Development of the system started in 1992 and initial production of fifty-seven Rapier FSC systems has been completed. The systems are operational in two air defence batteries of the Royal Artillery and three air defence squadrons of the Royal Air Force plus associated training units. Rapier FSC first entered service in 1996. It was declared operational to NATO and deployed to the Falkland Islands in November 1996.

The firing unit holds eight ready to fire missiles. The missiles are mounted on launcher rails on the walls of a rotatable turret. A full reload is carried out manually in 2 minutes and requires no lifting aids. The Rapier missile is equipped with a fragmentation high explosive warhead from BAE Systems RO Defence and is fitted with a multi-mode laser proximity fuse. The missile's propulsion system is a two stage enhanced solid-propellant rocket motor also from BAE. The guidance is automatic infra-red and radar command to line of sight.

The Dagger target acquisition and surveillance radar is a multi-beam high resolution 3-D radar supplied by BAE SYSTEMS. The radar is a frequency agile 3D pulse Doppler radar operating in J-band, with scan rate of 60 or 30 rpm. The maximum detection range of the radar is in excess of 15 km. An optional range of 32 km is available. The maximum elevation is 5 km. The system has the processing capacity to detect more than 75 threats per second. The radar provides bearing data and threat assessment from a Cossor Mark 10 or 12 IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) system. The signal processing system incorporates clutter rejection algorithms and is also resistant to electronic countermeasures. A high elevation guard beam automatically switches off the transmissions when the presence of an anti-radiation missile is detected.

The Blindfire tracking radar, supplied by BAE SYSTEMS, is a differential monopulse frequency agile radar operating at F-band which provides fully automatic all-weather engagement. The output is sufficiently powerful to burn through most jamming signals and the radar uses advanced frequency management techniques to evade jamming and other hostile electronic countermeasures. The system incorporates a self-surveillance reversionary mode of operation. A dedicated missile command link provides dual firing capability.

The electro-optic tracking device, a passive infra-red electro-optic sensor, is mounted on the top of the turret in a spherical housing and is controlled by an operator at a weapon control terminal. The tracking device can be used in scanning mode to provide passive target detection and acquisition in radar-silent operations. Raytheon Systems Limited has been awarded a contract to supply all the UK Army’s Rapier FSC systems with the SIFF (Successor Identification Friend or Foe).

When the surveillance radar detects and acquires a target, the bearing data is downloaded to the tracking radar and the launcher which then automatically align to the target bearing. The target is acquired on the optical tracking system. When the surveillance radar has confirmed that the target is hostile the missile is launched. The missile is guided towards the target at speed in excess of Mach 2.5 by passive infra-red line of sight and active command to radar line of sight. The automatic reaction time is less than five seconds and a second target engagement takes less than three seconds.