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The best foreign armor-piercing systems (ATGM). Anti-tank weapons of Russia - we will fight back the tank troops

In articles about anti-tank missile systems (ATGMs), the expressions "first generation", third generation", "shot-forgot", "I see-shoot" are often found. I will briefly try to explain what, in fact, we are talking about ...

As the name suggests, anti-tank systems are primarily designed to engage armored targets. Although they are used for other objects. Up to an individual infantryman, if there is a lot of money. ATGMs are capable of quite effectively fighting low-flying air targets, such as helicopters.

Photo from Rosinform.ru

anti-tank missile systems referred to as high-precision weapons. That is, to weapons, I quote, "with a probability of hitting a target higher than 0.5". Slightly better than when tossing a coin heads-tails)))

The development of anti-tank systems was carried out back in Nazi Germany, Mass production and delivery of anti-tank missile systems to the troops in NATO countries and the USSR was already deployed in the late 1950s. And these were...

ATGM first generation

Anti-tank guided missiles of the first generation complexes are controlled by "three points":
(1) the operator's eye or sight when shooting at a distance of more than a kilometer.
(2) rocket
(3) target

That is, the operator had to combine these three points manually, controlling the rocket, as a rule, by wire. Until the very moment of hitting the target. Manage using various kinds of joysticks, control handles, joysticks and other things. For example, here is such a "joystick" on the control device 9S415 of the Soviet ATGM "Malyutka-2"

Needless to say, this required a long training of operators, their iron nerves and good coordination even in a state of fatigue and in the heat of battle. Requirements for candidates for operators were among the highest.
Also, the complexes of the first generation had disadvantages in the form of low flight speed of missiles, the presence of a large "dead zone" in the initial section of the trajectory - 300-500 m (17-25% of the entire firing range). Attempts to solve all these problems have led to the emergence of ...

ATGM second generation

Anti-tank guided missiles of the second generation complexes are controlled by "two points":
(1) Viewfinder
(2) Purpose
The task of the operator is to keep the mark of the sight on the target, everything else is "on the conscience" of the automatic control system located on the launcher.

The control equipment, with the help of the coordinator, determines the position of the missile relative to the line of sight to the target and keeps it on it, transmitting commands to the missile via wires or radio channels. The position is determined by the emission of an infrared lamp-headlight / xenon lamp / tracer placed in the stern of the rocket and directed back to the launcher.

A special case is such second-generation complexes as the Scandinavian "Bill" or the American "Tou-2" with the BGM-71F missile, which hit the target from above on the span:

The control equipment on the installation "leads" the rocket not along the line of sight, but several meters above it. When a missile flies over a tank, the target sensor (for example, on the "Bill" - a magnetic + laser altimeter) gives a command to sequentially detonate two charges placed at an angle to the axis of the missile

Also, second-generation complexes include anti-tank systems using missiles with a semi-active laser homing head (GOS)

The operator is also forced to keep the mark on the target until it is hit. The device illuminates the target with coded laser radiation, the rocket flies to the reflected signal, like a moth to the light (or like a fly to the smell, as you like).

Among the shortcomings of this method, the crew of the armored object is practically notified that they are being fired at, and the equipment of the optical-electronic protection systems can have time to cover the car with an aerosol (smoke) screen at the command of laser irradiation warning sensors.
In addition, such missiles are relatively expensive, since the control equipment is located on the missile, and not on the launcher.

Similar problems exist in complexes with laser-beam control. Although they are considered the most noise-immune of the second generation anti-tank systems

Their main difference is that the missile movement is controlled by a laser emitter, the beam of which is oriented towards the target in the tail of the attacking missile. Accordingly, the laser radiation receiver is located in the stern of the rocket and directed to the launcher, which significantly increases the noise immunity.

In order not to notify their victims in advance, some ATGM systems can raise the missile above the line of sight, and lower it in front of the target itself, taking into account the range obtained from the rangefinder to the target. What is shown in the second picture. But do not be confused, in this case the rocket does not hit from above, but into the forehead / side / stern.

