The Chaparral was an SPAA used by the United States between 1969 and the early 2000s. It was a cheap way to adapt an already existing and trusted platform like the M113 to provide close- to medium-range air defence. For this, the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile was used, with different seekers and engines being installed over the years in order to provide better target acquisition, range, and reliability. The Chaparral also saw medium success in international markets, serving with Ecuador, Chile, Egypt, Morocco, Taiwan, and Israel. Its only confirmed kill was a MiG-17 shot down by Israel over the Golan Heights.
Introduced in Update "Sons of Attila", the Chaparral comes with the benefit of using IR-guided missiles, these can be flared away with countermeasures and a couple of manoeuvres, but it makes it so that no radar is required, which means no ground clutter or lock warning for the pilots. Many jets at the BR lack countermeasures, so its most major opponents are modern ground attack aircraft like the A-10 and Su-25 that have armament capable of outranging the Chaparral and also have countermeasures. The other problem the Chaparral suffers is the lack of a gun; since it has no cannon or HMG, it is not able to shoot down helicopters or jets that are too close for the missile to get a lock.
Ammunition | Type | Armor penetration (mm) at a distance: | |||||
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10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1000 m | 1500 m | 2000 m | ||
SAM | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
SAM | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Mobility | |
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Protection |
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Firepower | ||
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