Originally developed for South Africa by Thomson-CSF and Matra, the R.440 Crotale was a fully automatic, all-weather, low-altitude SAM system. A Crotale battery consisted of two to three firing vehicles, each with its own fire-control radar and four ready-to-fire missiles (left), and a surveillance/ acquisition vehicle equipped with the P4R search/target designation radar (older version is shown to the right). Portugal signed a Crotale purchase agreement in January 1974, in hopes of defending its more vulnerable African installations (including Bissau and Cabinda) from the growing threat of air attack. Portugal received a single Crotale battery in September 1974, after the war’s end, and with Thomson’s assistance it was resold to South Africa in 1976. (Artwork by David Bocquelet)