9K111 Fagot

(Specifications at bottom of article)

First disclosed in 1980, following development at the KBP Instrument Design Bureau, Tula, dating from the late 1960s (it entered service around 1973), the 9K111 Fagot (Bassoon) anti-tank guided missile system has the NATO codename of `Spigot'; the US designation is AT-4. To complete the list of designations, the RFAS missile designation is 9M111; there is also a 9M111M Faktorlya (Trading Post) missile and a 9M111-2. The 9K111 Fagot SACLOS system is similar to MILAN (see entry under International) and uses the same general principle of operation. The chief outward difference is that the sight is smaller than for MILAN and the computing mechanism and goniometer are contained in a box below the launch rail, whereas in MILAN the sight container is larger and has the goniometer inside it. The introduction of the 9K111 Fagot to the former Warsaw Pact armies greatly improved the capability of the Pact infantry to defend itself against armoured attacks; it rapidly replaced the older manual command to line of sight systems. A MCLOS guidance system has been developed for the Fagot missile system within Croatia. It is claimed that this system, which involves a minimum amount of hardware modification to the Fagot launcher, can be utilised in the case of active infra-red jamming by an enemy.

Fagot was first used on a 9P135 ground launcher, after which it appeared on the BMP-1 and BMD-1 infantry vehicles. The 9P135 launcher, when tripod mounted, is capable of being moved in fine control azimuth and elevation by gears. The missile is attached by means of a slide, with built-in electrical connections. There are two current types of missile, the 9M111-2 and the 9M111M Faktorlya (Trading Post) or Fagot-M, the latter having an improved sustainer motor which increases the maximum range from 2,000 to 2,500 m and an improved HEAT warhead which increases armour penetration from 400 to 460 mm. The forward section of the missile is tapered to allow the flight control canards to be extended permanently. The 9S451 control system uses three optical paths; one is visible light and is used for aiming, the other two are infra-red and track the flare at the rear of the missile during flight, deriving the deviation from the line of sight and generating corrections. The two infra-red paths have different beamwidths, one being for ranges to 1,000 m, the other for ranges above 1,000 m and change from one beam to the other is performed automatically. This ensures that the beam is no wider than necessary for control, reducing the possibility of infra-red jamming. The 9M135 series of launchers can also fire the Konkurs missile (see following entry) without requiring any modification. The 9M135M1 and 9M135M2 are upgraded versions of the basic launcher while the 9M135M3 has a thermal imaging sight which clips over the usual 9Sh119 sight. The 9M135M3 launcher weighs 23.5 kg complete. In addition to the above launchers, a 9S451M2 launcher with a night sight featuring an anti-dazzle system has been developed. One thermal sight involved with the Fagot system is the 1PN86-1 Mulat with a recognition range of 2,000 m and a weight of 9 kg. A launcher with a passive electro-optic device providing optical-mechanical scanning operating from the thermal radiation of a target in real time forms part of the upgraded Fagot-M system. One detail has emerged regarding the packing of the missiles: two missiles are packed into a single bag within a container. The bags are sealed to the extent that Bulgarian sales descriptions maintain that the packed bags can be used as flotation devices when crossing water obstacles.

Specifications

Operation: SACLOS, wire-guided

Length: missile in canister, 1.1 m; missile only, 875 mm

Weight: launcher, 22.5 kg; complete round 9M111-2, 13 kg; complete round 9M111M, 13.4 kg; missile 9M111M, 7.3 kg; warhead, 2.5 kg

Warhead diameter: 120 mm

Max range: 9M111-2, 75-2,000 m; 9M111M, 75-2,500 m

Min range: 70 m

Velocity: max, 240 m/s; average, 180 m/s

Armour penetration: (armour at 90º) 9M111-2, 400 mm; 9M111M, 460 mm

Operational temperature range: -50 to +50ºC

Manufacturer: TsNIITochMash

Status: In production. Offered for export sales,

Service: Russian, other RFAS and former Warsaw Pact armies. Has been reported as being supplied to Northern Alliance forces in Afghanistan during 2001.