing the advanced American MIM-46 Mauler system for its air-defence needs. When Mauler ran into problems in 1963, the Ministry of Defence issued requirement ET.316 and started funding Sightline as a backup in case Mauler did not deliver. That eventuality came to pass, and ET.316 was completely developed as "Rapier", with the first test firings of the missile taking place in 1966. Complete systems were tested in 1968, which led to a production contract issued in 1969. The system entered service in 1971 with the British Army, and 1974 with the Royal Air Force Regiment.
Read more about this topic: Rapier (missile)
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