I will confine myself to the concept invented by the Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering (KBM) for dummies "laser path", on which the rocket actually holds itself. In this case, the operator is still forced to accompany the target until it is hit. However, scientists have tried to make their lives easier by creating

ATGM generation II+

They are not much different from their older brothers. In them, it is possible to track targets not manually, but automatically, by means of ASC, target tracking equipment. At the same time, the operator can only mark the target, and search for a new one, and defeat it, as is done on the Russian "Kornet-D"

In terms of their capabilities, such complexes are very close to third-generation complexes. They coined the term I see-shoot"However, with everything else, the generation II + complexes did not get rid of their main shortcomings. First of all, the dangers for the complex and the operator / crew, since the control device must still be in direct line of sight of the target until it is hit. Well, in secondly, associated with the same low fire performance - the ability to hit a maximum of targets in a minimum time.

To solve these problems are

ATGM third generation

Anti-tank guided missiles of the third generation systems do not require the participation of the operator or the launch equipment located on the launch equipment in flight and therefore belong to " shot and forgot"

The task of the operator when using such anti-tank systems is to detect the target. ensure its capture by the missile control equipment and launch. After that, without waiting for the defeat of the target, either leave the position, or prepare to hit a new one. A missile guided by an infrared or radar seeker will fly by itself.

Anti-tank missile systems of the third generation are constantly being improved, especially in terms of the capabilities of on-board equipment to capture targets, and the moment when they will appear is not far off.

ATGM fourth generation

Anti-tank guided missiles of the fourth generation systems will not require the participation of the operator at all.

All you have to do is launch a missile into the target area. There artificial intelligence will detect the target, identify it, independently make a decision to defeat and carry it out.

In the long term, the equipment of the "swarm" of missiles will rank the detected targets in order of importance and hit them starting from the "first on the list." At the same time, preventing the direction of two or more ATGMs to one target, as well as redirecting them to more important ones if they were not fired upon due to a failure or destruction of the previous missile.

We have various reasons there are no third-generation complexes ready for delivery to the troops or for sale abroad. Because of what we lose money and markets. For example, Indian. Israel is now the world leader in this area.

At the same time, complexes of the second and second plus generations remain in demand, especially in local wars. First of all, due to the relative cheapness of missiles and reliability.

The scientists and engineers of the company, under the leadership of the chief designer Harald Wolf (and then Count Helmut von Zborowski), on their own initiative, carried out a series of fundamental research and research work with a tactical and technical justification for the practical military necessity and a feasibility study for the economic feasibility of mass production of wire-guided feathered anti-tank missiles, according to the conclusions of which the ATGM will help to significantly increase:

  • The probability of hitting enemy tanks and heavy armored vehicles at distances that are not accessible to existing weapons;
  • Effective firing range, according to what will make it possible tank battle at a great distance;
  • The survivability of German troops and military equipment located at a safe distance from the maximum reach of effective enemy fire.

In 1941, as part of factory tests, they carried out a series of developmental work, which showed that the listed goals can be achieved by successfully solving the problem of guaranteed destruction of enemy heavy armored vehicles at a much greater distance with already current level development of technologies for the production of rocket fuel and rocket engines (by the way, during the war, BMW chemists synthesized in laboratories and tested more than three thousand different types of rocket fuel with varying degrees of success) using control-by-wire technology. The introduction of BMW developments into practice and putting them into service was prevented by events of a military-political nature.

