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The Masurca missile was a first-generation naval surface-to-air missile system developed and used by the French Navy. Planned as the primary air defence missile system of the first generation of French guided missile ships, it was used only aboard the two ''Suffren''-class destroyers and as a retrofit to the cruiser ''Colbert''. ==History== In 1948 France embarked on a number of programs to develop guided missile systems, the aim being to keep pace with the other Great Powers. The proliferation of high-speed threats, be they underwater, surface or aerial threats, required the development of effective defences. High-priority programs were initiated to cover all areas: anti-aircraft, anti-surface and anti-submarine. Of these programs two achieved operational status; these were: *MALAFON (MArine LAtécoère FONd i.e. Latécoère Naval underwater) for the anti-submarine role *MASURCA (MArine SURface Contre-Avions i.e. Naval surface anti-aircraft) for the area and high-priority air defense role France had already been working on an anti-aircraft missile the Maruca, derived from the wartime German Henschel Hs 117 Schmetterling. Although the MARUCA program was ultimately abandoned because of impracticability, experience from its development would not go to waste. In 1955 ''ECAN de Ruelle'' began work on a supersonic missile using solid-propellants. The MASURCA was a DTCN (Direction Technique des Constructions Navales i.e. Naval Construction Department) program working through ''ECAN de Ruelle'' and Matra. The first tests were made on the Île du Levant, the focus moving in 1960 to the Ile d'Oléron in a building especially built for experimentation. 50 test firings would be made in the period up to 1968, concluding with operational validation aboard the then newly commissioned frigate ''Suffren''. After the initial version, known as the Mark 1, came the Mark 2 which benefited from knowledge and technology transfer from the United States. France was in the process of modernising it's T 47 class fleet escorts and it received data from the RIM-2 Terrier program offered by the United States as equipment for the ''Dupetit-Thouars'', and experience from the deployment of the RIM-24 Tartar aboard the ''Kersaint'', ''Bouvet'', and ''Du Chayla''. France subsequently developed the Mk2 mod2 (Mark 2 modification 2) which deployed from 1966. This was later improved to MK2 mod 3 standard in 1970, and was updated again between 1983 and 1985. MASURCA had been intended as the principal air defence weapon of France's first generation of guided-missile ships (known as FLE or frégates lance-engins in the French parlance of the time). Initially MASURCA was to have armed the six units of the Suffren class, however with the termination of the class at two ships, the only ships to ship with the system were ''Suffren'', her sister-ship ''Duquesne'' and, in her incarnation as a guided missile cruiser, the cruiser ''Colbert''. Over time the number of missiles has declined with the winding down of the program and the retirement of is launch platforms. The ''Duquesne'' was placed into reserve in 2009 replaced by the air-defence destroyer ''Forbin''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Masurca (surface to air missile)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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