Originally Posted by
Two's in
I remember Rapier courses being given to Iranian students at a certain Army School in Berkshire, just prior to them all being recalled when the Shah was deposed. That must have been 1978, so for a complex MoD weapon system to be in continuous service for well over 40 years must be some kind of achievement.
Just being pedantic:
The course to which you refer was more likely in Wiltshire.
Rapier was not that complex a system.
40 years is not that long (cf AIM9 Sidewinder 1956-ish to present). Also although the missile didn't change much over the years (impact to proximity fuzing being the main change) the detection radar and tracking and guidance systems changed massively over that time. One could almost say that name remained in service for well over 40 years.
Batco