Since, by the time of the supposed start of state tests of the developed missiles, the campaign had begun on the Eastern Front, the success of the German troops was so overwhelming, and the pace of the offensive was so rapid that the representatives of the army command any ideas of weapons development that were incomprehensible to them and military equipment were completely uninteresting (this applied not only to missiles, but also to electronic computers, and many other achievements of German scientists), and military officials from the Armaments Office of the Ground Forces and the Imperial Ministry of Arms, who were responsible for introducing promising developments into the troops, did not even consider it necessary to consider such an untimely application, - the party-state apparatus and officials from among the members of the NSDAP were one of the first obstacles to the implementation of military innovations. In addition, for a number of tank aces of the German Panzerwaffe, a personal combat score went to tens and hundreds of wrecked enemy tanks (the absolute record holder is Kurt Knispel with a score exceeding one and a half hundred tanks).

Thus, the logic of imperial arms officials is not difficult to understand: they saw no reason to question the combat effectiveness of German tank guns, as well as others already available and available in in large numbers anti-tank weapons - there was no urgent practical need for this. An important role was played by the personal factor, expressed in the personal contradictions of the then Reich Minister of Armaments and Ammunition Fritz Todt and Director General BMW Franz Josef Popp (German), since the latter, unlike Ferdinand Porsche, Willy Messerschmitt and Ernst Heinkel, was not among the Fuhrer's favorites, and therefore did not have the same independence in decision-making and influence in departmental lobbies: the Ministry of Armaments in every possible way prevented the leadership of BMW from implementing own program development missile weapons and technology, and directly indicated that they should not be engaged in abstract research - the role of the parent organization in the development program of German infantry tactical missiles was assigned to the metallurgical company Ruhrstahl (German) with much more modest developments in this field and a much smaller staff of scientists for their successful development.

The question of the further creation of guided anti-tank missiles was postponed for several years. Work in this direction intensified only with the transition of the German troops to the defense on all fronts, but if in the early 1940s this could be done relatively quickly and without undue red tape, then in 1943-1944 the imperial officials were simply not up to it, before they were more pressing issues of providing the army with armor-piercing anti-tank shells, grenades, faustpatrons and other ammunition manufactured by the German industry in millions of pieces, taking into account the average production of tanks by the Soviet and American industries (70 and 46 tanks per day, respectively), to spend time on expensive and untested no one assembled single copies of guided weapons, in addition, in this regard, the Fuhrer's personal order was in effect, which prohibited the expenditure of public funds on any abstract research if they did not guarantee a tangible result within a six-month period from the moment development began.

One way or another, after the post of Reich Minister of Arms was taken by Albert Speer, work in this direction resumed, but only in the laboratories of Ruhrstahl and two other metallurgical companies (Rheinmetall-Borsig), while BMW was assigned only the task of designing and manufacturing rocket engines. In fact, orders for the mass production of ATGMs were placed only in 1944, at the factories of these companies.

First production samples

  1. Ready for combat use the Wehrmacht had pre-production or serial samples of ATGMs by the end of the summer of 1943;
  2. It was not about single experimental launches by factory testers, but about field military tests by servicemen of certain types of weapons;
  3. Military trials took place at the forefront, in conditions of intense highly maneuverable combat operations, and not in conditions of positional warfare;
  4. The launchers of the first German ATGMs were compact enough to be placed in trenches and camouflaged with improvised means;
  5. The operation of the warhead upon contact with the surface of the target under fire led to almost no alternative to the destruction of the armored target with fragmentation (the number of ricochets and cases of non-operation of warheads, misses and emergency situations, as well as in general any account and statistics of cases of the use of anti-tank missiles by the Germans in an open Soviet no military seal was cited, only general description eyewitnesses of the observed phenomena and their impressions of what they saw).

First large-scale combat use

For the first time after the Second World War, French-made SS.10 ATGMs (Nord Aviation) were used in combat in Egypt in 1956. ATGM 9K11 "Baby" (produced by the USSR) were supplied armed forces UAR before the Third Arab-Israeli War in 1967. At the same time, the need for manual guidance of missiles right up to hitting the target led to an increase in losses among operators - Israeli tankers and infantry actively fired at the place of the alleged ATGM launch from machine guns and cannons, in the event of an injury or death of the operator, the missile lost control and began to lay coils along As a result, in two or three seconds, the spiral, in terms of an amplitude increasing with each revolution, would stick to the ground or go into the sky. This problem was partly offset by the possibility of moving the position of the operator with the guidance station to a distance of up to one hundred meters or more from the launching positions of the missiles thanks to compact portable coils with a cable that unwound if necessary to the required length, which significantly complicated the task of neutralizing missile operators for the opposing side.

