ANTI-TANK MISSILES (ATGW)

AT-5 SPANDREL

 

AT-5 Spandrel Anti-Tank Missile

The 9M113 Konkurs (contest) SACLOS (Semi-Automatic Command to Line of Sight) wire-guided Anti-tank missile of the Soviet Union. Its NATO reporting name is AT-5 Spandrel.

 

The missile is designed to be fired from vehicles, although it can also be fired from the later models of AT-4 Spigot launchers.

 

It is an integral part of the BMP-2, BMD-2 and BRDM-2 vehicles. The missile is stored and carried in a glass reinforced plastic container/launch tube.

The system uses a gas generator to push the missile out of the launch tube. The gas also exits from the rear of the launch tube in a similar manner to a recoilless rifle. The missile leaves the launch tube at 80 m/s.

 

It is quickly accelerated to 200 m/s by its solid fuel motor. This initial high speed reduces the deadzone of the missile, since it can be launched directly at the target, rather than in an upward arc. The missile spins in flight at between 5 and 7 revolutions per second.

The launcher tracks the position of an incandescent infrared bulb on the back of the missile relative to the target and transmits appropriate commands to the missile via a thin wire that trails behind the missile.

 

The system has an alarm that activates when it detects jamming from a system like Shtora. The operator can then take manual control, reducing the missile to MCLOS.

 

The SACLOS guidance system has many benefits over MCLOS. Accuracy of the system is quoted in some sources as 90%, though its performance is probably comparable to the TOW or later SACLOS versions of the Sagger.
 

AT-5 SPANDREL Specifications
Type Wire guided, SACLOS, anti-tank missile
Manufacturer Tubla KBP
Weight 14.6kg
Warhead 2.7kg HEAT can penetrate up to 600mm rolled homogenous armour
Length 1.1m
Diameter 135mm
Wingspan 468mm
Performance Range 4km, guidance wire-guided SACLOS