AT-4 Spigot
Encyclopedia
The 9K111 Fagot is a SACLOS
wire-guided
anti-tank missile system of the Soviet Union
. "9M111" is the GRAU
designation of the missile. Its NATO reporting name
is AT-4 Spigot.
ATGM's, for use in both the man portable role and the tank destroyer role. The 9K111 Fagot was developed alongside the AT-5
; both missiles use similar technology – only differing in size and can use the same launchers.
The missile entered service in 1970.
had two ATGM squads, each squad has two 9K111 Fagot teams. The team consisted of 3 men - the gunner carries the 9P135 launcher and tripod as a back pack - the other two men carry two launch tubes each. The men also carry assault rifles, but do not carry an RPG - because unlike the earlier missiles there is only a small deadzone inside which the missile cannot engage the target. In addition to the four missiles the team carries, they normally have a BTR
with an additional 8 missiles.
It can also be deployed from the BMP-1P
, BMD-1P
, BTR-D and UAZ-469
.
The missile is stored and carried in a container/launch tube. It is fired from the 9P135 launcher post - a simple tripod. A 9S451 guidance box is fitted to the tripod - with the missile sitting just above. The 9Sh119 sight is fitted to the left side (from the gunners POV). The complete launcher system weighs 22.5 kg. The gunner lays prone while firing. The system can engage moving targets providing they are travelling at less than 60 km/h. The launcher post can traverse through 360 degrees horizontally, and +/- 20 degrees in elevation. The sight has a magnification of 10x and a 5 degree field of view. Up to 3 missiles a minute can be fired from a launcher post.
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 186 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 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 SACLOS
guidance system has many benefits over MCLOS
, with the accuracy of the system stated as 90% in some sources, though its performance is probably comparable to the TOW or the later SACLOS
versions of the AT-3 Sagger.
- 50 - all retired after German Reunification
- 50 - Several hundred 9P135M-1 launchers (withdrawn from service) and AT-4B as well as AT-5A missiles, known as PstOhj 82 and PstOhj 82M respectively. - - 262 - 50 - 100 - - as of Saddam
's Era - - 100 - 100 - - used on BMP-1
- 10 - - 100 - 1,000 - 250 - 50 - 10 (withdrawn from service) - 100 - 800 - 100
SACLOS
SACLOS is an acronym for Semi-Automatic Command to Line of Sight, a second-generation method of missile guidance. In SACLOS, the operator has to continually point a sighting device at the target while the missile is in flight...
wire-guided
Wire-guided missile
A wire-guided missile is a missile that is guided by signals sent to it via thin wires connected between the missile and its guidance mechanism, which is located somewhere near the launch site. As the missile flies, the wires are reeled out behind it...
anti-tank missile system of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. "9M111" is the GRAU
Grau
Grau is a German word meaning "gray" and a Catalan word meaning "grade". It may refer to:* BAP Almirante Grau , a De Zeven Provinciën class cruiser in service with the Peruvian Navy* Grau Käse, Tyrolean grey cheese...
designation of the missile. Its NATO reporting name
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...
is AT-4 Spigot.
Development
The 9K111 Ur A Fagot was developed by the Tula Machinery Design Bureau (Tula KBP). Development began in 1962 with the aim of producing the next generation of SACLOSSACLOS
SACLOS is an acronym for Semi-Automatic Command to Line of Sight, a second-generation method of missile guidance. In SACLOS, the operator has to continually point a sighting device at the target while the missile is in flight...
ATGM's, for use in both the man portable role and the tank destroyer role. The 9K111 Fagot was developed alongside the AT-5
AT-5 Spandrel
The 9M113 Konkurs SACLOS wire-guided Anti-tank missile of the Soviet Union. "9M113" is the GRAU designation of the missile. Its NATO reporting name is AT-5 Spandrel.-Development:...
; both missiles use similar technology – only differing in size and can use the same launchers.
The missile entered service in 1970.
History
The anti-tank platoon of a Soviet BTR equipped motor rifle battalionBattalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
had two ATGM squads, each squad has two 9K111 Fagot teams. The team consisted of 3 men - the gunner carries the 9P135 launcher and tripod as a back pack - the other two men carry two launch tubes each. The men also carry assault rifles, but do not carry an RPG - because unlike the earlier missiles there is only a small deadzone inside which the missile cannot engage the target. In addition to the four missiles the team carries, they normally have a BTR
BTR-60
The BTR-60 is the first vehicle in a series of Soviet eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers. It was developed in the late 1950s as a replacement for the BTR-152 and was seen first time in public in 1961...
with an additional 8 missiles.
It can also be deployed from the BMP-1P
BMP-1
The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty 1 , meaning "infantry fighting vehicle". The BMP-1 was the world's first mass-produced infantry fighting vehicle...