Anti-tank missiles for receiver systems

In the United States in the 1950s, work was underway to create anti-tank guided missiles for firing from infantry recoilless barrel systems (since the development of unguided munitions had already reached its limit in terms of effective firing range by that time). The leadership of these projects was taken over by the Frankford Arsenal in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama was responsible for all other projects of anti-tank missiles launched from guides, from a launch tube or a tank gun), practical implementation went in two main directions - 1) " Gap "(eng. GAP, backr. from guided antitank projectile) - guidance on the marching and terminal sections of the flight path of the projectile, 2) "TCP" (eng. TCP, terminally corrected projectile) - guidance only on the terminal section of the projectile flight path. A number of weapons models created within the framework of these programs and implementing the principles of wire guidance (“Sidekick”), radio command guidance (“Shilleila”) and semi-active homing with radar target illumination (“Polket”), was successfully tested and produced in pilot batches, but it did not reach large-scale production.

In addition, first in the United States and then in the USSR, guided weapon systems for tanks and barreled combat vehicles (KUV or KUVT) were developed, which are a feathered anti-tank guided projectile (in the dimensions of a conventional tank projectile) launched from a tank gun and coupled with appropriate control system. The control equipment for such an ATGM is integrated into the tank's sighting system. American complexes (English) Combat Vehicle Weapon System) from the very beginning of their development, that is, from the end of the 1950s, they used radio command system guidance, Soviet complexes from the moment the development began until the mid-1970s. implemented a wire guidance system. Both American and Soviet KUVT allowed the use of a tank gun for its main purpose, that is, for firing ordinary armor-piercing or high-explosive fragmentation projectiles, which significantly and qualitatively increased the fire capabilities of the tank in comparison with combat vehicles equipped with ATGMs launched from external rails.

In the USSR and then Russia, the main developers of anti-tank missile systems are the Tula Instrument Design Bureau and the Kolomna Engineering Design Bureau.

Development prospects

Prospects for the development of ATGMs are associated with the transition to fire-and-forget systems (with homing heads), increasing the noise immunity of the control channel, defeating armored vehicles in the least protected parts (thin upper armor), installing tandem warheads (to overcome dynamic protection), using a chassis with a launcher mast installation.

Classification

ATGM can be classified:

By type of guidance system

  • operator-guided (with command guidance system)
  • homing
by type of control channel
  • controlled by wire
  • controlled by laser beam
  • controlled by radio
by way of guidance
  • manual: the operator "pilots" the missile until it hits the target;
  • semi-automatic: the operator in the sight accompanies the target, the equipment automatically tracks the flight of the rocket (usually along the tail tracer) and generates the necessary control commands for it;
  • automatic: the missile is self-guided to a given target.
by mobility category
  • portable
  • worn by the operator alone
  • carried by calculation
  • disassembled
  • assembled, ready for combat use
  • towed
  • self-propelled
  • integrated
  • removable combat modules
  • transported in a body or on a platform
  • aviation
generational development

The following generations of ATGM development are distinguished:

