The M727 was used as a transport and launching platform for the MIM-23 HAWK (Homing All the Way Killer) surface-to-air missile. It utilized the powertrain and suspension of the cargo carrier M548, but stronger torsion bars were used to deal with the increased weight imposed by the large missiles and their launcher. An hydraulic suspension lock-up was employed when loading or firing the missiles. Three missiles could be loaded onto the guided missile launcher M754 that was mounted behind the cab. Upper and lower steel blast deflectors protected the cab during firing; the lower blast deflector folded upward and forward onto the upper deflector for travel. An aluminum blast cover was stowed on the cab roof, and was installed over the windshield before firing.
The Raytheon MIM-23 HAWK ("Homing All the Way Killer") is an American medium-range surface-to-air missile. It was designed to be a much more mobile counterpart to the MIM-14 Nike Hercules, trading off range and altitude capability for a much smaller size and weight. Its low-level performance was greatly improved over Nike through the adoption of new radars and a continuous wave semi-active radar homing guidance system. It entered service with the US Army in 1959.
In 1971 it underwent a major improvement program as the Improved Hawk, or I-Hawk, which made several improvements to the missile and replaced all of the radar systems with new models. Improvements continued throughout the next twenty years, adding improved ECCM, a potential home-on-jam feature, and in 1995, a new warhead that made it capable against short-range tactical ballistic missiles. Jane's reported that the original system's single shot kill probability was 0.56; I-Hawk improved this to 0.85.
Hawk was superseded by the MIM-104 Patriot in US Army service by 1994. The last US user was the US Marine Corps, who used theirs until 2002 when they were replaced with the man-portable short-range FIM-92 Stinger. The missile was also produced outside the US in Western Europe, Japan and Iran. The US never used the Hawk in combat, but it has been employed numerous times by other nations. Approximately 40,000 of the missiles were produced.
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