C-7

The C-7 air-to-air missile program began with a contract to Contraves in 1957. Later the design was assigned to SISPRE, a Fiat/Finmeccanica subsidiary. A few were manufactured and deployed in 1961-62. The missile used a BPD M2P30 motor with polybutadiene propellant delivering a specific impulse of 220 seconds.

This motor was used to develop the 160-70 sounding rocket. The 160 mm motor was topped with a 70 mm inert dart. This could deliver a payload of chaff to 50 to 80 km altitude, allowing study by radar of winds aloft. Five of these were launched in 1961 and ten in 1963. A further use of the motor was in a 3-stage sounding rocket intended to reach 200 km. This would have used 4 motors in the first stage, 2 in the second, and a smaller third stage. Only one test was conducted of this with a dummy third stage.

Manufacturer: Contraves / Fiat SISPRE. Total Mass: 65 kg (143 lb). Core Diameter: 0.16 m (0.52 ft). Total Length: 1.96 m (6.43 ft). Span: 0.64 m (2.09 ft). Maximum range: 11 km (7 mi). Boost Propulsion: Solid rocket. Boost engine: M2P30. Cruise Propulsion: Solid rocket. Guidance: Infrared Homing. Total Number Built: 200.

• Serra, Jean-Jacques, Rockets in Europe, . Accessed at: http://www.univ-perp.fr/fuseurop/index_e.htm.