  • First generation(tracking both the target and the missile itself) - fully manual control (MCLOS - manual command to line of sight): the operator (most often with a joystick) controlled the missile's flight along the wires until it hit the target. At the same time, in order to avoid contact of sagging wires with interference, it is required to be in direct line of sight of the target and above possible interference (for example, grass or tree crowns) during the entire long time of the rocket flight (up to 30 seconds), which reduces the operator's protection from return fire. The first generation ATGMs (SS-10, Malyutka, Nord SS.10) required highly skilled operators, control was carried out by wire, but due to the relative compactness and high efficiency ATGMs led to the revival and new flourishing of highly specialized "tank destroyers" - helicopters, light armored vehicles and SUVs.
  • Second generation(target tracking) - the so-called SACLOS (Eng. Semi-automatic command to line of sight ; semi-automatic control) required the operator only to keep the aiming mark on the target, while the flight of the rocket was controlled by automation, sending control commands to the rocket via wires, a radio channel or a laser beam. However, as before, during the flight, the operator had to remain motionless, and the wire control forced to plan the missile's flight path away from possible interference. Such missiles were launched, as a rule, from a dominant height, when the target was below the level of the operator. Representatives: "Competition" and Hellfire I; generation 2+ - "Cornet".
  • third generation(homing) - implements the "fire and forget" principle: after the shot, the operator is not constrained in movements. Guidance is carried out either by illumination with a laser beam from the side, or the ATGM is supplied with IR, ARGSN or PRGSN of the millimeter range. These missiles do not require operator escort in flight, but they are less resistant to interference than the first generations (MCLOS and SACLOS). Representatives: Javelin (USA), Spike (Israel), LAHAT (Israel), PARS 3LR(Germany), Nag (India), Hongjian-12 (China).
  • fourth generation(self-launch) - promising fully autonomous robotic combat systems, in which the human operator is absent as a link. Software and hardware systems allow them to independently detect, recognize, identify and make a decision to fire at a target. On the this moment are under development and testing with varying degrees of success in different countries.

Variants and media

ATGMs and launchers are usually made in several versions:

  • portable complex with a rocket launched
  • from a container
  • with guide
  • from the barrel of a recoilless launcher
  • from the launch tube
  • from a tripod machine
  • off the shoulder
  • installation on the chassis of the car, armored personnel carrier / infantry fighting vehicle;
  • installation on helicopters and airplanes.

In this case, the same missile is used, the type and weight of the launcher and guidance means vary.

IN modern conditions unmanned aircraft are also considered as ATGM carriers, for example, the MQ-1 Predator is capable of carrying and using the AGM-114 Hellfire ATGM.

Means and methods of protection

When moving a missile (using laser beam guidance), it may be necessary that, at least at the final stage of the trajectory, the beam be directed directly at the target. Irradiation of the target may allow the enemy to use defenses. For example, the Type 99 tank is equipped with a blinding laser weapon. It determines the direction of the radiation, and sends a powerful light pulse in its direction, capable of blinding the guidance system and / or the pilot. The tank took part in large-scale exercises ground forces.

Comments

  1. Often there is an expression anti-tank guided missile(ATGM), which, however, is not identical to an anti-tank guided missile, since it is only one of its varieties, namely, a barrel-launched ATGM.
  2. Which in turn was acquired by BMW in June 1939 from Siemens.
  3. Harald Wolf headed the rocket development division at the initial stage after its entry into the structure of BMW, he was soon replaced by Count Helmuth von Zborowski, who led the rocket development division at BMW until the very end of the war, and after the war he moved to France and participated in the French rocket program , collaborated with the engine company SNECMA and the rocket division of Nord Aviation.
  4. K. E. Tsiolkovsky himself divided his theoretical developments into “ space rockets» for output payload into outer space and "terrestrial rockets" as an ultra-high-speed modern vehicle of rail rolling stock. At the same time, neither one nor the other, he did not intend to use as a means of destruction.
  5. Occasionally, the word "rocket" could be used in the specialized military press in relation to foreign developments in this area, as a rule, as a translation term, as well as in a historical context. The TSB of the first edition (1941) contains the following definition of a missile: "Rockets are currently used in military affairs as a means of signaling."
  6. See, in particular, the memoirs of V.I. against our tanks, anti-tank torpedoes, which were launched from the trenches and controlled by wires. From the impact of a torpedo, the tank was torn into huge pieces of metal, which flew up to 10-20 meters. It was hard for us to look at the death of tanks until our artillery dealt a strong fire attack on the tanks and trenches of the enemy. The Red Army failed to get new types of weapons; in the described case, they were destroyed by massive fire from Soviet artillery. The passage quoted is reproduced in several editions of this book.
  7. It will be interesting to note that by 1965, Nord Aviation had become the world leader in the production and sale of ATGMs on the international arms market and practically a monopolist in their production among the countries of the capitalist world - 80% of the arsenals of ATGMs in the capitalist countries and their satellites were French missiles SS.10, SS .11, SS.12 and ENTAC, which by that time had produced a total of about 250 thousand units, and in addition to which at the exhibition of weapons and military equipment during the 26th Paris International Air Show in June 10-21, 1965 joint Franco-German HOT and Milan were presented.

