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AV-TM 300
AV-TM 300
Type	Cruise missile
Place of origin	Brazil
Production history
Manufacturer	Avibras
Unit cost	US$1,000,000
Produced	Officially in development since 2001
Specifications
Mass	1140 kg
Length	5400 mm
Diameter	450 mm [9]
Wingspan	1250 mm
Warhead	200-500 kg
Engine	Turbomachine TJ1000 Turbojet; 1,000 lbf
Propellant	1st stage: solid propellant; 2nd stage: turbojet (0.85 Mach)
Operational; range	30-300 km (Depending on the engine power, the Missile can reach more than 500 or 1,000 km)
Maximum speed	0.85 Mach
Guidance; system	GPS / INS
Accuracy	less than 30 meters
Launch; platform	Astros II; JAS F-39 Gripen (pending);

The AV-TM 300^[6] Tactical Missile or MTC-300 (Míssil Tático de Cruzeiro) is a Brazilian cruise missile developed by Avibras for the Astros II system. Nicknamed Matador ("killer"),^[7] it is projected to be a less expensive alternative to the American BGM-109 Tomahawk.^[8] The missile is equipped with a central computer that combines a Ring laser gyroscope, connected to an active GPS navigation device that uninterruptedly supplies positioning information for course correction. Apparently there also will be a naval version called X-300.^[9] The missile can use a single warhead of 200 to 500 kg high explosive or cluster munition warhead with 64 submunitions for anti-personnel or anti-tank targets.^[4]

Development

The first version of the missile was created in 1999,^[1] however, the development of the missile officially started in September 2001.^[8] Eventually, the original specifications underwent a major modification, including removal of the retractable wings and addition of composite materials. The missile uses solid-fuel rockets for launching, and a turbojet during the subsonic cruise flight.^[1] The missile uses a variant of the Turbomachine TJ1000, an indigenous turbojet engine developed by Turbomachine company and used by Avibras under a manufacturing license agreement.^[10]

The Brazilian Army signed the development contract and invested R$ 100 million since 2012, the development stages are being finalized by 2021 and already have about two dozen launches from test fields such as the CLBI. The force has commissioned an initial batch of 100 units. In addition to being used in the land force, the weaponry can be used by the ASTROS of the Brazilian Marine Corps.^[11]^[12] As of December 2023, the missile was still in the test phase and had yet to enter service.^[13] By April 2024, Avibras faced debt and labor issues and owed approximately R$ 60 million worth of undelivered orders to the Brazilian Army. General Rocha Lima, head of the Army Projects Office, described the AV-TM as the company's greatest unconcluded project.^[14]

Air launched variant

The MICLA-BR (acronym in Portuguese for Brazilian Long-Range Cruise Missile) development was confirmed by the Brazilian Air Force in September 2019 to equip the JAS F-39 Gripen with the first tests of the missile conducted in the same year with a Brazilian F-5 EM as a test platform.^[5]^[15] The Brazilian Air Force intends to declare the MICLA-BR fully operational in the early 2030s.^[5]