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The Otomat/Teseo is an Italian-built, anti-ship and coastal attack missile first built by the Italian company Oto Melara jointly with Matra and now made by MBDA. The name comes, for the first version, from the name of the two builders (OTO Melara MATra) and, for the last versions, from the Italian word for Theseus. The MILAS variant is an anti-submarine missile. Roketsan, Turkish missile manufacturer has signed an agreement in 2010 with MBDA to design, develop, produce the new generation of rocket engine for the Otomat. ==Origins== The Otomat missile program started in 1967, the same year in which the Israeli destroyer Eilat was sunk by three Soviet-made P-15 Termit anti-ship missiles. This event raised awareness about the effectiveness of such weapons and prompted the development of similar systems in Western countries, such as the Harpoon in the United States. However, it is unknown whether the Otomat program started before or after the Eilat event. The Otomat program was undertaken by the Italian Oto Melara corporation in cooperation with the French Matra Corporation. The aim was to develop an anti-ship missile powered by a turbofan which would allow more range and a heavier warhead than rocket-powered missiles then being developed in Europe such as the French Exocet and the German Kormoran. Trials started in 1971 and development of the Mk1 version of the Otomat officially ended in 1974.〔Lanzara, p. 34〕 However, at that time, the French Navy chose the wholly French Exocet over the Franco-Italian Otomat as its standard anti-ship missile. Thus, the Italian Navy remained as the only launch customer for the missile; it entered service on January 1976, before the commissioning of the warship intended to carry it, the .〔Lanzara, p. 32〕 These early Otomat missiles lacked a data link for over-the-horizon targeting, which limited its effective range to a similar figure to the Exocet. To solve this problem, development of an Mk2 version started in May 1973, with a first test launch in January 1974, development completed in 1976, and the first over-the-horizon launch in 1978.〔 By the end of 1976 OTO Melara had reported that 210 Otomats had been sold: Italy 48, Peru 40, Venezuela 12, and Libya 110. Also at this time there were negotiations under way for the sale of 296 more missiles to various nations (i.e. Italy 48, Egypt 30, Venezuela 48, Libya 120, Indonesia 50).〔Ezio Bonsignore "The Italian Naval Exhibit" Aviation & Marine page 50 October 1976 published INTERCONAIR〕 An Mk2 Block II version was introduced in the 1980s, it featured folding wings so that the missile could now fit in a smaller launch boxes. This reduction in size allowed a doubling in the number of missiles carried, usually from four to eight. Even so, Otomat Mk2 Block II remained bulkier than contemporary versions of Harpoon and Exocet missiles due to its greater diameter and its boosters being fitted to its flanks instead of in the rear. 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「Otomat」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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