"Cornet" (anti-tank weapon): description, technical characteristics and photos

Technical progress in armaments is much faster than in other areas of human activity. Aircraft fly higher and faster, tanks become more powerful, and their tower guns are beating ever further. Improved and funds designed to confront the combat equipment of a possible enemy. It comes to the point that the line separating tactical missile installations from antitank complexes is erased or becomes unclear. An example is the Russian "Cornet" - a weapon designed to combat armored vehicles, but also suitable for suppressing well-fortified fire points and other elements of the echeloned defense. Previously, these tasks were carried out by heavy siege artillery systems and powerful missiles with special warheads.

My wonderful "Izh Kornet" ...

Only in the Dutch army now there is such a military rank. The etymology of the word is beautiful: its root is the English name of the main army trumpeter, who in the Middle Ages transmitted commands of the commander to the whole army by means of sound signals. The rank of this officer was also in the Russian Army, and remained as long as the White movement existed. It gave the name to a small motorcycle "Izh Kornet", popular among athletes. This bike, despite its small size and low power, looks pretty dandy due to the chrome decor elements and good design. The engine capacity - only 50 "cubes", it can ride without even a driver's license. The birthplace of the motorcycle "Cornet" - Izhevsk. Weapons are also often called in honor of the old military rank. A revolver of traumatic action is produced in Ukraine (caliber 9 mm). It is compact and convenient. Fans of hardball also know the inexpensive and high-quality pneumatic gun "Cornet". But the point in this article will be about a much more formidable weapon, anti-tank.

Punctures more than 1 meter of armor

With advancing tank formations, it's hard to fight. Modern technology is equipped with effective protection, designed by designers to protect the crew and vital components from the effects of damaging factors. The thickness of frontal armor in recent decades has increased significantly, but this effort of the creators of military vehicles is not limited. It has become multi-layered, resistant to cumulative impacts, and the angle of its spatial orientation contributes to reflection and rebound. Now it is not enough for a shell to have the ability to pierce a layer with a thickness of, for example, 100 mm, since complex protection measures repeatedly increase its resistance. The anti-tank complex "Cornet" was created with a very large reserve of power to successfully combat armored vehicles that meet the most modern world requirements, and even with a promising one. There is no metro armor for any tank - such a mass would weigh heavily on the design. However, the cumulative charge of the tandem action equipped with the 9M133 missile is able to penetrate a thicker (1200 mm) layer, which is also behind the dynamic protection. "Cornet" is an irresistible weapon.

Guidance

The best of all situations for the use of anti-tank weapons is one in which direct fire contact with the advancing enemy is excluded. However, over-the-horizon shooting is possible only if the condition of visual control of its result is met. The range of the 9M133 missile can reach ten kilometers, but the effective radius in the daytime does not exceed 5500 m, and at night - 3500 m. The guidance system is a laser semi-automatic. This means that the operator is sufficient to keep the target at the mark of the sight, and everything else happens without his intervention. The rocket goes in the direction of the beam, driven by a television-orientation system, while active or passive interference, which the enemy can expose, is ineffective. The guidance signal comes from the complex from which the launch was made to the photodetector directed backward. "Cornet" - a weapon suitable for use in zero visibility conditions, in this case, the aiming is carried out by a thermal imaging quick-sight sight 1PH79-1. This device also found application in the guidance stations of modern infantry fighting vehicles and attack helicopters.

Rocket in the container

The rocket controls are located in its bow. There are two of them, and they are in a transport position drowned in special niches, and leave them after the start. In the front compartment there is also a leading cumulative charge, which serves for burning fire protection. The rocket engine is solid - propellant and is made in the form of a ring, so that there is a hollow space inside it - this is necessary so that the gas jet of the main cumulative warhead (located behind) can pass through it at the moment of hit. The nozzles for giving the torque are angled. The wings are elastically bent and straightened after the shell comes out of the container. They are located behind (according to the "duck" scheme) and are displaced 45 ° to the plane of the rudders. The rocket is thrown out of the plastic TPK by an explosive charge. The flight path is spiral. The anti-tank complex "Cornet" can be stored for ten years. During this period there is no need for routine maintenance and inspections.

Cumulative effect

The 9M133 missile with a cumulative warhead can penetrate the thickness of a homogeneous, covered with a dynamic armor protection of 1000-1200 mm. This result is due to several striking factors. The speed of the projectile is 250 m / s, its mass is 29 kg, the weight of the blasting substance is 4600 g, the charge is tandem, the unpleased remainder of the solid fuel, through which the plasma gas stream of the main warhead passes, also comes into play. This is how the anti-tank "Cornet" works, and the danger of its impact is enhanced by the high accuracy of falling into the most vulnerable areas of protection provided by laser guidance. But this tool can be used with another type of charge, anti-personnel.

