Vickers Vigilant Anti Tank Missile

Vigilant (Visually Guided Infantry Light ANti Tank missile) was developed by Vickers-Armstrong to provide an anti-tank missile for the British Army in the early 1960s. Its High Explosive Anti Tank (HEAT) warheads could defeat over 500mm of armour plate.

The missile was held in a launcher which doubled up as a transport container, along with a combined sight, battery and controller with which to fire, and control it in flight. The controller could be connected to the launcher via wires, which allowed the operator to initiate the missile firing a safe distance away from the launch site.  It could also be mounted and fired from Land Rovers.

Once launched, the wire guided missile was tracked onto its target by the operator and steered using a thumb operated joystick. 

Vigilant began to be withdrawn from service from the late 1960s and was replaced by Swingfire.

Weight 31 lb (14 kg)
Length 3.5 ft (1.07 m)
Diameter 0.12 m