Saab is reinforcing its short-range air defense capability with a new missile designed to intercept drones as small and as cheap as a DJI Mavic.
Intended for the RBS 70 NG man-portable air defense system, the Bolide 2 missile is said to contain 50 percent more explosive material and deliver a stronger fragmentation effect than its previous variant, while maintaining a similar overall weight.
It retains the Bolide 1’s unjammable laser guidance system and adds an inertial navigation unit to improve stability during high-altitude flight.
Bolide 2 can engage targets at ranges of up to 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) and altitudes of 5 kilometers (3.1 miles).
Although its range and altitude performance match the first Bolide variant, the new missile uses a lighter aluminum-shaped charge designed to accelerate faster and deliver more destructive impact on target.
“With Bolide 2, we are ready to provide our customers with an even more capable missile, ready to be adapted for any new threats in the sky,” said Stefan Öberg, head of Missile Systems at Saab.
“RBS 70 users can benefit from improvements including a more powerful warhead, whether they are operating in the man-portable role or, as is increasingly common, from a vehicle firing unit.”
‘See Everything, Miss Nothing’
The RBS 70 NG is a ground-based air defense solution with a fully-integrated sighting unit, designed for multi-target engagement in both day and night conditions.
It can be deployed in under 45 seconds, with reload time between missiles taking less than five seconds.
The system also features an auto-tracker that improves hit probability, along with a built-in video recording function that allows operators to review engagements immediately after they occur.
The RBS 70 NG has been in service with the Brazilian Army since 2019, while the earlier RBS 70 system has been in use since 2014.