Notes

  1. Military encyclopedic Dictionary. / Ed. S. F. Akhromeeva , IVIMO USSR . - 2nd ed. - M.: Military Publishing House, 1986. - S. 598 - 863 p.
  2. Artillery // Encyclopedia "Round the World".
  3. Lehmann, Jörn. Einhundert Jahre Heidekrautbahn: eine Liebenwalder Sicht. - Berlin: ERS-Verlag, 2001. - S. 57 - 95 s. - (Liebenwalder Heimathefte; 4) - ISBN 3-928577-40-9.
  4. Zborowski, H. von ; Brunoy, S. ; Brunoy, O. BMW Developments. // . - P. 297-324.
  5. Backofen, Joseph E. Shaped Charges Versus Armor-Part II . // armor: The Magazine of Mobile Warfare. - Fort Knox, KY: U.S. Army Armor Center, September-October 1980. - Vol. 89 - no. 5 - P. 20.
  6. Gatland, Kenneth William. Development of the Guided Missile . - L.: Iliffe & Sons, 1954. - P. 24, 270-271 - 292 p.

Tanks. This main firepower modern armies was first used in the distant past, during the First World War, at the battle of the Somme. Since then, tanks have evolved with each new year, and now they represent real killing machines. But they are not as strong as they seem. In the event of a threat, Russia will be able to give a worthy rebuff to the enemy and disable the enemy’s equipment in a matter of seconds.

Main types of weapons

The history of the development of anti-tank weapons dates back to the time of the Great Patriotic War. It was then that anti-tank guns were first used. Since then, weapons have undergone many transformations, completely new models of equipment have emerged, which can be divided into three main categories:

  1. Self-propelled anti-tank missile systems.
  2. Portable anti-tank missile systems.
  3. Anti-tank artillery.

It should also not be forgotten that modern Russian anti-tank weapons include rocket-propelled grenade launchers, which are used by infantry.

Self-propelled guns

Self-propelled anti-tank weapons consist of two modules - a means of destroying an enemy tank and a mobile complex. Combat vehicles and tracked chassis often act as the latter.

And the first on our list is the Shturm-S anti-tank missile system (ATGM). Its basis is the 9P149 combat vehicle, the chassis of which is borrowed from the MT-LB - a lightly armored multi-purpose transporter. Armament is represented by guided missiles "Storm" and "Attack". Both can be equipped with a cumulative or high-explosive submunition, and the "Attack" can also be equipped with a rod system for hitting air targets.

This Russian anti-tank weapon has a unique targeting system. First, the projectile flies in an arc, and when approaching the target, it levels off and hits it. This allows you to fire at the enemy, regardless of visibility conditions, soil stability and weather conditions. The range of weapons destruction is from 400 to 8 thousand meters, the dispersion is less than one degree.