Against the bunkers, bunkers and military vehicles

On the battlefield, sometimes there are situations that are difficult to foresee. The advancing unit may unexpectedly encounter a powerfully fortified defensive point, and the attack will choke. The rocket complex "Cornet" is quite universal in order to solve not only the task of fighting tanks, but also effectively suppress stationary foci of resistance. This rather compact means is equipped not only with cumulative but also thermobaric head warheads. In terms of its explosive power, the impact of the 9M133F or 9M133F-1 missile is similar to the effect of a 152mm howitzer or ten kilograms of TNT. In fact, this is a vacuum bomb delivered by a rocket engine with a high accuracy to a distance of 5.5 km. Fugasno-thermobaric "Kornet" - the weapon of effective defeat of the unpressurized lightly armored vehicles of the opponent (BTR, BMP, etc.)

Launcher

PU in infantry design is a tripod, in the design of which are integrated fire control, guidance, sighting devices and optical means (including infrared). It can also be part of the regular armament of combat vehicles (BMP or Tiger). The anti-tank complex "Cornet" uses the chassis of the BM 9P162 ("Object 699" with the underframe of BMP-3) as the main vehicle. The crew consists of two or three people. Directly shooting and guidance on the target is carried out by the gunner-operator from his workplace, equipped with an electronic complex. The preparation for start-up is controlled by the commands of the remote control. Automatic turret reloading - all in the ammunition 16 shells, 12 of which are directly in the drum. Machine 9P162 is equipped with two launchers 9P163. The time allotted to launch production is 20-30 seconds.

In particularly difficult conditions

The design of the "Cornet" complex provides for the possibility of dismantling the launcher from a combat vehicle in case of need. Situations during the war are very different. If the BM lost its course, and it is necessary to fire from hidden or inaccessible positions (in the mountains or in settlements), the 9P163 is removed from its regular place on the BM and delivered where it is needed. Suddenly, a powerful fire weapon appeared capable of breaking an unfavorable situation and affecting the outcome of the battle in a decisive way.

Cornet abroad

In 1997, at the exhibition in Abu Dhabi, the Russian exposition presented to the attention of possible customers the missile anti-tank complex "Cornet" for the first time. The weapon, the photo of which became available on the booklets, made a proper impression due to the main difference from the already known "Metis", "Contests" and "Fagotov" - laser, rather than a wire guidance system. Those who want to purchase this complex for their own armed forces did not take long to wait. Algeria, Greece, India, Jordan, Cote d'Ivoire, Peru, Syria, Turkey, and, according to unconfirmed reports, Libya - countries that equipped their armies with the latest Russian anti-tank weapons (the Cornet-E modification is intended for export). Only until 2009, 35,000 rockets and many hundreds of launchers were produced, including those installed on BRDM-2M and BMP-2M. Of course, the main goal of the manufacturer was to equip the Russian Army, but, as is often the case with successful weapons, the control of their distribution to different countries proved to be a difficult task.

Uncontrolled exports

Almost immediately after the arrival of the Cornet-E ATGM to the foreign market, numerous reports on the use of this effective anti-tank weapon in various international regional conflicts were made available to the media . Hezbollah used them against the IDF in 2006 (IDF lost 46 Merkav, although there is evidence that this figure is understated, but in fact 164 cars were burned). A possible explanation for the presence of "Cornets" is in the "Syrian track", although it is almost impossible to trace the origin of this technique. The same goes for Islamic IGIL, which hit shells (possibly Russian production) with the Abrams tank and several armored cars. It is noteworthy that this same weapon was used by the Iraqi army against militants of the "Islamic state" in Diyala district (2014). Then the Ukrainian experts announced the discovery of the debris of the cumulative warhead on the site of the explosion, which left traces of marking indicating the date of production (2009) of the Cornet projectile. Weapons from militiamen appear from different sources, mostly trophy, but this find (if it is not another forgery) can weaken Russia's foreign policy positions with regard to the situation in the Donbas.

Creators and producers

VS Fimushkin, O. V. Sazhnikov and S. N. Dozorov were awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation for the creation of the third generation Kornet complex (2002). The following year, the merits of another designer, directly related to this project, were noted: Zakharov Lev Grigorievich (Order of Merit for the Fatherland, third degree). Apparently, these awards are well deserved. The General Designer Office became the famous Design Bureau of Machine Building. The missile is produced at the machine-building plant. V. A. Dektyarev (Mr. Kovrov). Other enterprises of the Russian defense complex, such as the mechanical plant in Volsk of the Saratov region and OJSC Tulatomash, became industrial contractors.