, BMD-1P
BMD-1
The BMD-1 is a Soviet airborne amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle, which was introduced in 1969 and first seen by the West in 1970. BMD stands for Boyevaya Mashina Desanta . It can be dropped by parachute and although it resembles the BMP-1 it is in fact much smaller...
, BTR-D and UAZ-469
UAZ-469
The UAZ-469 is an all-terrain vehicle manufactured by UAZ. It was used by the Red Army and other Warsaw Pact forces, as well as paramilitary units in Eastern Bloc countries. In the Soviet Union, it also saw widespread service in all state organizations that needed a robust off-road vehicle.The...
.
Description
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
Recoilless rifle
A recoilless rifle or recoilless gun is a lightweight weapon that fires a heavier projectile than would be practical to fire from a recoiling weapon of comparable size. Technically, only devices that use a rifled barrel are recoilless rifles. Smoothbore variants are recoilless guns...
. The missile leaves the launch tube at 80 m/s. It is quickly accelerated to 186 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 launcher tracks the position of an incandescent infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
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 SACLOS
SACLOS
SACLOS is an acronym for Semi-Automatic Command to Line of Sight, a second-generation method of missile guidance. In SACLOS, the operator has to continually point a sighting device at the target while the missile is in flight...
guidance system has many benefits over MCLOS
MCLOS
MCLOS is a first-generation method for guiding guided missiles.With an MCLOS missile, the operator must track the missile and the target simultaneously and guide the missile to the target. Typically the missile is steered with a joystick, and its path is observed through a periscope-type...
, with the accuracy of the system stated as 90% in some sources, though its performance is probably comparable to the TOW or the later SACLOS
SACLOS
SACLOS is an acronym for Semi-Automatic Command to Line of Sight, a second-generation method of missile guidance. In SACLOS, the operator has to continually point a sighting device at the target while the missile is in flight...
versions of the AT-3 Sagger.
Missile
- 9M111 Fagot (NATO: AT-4 Spigot and AT-4A Spigot A) Entered service in 1970. Maximum range 2000 m, minimum 70 m. Warhead 400 mm versus RHARolled homogeneous armourRolled homogeneous armour is a type of steel which is used to armour vehicles.-Composition:Armoured steel must be hard yet impervious to shock in order to resist high velocity metal projectiles. Steel with these characteristics is produced by processing cast steel billets of appropriate size and...
or 200 mm towards armour inclined at 60° - 9M111-2 Fagot (NATO: AT-4B Spigot B) Slightly improved version.
- 9M111M Faktoriya (Trading post) or Fagot-M (NATO: AT-4C Spigot C) Improved motor, longer guidance wire. Maximum range 2500 m, mimimum 75 m. Improved single HEAT warhead; penetration 400 mm versus RHA or 230 mm towards armour inclined at 60° (some publications claimed 9M111M to have tandem HEATHeatIn physics and thermodynamics, heat is energy transferred from one body, region, or thermodynamic system to another due to thermal contact or thermal radiation when the systems are at different temperatures. It is often described as one of the fundamental processes of energy transfer between...
warhead).
Launcher
- 9P135 22.5 kg. Can only fire the 9M111 Fagot series.
- 9P135M Can fire the 9M111 Fagot (NATO: AT-4 Spigot) series as well as the 9M113 Konkurs (NATO: AT-5 Spandrel) series missiles.
- 9P135M1 Updated version of the 9P135.
- 9P135M2 Updated version of the 9P135.
- 9P135M3 Deployed in the early 1990s. Adds 13 kg TPVP thermal imaging night sight - range 2500 m at night.
- 9S451M2 A launcher with a night sight featuring an anti-dazzle system has been developed.
Users
- 100 - 100 - 100 - - 52 - 500 - 222 - 119 - 100 - all transferred to both successors after Dissolution of CzechoslovakiaDissolution of Czechoslovakia
The dissolution of Czechoslovakia, which took effect on 1 January 1993, was an event that saw the self-determined separation of the federal state of Czechoslovakia. The Czech Republic and Slovakia, entities which had arisen in 1969 within the framework of Czechoslovak federalisation, became...
- 50 - all retired after German Reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
- 50 - Several hundred 9P135M-1 launchers (withdrawn from service) and AT-4B as well as AT-5A missiles, known as PstOhj 82 and PstOhj 82M respectively. - - 262 - 50 - 100 - - as of Saddam
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
's Era - - 100 - 100 - - used on BMP-1
BMP-1
The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty 1 , meaning "infantry fighting vehicle". The BMP-1 was the world's first mass-produced infantry fighting vehicle...
- 10 - - 100 - 1,000 - 250 - 50 - 10 (withdrawn from service) - 100 - 800 - 100
External links
- FAS
- http://btvt.narod.ru/4/fagot.htm in Russian