"Competition" and "Chrysanthemum"

The self-propelled ATGM "Konkurs" is based on a combat reconnaissance vehicle. Its main purpose is the movement, guidance and launch of striking projectiles 9M111-2 or 9M113. The machine can engage targets both moving (at speeds up to 60 km / h) and standing (by pillboxes). Aiming and direct shooting is possible from prepared and unprepared firing positions. Moreover, the Russian anti-tank weapon "Konkurs" can swim and hit targets while overcoming water barrier. However, to defeat tanks from land, it is necessary to deploy guns. Preparation time is up to 25 sec. Target range - from 70 to 4,000 meters.

ATGM "Chrysanthemum-S" is the most modern defensive means. The machine is capable of firing only from a place, but this is one of the few complexes whose missiles fly at supersonic speeds, and targeting is possible at any time of the day under any weather conditions.

This latest Russian anti-tank weapon has an exceptional feature. "Chrysanthemum-S" can fire at two targets at once, thanks to independent guidance systems. The range of destruction is from 400 to 6000 meters.

Portable guns

Portable anti-tank systems are distinguished by the absence of a mobile platform and are transported by available means. Some of these models, such as the "Competition", are part of self-propelled weapons.

First, I would like to mention the portable anti-tank weapon of Russia "Metis". This is a folding machine, on which the 9P151 launcher and semi-automatic targeting tools are “strung”, which simplifies the training of soldiers for firing. Fire can be fired at moving and standing targets at a distance of up to 2 km. To hit targets in the dark, "Metis" is equipped with additional equipment.

"Cornet"

A completely new anti-tank weapon is the Kornet ATGM. Developed on the basis of the Reflex tank armament, it has an enviable advantage over it - a laser guidance beam. Thanks to this, the gun can hit ground and air targets moving at speeds up to 250 m/s. At the same time, the height of the ceiling during the defeat can be up to 9 km, and the distance to the target is even more - 10 km.

The presented Russian anti-tank weapon "Kornet" can fire at ground targets from a distance of up to 4500 meters during the day and 3.5 km at night. Deployment time - less than 5 seconds, the rate of fire varies from 2 to 3 rounds per minute.

Artillery

100 mm anti-tank gun The MT-12 is the only representative of the artillery class on our list. It was created on the basis of the T-12 gun. In fact, this is the same means of firing, only installed on a new carriage. Transportation is carried out by towed way.

Targets can be hit at a distance of more than 8 km with four types of charges - shaped charge, armor-piercing, high-explosive and guided missiles "Kastet". A feature of the MT-12 is its versatility (the gun is capable of hitting equipment, firing points, manpower) and rate of fire. Shots can be fired up to 6 times per minute.

You should not be limited to this list, because the anti-tank weapons of the Russian army include various modifications and additional equipment.

Experts identify four generations of anti-tank systems, which are fundamentally different guidance systems. The first generation assumes a command control system with manual guidance through the wires. The second is distinguished by semi-automatic command guidance by wire / laser beam. The third-generation ATGM implements a fire-and-forget guidance scheme with target contour memorization, which allows the operator to only aim, fire a shot, and immediately leave the position. In the near future, the fourth generation of anti-tank systems will be developed, which, in terms of their combat characteristics, will resemble loitering projectiles of the LM (Loitering Munition) class. It will include means for transmitting an image from the homing head (GOS) of an anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) to the operator's console, which will significantly improve accuracy.

Despite the fact that the armies of many countries are striving to switch to third-generation ATGMs, there is still a high demand for second-generation systems. The reason is their wide distribution among the troops and at a much lower cost. Another factor is the comparability and even superiority in terms of penetration of the latest modifications of many second-generation ATGMs in comparison with third-generation systems. And finally, the analysis of the experience of clashes in urban conditions became a serious factor. Based on it, anti-tank missiles of the second generation complexes are armed with cheaper high-explosive and thermobaric warheads (warheads) to destroy bunkers and various fortifications, as well as for use in urban battles.

