Guardian Engagement Control Vehicle Update:
As the name would suggest, the Engagement Control Vehicle (ECV) was the heart and brain of the Guardian air defence system (see previous posts).
Its Type 909(I) I/J band radar, the same as fitted to the Royal Nay’s Type 42 guided missile destroyers, provided: 360-degree, target tracking and illumination functions via the large main dish; missile reference and command datalink [1] via the secondary domed antenna; and an ECM jamming assessment capability via the smaller tertiary dish. The central mounting pedestal could also be elevated to improve range in undulating terrain but would normally be operated in as low a configuration as possible to improve stability and tactical concealment. The crew space at the rear of the vehicle provided stations for the radar operator and the engagement controller, while the crew of 4 was completed with a driver and vehicle commander.
Operationally, each Guardian Flight (of which there were three within a Squadron) consisted of a headquarters element and two fire sections, each comprising one ECV detachment and 2 x Transporter, Erector, Launcher (TEL) detachments. Initial target acquisition information could be passed from any suitable Sector/Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) radars or from the Guardian Squadron’s own long-range, 3-D, Giraffe Surveillance radars. During the Gulf War, it was not unusual for Guardian flights of 54 Squadron RAF Regiment to be widely dispersed and, consequently, flights often had Giraffe radars and enhanced first-line engineering assets attached from the Squadron headquarters on a semi-permanent basis.
The model depicts the ECV of B3 Detachment, Charlie Fire Section, B Flight of 54 Squadron RAF Regiment as it was during the Gulf War of 1991 on the day it shot down its first MiG 25R. The model is based on an AFV Club M109G and includes parts from an Academy Warrior MCV, Tamiya Challenger 1, a bit of 3D printing courtesy of cults3d.com, plastic card and the usual odds and sods from the spares box.
[1] From Wiki: The Mod 2 Sea Dart missile as used by the Guardian system, included ADIMP (Air Defence IMProvement) which saw the replacement of six old circuit cards in the guidance system with one, allowing the spare volume to be used for an autopilot. Used alongside a command datalink (sited on the Type 909(I) pedestal) it allowed several missiles to be 'in the air' at once and, if necessary, re-targeted during flight. It also allowed for an initial ballistic trajectory, effectively doubling the engagement range to 80 nmi (92 mi; 150 km) with the upgraded Type 909(I) radar using its illumination function for the terminal phase of the engagement only.
