M47 Dragon

M47 Dragon
An M47 Dragon, shown here with its daytime tracker attached.
Type	Anti-tank missile
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1975–1990s (US Army) 1975–2001 (US Marine Corps) 1979–present (other countries)
Used by	See Operators
Wars	Iran–Iraq War 1982 Lebanon War[1] Invasion of Grenada Western Sahara War[2] Gulf War Yemeni Civil War Conflict in Najran, Jizan and Asir[3]
Production history
Designer	Raytheon
Designed	3 March 1966[citation needed]
Manufacturer	McDonnell Douglas, Raytheon
Produced	1975
No. built	7,000 launchers, 33,000 missiles (U.S. Army)[4] 17,000 missiles (U.S. Marine Corps)[4] 250,000 missiles (total)[5]
Variants	Dragon II, Dragon III, Saeghe 1, 2, 3 and 4[6]
Specifications (FGM-77)
Mass	32.1 lb (14.57 kg) (w/ day sight)[7] 46.9 lb (21.29 kg) (w/ night sight)
Length	1,154 mm (45.4 in)
Diameter	140 mm
Crew	1
Effective firing range	65–1,000 meters
Maximum firing range	1,000 meters 1,500 meters (Dragon III)
Warhead	Hollow charge
Warhead weight	3.5 lb (1.6 kg) Octol[8]
Maximum speed	Dragon/Dragon II: 100 m/s (330 ft/s) Dragon II: 200 m/s (660 ft/s)
Guidance system	SACLOS

The M47 Dragon, known as the FGM-77 during development, is an American shoulder-fired, man-portable anti-tank guided missile system. It was phased out of U.S. military service in 2001, in favor of the newer FGM-148 Javelin system.^[9]

The M47 Dragon uses a wire-guidance system in concert with a high explosive anti-tank warhead and was capable of defeating armored vehicles, fortified bunkers, main battle tanks, and other hardened targets. While it was primarily created to defeat the Soviet Union's T-55, T-62, and T-72 tanks, it saw use well into the 1990s, seeing action in the Persian Gulf War.^{[citation needed]} The U.S. military officially retired the weapon in 2001. The United States destroyed the last of its stocks of the missile in 2009.^[10] The weapon system remains in active service with other militaries around the world.