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Raketenjagdpanzer 4 (RakJPz 4) / Jaguar 2


Ant-Tank Guided Missile Carrier / Self-Propelled Tracked Combat Vehicle


Germany | 1983



"The Raketenjagdpanzer 4 - or Jaguar 2 - became the culmination of compact self-propelled tracked tank destroyers fielded by the West German army since the 1960s."

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one land system design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Raketenjagdpanzer 4 (RakJPz 4) Ant-Tank Guided Missile Carrier / Self-Propelled Tracked Combat Vehicle.
1 x MTU MB837 Aa V8 liquid-cooled multi-fueled diesel engine developing 500 horsepower.
Installed Power
43 mph
70 kph
Road Speed
249 miles
400 km
Range
Structure
The physical qualities of the Raketenjagdpanzer 4 (RakJPz 4) Ant-Tank Guided Missile Carrier / Self-Propelled Tracked Combat Vehicle.
4
(MANNED)
Crew
21.7 ft
6.61 meters
O/A Length
10.2 ft
3.12 meters
O/A Width
8.4 ft
2.55 meters
O/A Height
55,116 lb
25,000 kg | 27.6 tons
Weight
Armament & Ammunition
Available supported armament, ammunition, and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Raketenjagdpanzer 4 (RakJPz 4) / Jaguar 2 Ant-Tank Guided Missile Carrier / Self-Propelled Tracked Combat Vehicle.
1 x TOW Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) launcher.
1 x 7.62mm MG3 medium machine gun.
8 x Smoke grenade dischargers
AMMUNITION:
1,000 x 7.62mm ammunition (estimated)
8 x Smoke grenades
Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Raketenjagdpanzer 4 (RakJPz 4) / Jaguar 2 family line.
Raketenjagdpanzer 4 (RakJPz 4) - Base Series Designation.
Jaguar 2 - Alternative designation
Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 06/06/2018 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

For decades the West German Army relied on a series of lightweight, progressively powerful, missile-armed tracked combat vehicles for the tank destroyer role. Initial forms were based around firing the SS.11 Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) and these were then followed by a model armed with the Euromissile HOT ATGM. The line culminated with the Raketenjagdpanzer 4 (RakJPz 4) (also known as the "Jaguar 2") of 1983 which adopted the American Hughes TOW ATGM as its primary armament.

One-hundred sixty-two Jaguar 2 tanks were completed for their part in Cold War history (1947-1991) and these were conversions of existing 1960s-era "Kanonenjagdpanzer" gun-armed tank destroyer vehicles (detailed elsewhere on this site). The old tanks had their fixed gun armament removed and replaced by the missile launcher system complete with a revised hull superstructure. The angled sides were retained for basic ballistics protection.

As in German tracked tank destroyer vehicles prior, the RakJPz 4 was crewed by four (driver, commander, gunner, and loader) and powered by an MTU MB837 Aa V8 water-cooled diesel-fueled engine of 500 horsepower. Road speeds reached 70 kmh and ranges were out to 400 kilometers. Cross-country travel was aided by the torsion bar suspension system. Structurally, the compact tank had an overall length of 6.6 meters, a width of 3.1 meters, a height of 2.5 meters, and a weight of 24.8 tons. Armor protection reached 50mm and was this augmented by the addition of applique armor at critical facings while overall construction was of all-welded steel.

Beyond the TOW missile armament the RakJPz 4 carried a single 7.62mm MG3 machine gun for anti-infantry defense and was fielded with 8 x Smoke grenade dischargers, giving the vehicle a self-screening capability. In 1993, the TOW missile was given up in favor of the much-improved TOW-2 ATGM line for more tank-killing potency.

The RakJPz 4 was only operated by the West German Army and never exported. The line came to an end in 1993 as the Soviet Empire collapsed in 1991 and Germany had already become a reunited nation back in 1990 (reborn from its post-World War 2 East and West components). The Jaguar 2 line was superseded by the improved Jaguar 1A3 upgrade models, the Jaguar 1 tank destroyer detailed elsewhere on this site.

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Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Raketenjagdpanzer 4 (RakJPz 4) / Jaguar 2. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national land systems listing.

Total Production: 162 Units

Contractor(s): Henschel / Hanomag - West Germany
National flag of modern Germany

[ West Germany ]
Going Further...
The Raketenjagdpanzer 4 (RakJPz 4) / Jaguar 2 Ant-Tank Guided Missile Carrier / Self-Propelled Tracked Combat Vehicle appears in the following collections:
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