It is worth noting one more western trend in the field of development and production of anti-tank systems. There is virtually no demand for self-propelled complexes, and therefore they have been removed from production everywhere. In Russia the situation is different. The latest development of Kolomensky design office mechanical engineering (KBM) - upgraded version self-propelled ATGM of the second generation "Shturm" ("Shturm-SM") with a multifunctional missile "Ataka" (firing range - six km) in 2012 completed state tests. During civil war in Libya, self-propelled ATGMs of the Kolomna development Khrizantema-S (range - six km) showed themselves excellently (at first in government units, but then were captured by rebels). However, this type of ATGM is not the subject of this article.

1. "Fagot": "Fagot" (GRAU index - 9K111, according to the classification of the US Department of Defense and NATO - AT-4 Spigot, English. Crane (sleeve)) - Soviet / Russian portable anti-tank missile system with semi-automatic command guidance by wire. Designed to destroy visually observed stationary and moving at speeds up to 60 km / h targets (enemy armored vehicles, shelters and firepower) at ranges up to 2 km, and with a 9M113 missile - up to 4 km.

Developed at the Instrument Design Bureau (Tula) and TsNIITochMash. Adopted in 1970. Upgraded version - 9M111-2, version of the missile with increased flight range and increased armor penetration - 9M111M.

The complex includes:

folding portable launcher with control equipment and launch mechanism;

missiles 9M111 (9M111-2) in transport and launch containers (TPK);

spare tools and accessories (SPTA);

test equipment and other auxiliary equipment.

Easy to operate, can be carried by two people. The weight of the pack N1 of the crew commander with the launcher is 22.5 kg. The second calculation number transfers the N2 pack weighing 26.85 kg with two missiles to the TPK.

2. "Kornet": "Kornet" (GRAU Index - 9K135, according to the classification of the US Defense Ministry and NATO: AT-14 Spriggan) - an anti-tank missile system developed by the Tula Instrument Design Bureau. Developed on the basis of the Reflex tank guided weapon system, retaining its main layout solutions. Designed to destroy tanks and other armored targets, including those equipped with modern means dynamic protection. Modification of the Kornet-D ATGM can also hit air targets.

3. "Competition" (complex index - 9K111-1, missiles - 9M113, original name - "Oboe", according to the classification of the US Defense Ministry and NATO - AT-5 Spandrel, literally "Superstructure") - Soviet self-propelled anti-tank missile system. It was developed in the Instrument Design Bureau, Tula. Designed to destroy tanks, engineering and fortifications.

Subsequently, a modification 9K111-1M "Konkurs-M" (original name - "Udar") with improved characteristics (tandem warhead) was developed, which was put into service in 1991. ATGM "Konkurs" was produced under license in the GDR, Iran (the so-called "Towsan-1", since 2000) and India ("Konkurs-M").

4. "Chrysanthemum" (Index of the complex / missile - 9K123 / 9M123, according to the classification of NATO and the US Department of Defense - AT-15 Springer) - a self-propelled anti-tank missile system.

It was developed in the Kolomna Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering. Designed to destroy tanks (including those equipped with dynamic protection), infantry fighting vehicles and other lightly armored targets, engineering and fortifications, surface targets, low-speed air targets, manpower (including in shelters and in open areas).

The complex has a combined missile control system:

automatic radar in the millimeter range with missile guidance in the radio beam;

semi-automatic with missile guidance in the laser beam

Two containers with missiles can be installed on the launcher at the same time. Missiles are launched sequentially.

Ammunition ATGM "Chrysanthemum-S" consists of four types of ATGM in TPK: 9M123 with laser beam guidance and 9M123-2 with radio beam guidance, with over-caliber tandem-cumulative warhead and 9M123F and 9M123F-2 missiles, respectively with laser and radio beam guidance, with a high-explosive (thermobaric) warhead.

5. "Metis" (complex / missile index - 9K115, according to the classification of NATO and the US Department of Defense - AT-7 Saxhorn) - Soviet / Russian portable anti-tank missile system of the company level with semi-automatic command guidance by wire. Refers to the ATGM of the second generation. Developed by the Tula Instrument Design Bureau.